Traditional Architecture and Modern Architecture

The advent of Modern architecture has, in many cases, brought conflict with traditional architecture (or indigeous, vernacular architecture). This conflict is solved by the modern mostly by rejecting the traditional due to its non-rational-ity or incapability to be fitted in the modern one.

Cases shows that this rejection by the modernist is mostly because the modern tries to understand the tradi-tional within their own framework, or because they do not have proper access to the understanding of this traditional architecture. Beginning in the late fifties of this century, studies had been undertook to find proper solutions in this conflict and rejection. Architectural streams like Regionalism and Post-modern-ism (in Charles Jencks's term) can be viewed as alternative to place the modern and the traditional in a concerted way.

Having these streams in mind, it must now be proper to raise the question upon the directions of actions taken within housing of the low-income people. Should this actions only concentrate itself to the physical and formal aspect of architecture, does Regionalism or Post-modernism contributes something to it? The ongoing researches by the Labora-tory of Human-settlements of the Surabaya Institute of Technology tries to answer those questions.

Its researches aimed at finding that the modern and the traditional incorporates one into another is taken through several stages. One of it is study and understanding of the traditional; and in this particular paper the author would try to present the traditional architecture of Java. Study on the Primbon book is just one study among many aspects of Javanese architecture.