Twelve bamboo shelter houses occupied by families affected by cold lava flood in Pabelan River of Sudimoro in Muntilan, Magelang, made the architect win the Indonesia Construction Works Award (KKI) 2011 from the Ministry of Public Works in early December.
The architect is Dr. Ir. Eugenius Pradipto, a professor of Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering Universitas Gadjah Mada. He successfully won the award for construction of applicable technology. The jury also chose three other categories, one is construction method category that was won by Waskita Karya with its big tunnel, the Jatigede Dam. Other categories are industrial technology category and architecture category.
The KKI Award organized by the Ministry of Public Works is the most prestigious and prestigious event in the field of construction innovation. According to Pradipto, to achieve this award, any proposed construction work is selected quite thoroughly by experts from various fields, such as civil engineering, architecture, and environment. Not only that, any proposal which is registered in the KKI is required to have an element of novelty and ability to inspire the application of the work elsewhere. The work is also required to have a competitive aspect that emphasizes on excellence, uniqueness, local wisdom, and benefits.
The man born at Wonosari, Yogyakarta, 54 years ago, said that his work has the advantage of sustainable development construction concept with the selection of bamboo as a building material. "Not only environmentally friendly, bamboo is designed with good construction that will be able to survive more than 5 years without having to be preserved," said Pradipto who was met at the sidelines of the one year anniversary of the flood, held in the Sudimoro sub-village, Adikarto village, Muntilan, Magelang, Tuesday night (10/1).
Although simple, these shelters are made to provide comfort for the residents. Pradipto constructed the house as good as possible. "We hope that the inhabitants affected by the cold lava flood will not suffer for a second time because they have occupied a decent house," he added.
Interestingly, the ‘stage home’ was deliberately built above the productive rice cultivation area. The architect is not afraid that bamboo as its main material will be quickly damaged if exposed to water or rain. To keep the moisture level, Pradipto made the building foundation of a porous base to keep bamboo material dry and it will dry out quickly when exposed to water. "The base has used porous concrete base filled with gravel without cement to make water absorbed quickly and easily, so it will dry quickly," he said.
The base can also minimize the impact of damage to the productive rice cultivation area. "If disassembled, the rest of the building materials, including the base, is easy to clear off the land," he said.
As is known, the temporary shelters were established due to the cooperation between students of UGM Community Service Program (KKN PPM), community and GP Anshor (youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama organisation) which continued right from the preparation through occupancy. Construction lasted for 4 months, conducted by the community using donated building materials.
Chairman of the GP Anshor, Majidun Ahmad, said the background of the construction of these shelters is to provide temporary shelter for the people. At that time, GP Anshor asked Pradipto to design the house. "Living in shelters is indeed unpleasant; however in terms of construction, bamboo house is considered the most healthy and best temporary shelter. The Public Works Ministry considered that the construction is the best," he said. He said they were proud that Sudimoro temporary shelters finally received appreciation from the Ministry of Public Works, naming it the most applicable shelter for victims of Merapi eruption and the best in construction.