Proceedings of International Conference on Architecture 2017 (ICRP-AVAN), Unsyiah (Banda Aceh) and UiTM (Perak), October 18-19, 2017, Banda Aceh, Indonesia The “Aceh Method” as a mode of “seeing” Vernacular Knowledge Julie Nichols1, Darren Fong1, Naufal Fadhil2 1School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471 Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia 2Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia *Corresponding Author:
[email protected] ABSTRACT By re-envisioning Acehnese buildings through contemporary technological tools, the “Aceh Method” presents to scholars and local people a new way of seeing historical information that re-introduces a unique capture of architectural and cultural heritage. Some of the key problems informing the study of the Acehnese house are illuminated by establishing associations between information which is not normally read or interpreted together, and therefore results in new relationships or “ways of seeing” a rich heritage. The “Aceh Method” employs different forms of technology and skillsets to drive an outcome – a model of interpretation and structure which can be transferred between environments, purposes and cultures. Given Aceh’s catastrophic losses from the tsunami in 2004 particularly in terms of their people and their built cultural heritage records, a transferrable record, distributed to multiple locations offers a safeguarding and endurance of this newly recorded materials. It also offers a “way of seeing” and capturing heritage as a reference for future post-disaster reconstruction strategies. Notably a way of seeing reveals both ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’ conditions. These records will present a typology of housing well-suited to the socio-cultural and environmental conditions as well as a vernacular way of existing in the world, which may not be evident to aid workers and NGOs when they are presented with the colossal task of post-disaster reconstruction.