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Sources

Every dimension the house is generated from is below, with its class and its citation. This is the project’s honesty layer, and it is given a room of its own because a smooth 3D render implies a precision the sources do not have.

The dimensions

DimensionValueClassWhat it means
hastaRatio0.25If 20% out: 0.93 mInterpolatedLength of a hasta — elbow to fingertip — relative to a depa. A quarter of the arm span is ordinary anthropometry rather than a figure from the Balinese literature. What is sourced is that a hasta is a measure of the owner’s body; what the ratio is, is the author’s.Tidak ada sumber Bali. Perbandingan antara satu ukuran tubuh dan ukuran berikutnya adalah antropometri umum yang ditetapkan penulis — bukan angka dari kepustakaan Bali mana pun. Kunci ini dipisahkan dari “tidak ada sumber” supaya perbedaannya terbaca di tabel.
mustiRatio0.07If 20% out: 0.10 mInterpolatedLength of a musti — the closed fist with the thumb laid across — relative to a depa. The author’s anthropometry, as with the hasta.Tidak ada sumber Bali. Perbandingan antara satu ukuran tubuh dan ukuran berikutnya adalah antropometri umum yang ditetapkan penulis — bukan angka dari kepustakaan Bali mana pun. Kunci ini dipisahkan dari “tidak ada sumber” supaya perbedaannya terbaca di tabel.
useranRatio0.01If 20% out: 0.02 mInterpolatedLength of a useran — one rotation of the thumb — relative to a depa. It is also the size of the pengurip, so this figure is what sets how far the house departs from its own whole multiples.Tidak ada sumber Bali. Perbandingan antara satu ukuran tubuh dan ukuran berikutnya adalah antropometri umum yang ditetapkan penulis — bukan angka dari kepustakaan Bali mana pun. Kunci ini dipisahkan dari “tidak ada sumber” supaya perbedaannya terbaca di tabel.
nyariRatio0.01If 20% out: 0.03 mInterpolatedWidth of one finger relative to a depa.Tidak ada sumber Bali. Perbandingan antara satu ukuran tubuh dan ukuran berikutnya adalah antropometri umum yang ditetapkan penulis — bukan angka dari kepustakaan Bali mana pun. Kunci ini dipisahkan dari “tidak ada sumber” supaya perbedaannya terbaca di tabel.
bayUnits1If 20% out: 1.02 mInterpolatedSpacing between saka, in depa. One arm span per bay: enough for a person to lie across, which is what a bale is for. That the spacing is measured in depa is canon; that it is one, is the author’s.No source
sakaHeightUnits5If 20% out: 0.42 mInterpolatedHeight of a saka, in hasta, from the sendi to the underside of the tie. Five hasta gives clear headroom without making the pavilion read as a house.No source
bataranHeightUnits4If 20% out: 0.10 mInterpolatedHeight of the bataran, in musti. The platform is low — something to sit on rather than a storey — and that is what separates it from the three raised houses in this project.No source
bataranOversailUnits2If 20% out: 0.10 mInterpolatedHow far the bataran stands outside the saka, in musti. There is a margin for a foot outside the posts, and the roof drops its water outside that margin.No source
eaveOversailUnits2If 20% out: 0.17 mInterpolatedHow far the eave reaches past the bataran, in hasta. This is what makes a bale usable in rain: a building with no walls is dry only as far as its roof reaches.No source
ridgeRiseUnits6If 20% out: 0.51 mInterpolatedRise of the ridge above the eave, in hasta. It sets the pitch, and alang-alang needs a steep one so water leaves quickly. Written as three hasta first, which gives a pitch of 24° — this dimension’s own note already said “steep” while its value did not, and the silhouette read as an umbrella rather than a roof. Six hasta gives about 42°.No source
deckHeightUnits2Moves no measurementInterpolatedHeight of the sitting platform inside, in musti, above the bataran paving.No source
deckDepthUnits4Moves no measurementInterpolatedDepth of the sitting platform, in hasta — one depa, enough for a person to lie across. Two hasta at first, 0.85 m, and in the render it read as a shelf rather than something to sit and sleep on. The bale-bale is what this building is for; making it too narrow to use is building a roof over a ledge.No source
stepRiseUnits2Moves no measurementInterpolatedRise of one step up to the bataran, in musti.No source
sakaSectionUnits8If 20% out: 0.03 mInterpolatedSection of a saka, in fingers. This is a size of timber rather than a set-out dimension, so it takes no pengurip — and the module check states how many lengths it excludes for that reason. Given in nyari rather than musti because one musti, 128 mm, makes a 2.1 m post read as a stick in the render; eight fingers gives 150 mm. Stock is measured in fingers — it is the unit a person reaches for when saying how thick a thing is, and its whole multiples are closer together.No source
sunduSectionUnits3Moves no measurementInterpolatedDepth of a tie beam, in nyari.No source
rafterSectionUnits2Moves no measurementInterpolatedSection of a rafter, in nyari.No source
boardThicknessUnits1Moves no measurementInterpolatedThickness of a board, in nyari.No source
sendiHeightUnits2If 20% out: 0.01 mInterpolatedHeight of a sendi, the stone a saka foot seats on, in nyari.No source
sendiWidthUnits2Moves no measurementInterpolatedWidth of a sendi relative to the saka section, in musti.No source
stepWidthUnits4Moves no measurementInterpolatedWidth of a step, in musti.No source
stepDepthUnits3Moves no measurementInterpolatedGoing of one step, in musti.No source
murdaWidthUnits3Moves no measurementInterpolatedWidth of the ridge finish, in nyari.No source
deckLegUnits1Moves no measurementInterpolatedSection of a deck leg, in musti.No source
raftersPerBay5Moves no measurementInterpolatedRafters in each bay. Batten spacing rather than a set-out dimension.No source
thatchCourseDepth0.22 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedExposed depth of one course of alang-alang. Closer than ijuk because the material is grass rather than fibre.No source
thatchThickness0.08 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedHow far a course stands proud of the one below it.No source
thatchLap0.45Moves no measurementInterpolatedThe share of a course that the course above laps over.No source
thatchBed0.04 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedClearance between the frame and the first course.No source
murdaRise0.18 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedHeight of the ridge finish above the roof line.No source
batturFacing0.09 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedThickness of the paras facing over the brick body of the bataran.No source
jointEngagement0.30Moves no measurementInterpolatedDepth of the tested joint engagement, as a share of the smaller member.No source
postSeat0.30Moves no measurementInterpolatedDepth of the dish in the sendi that the saka foot seats into, as a share of its height.No source
bodyMeasured1Moves no measurementCanonThe house is measured with its owner’s body: depa, hasta, musti, useran, finger. The unit itself is the social fact — two households of identical standing build different buildings because their bodies differ. The other four houses here select a number; this one selects the unit.Dwijendra, N. K. A., Arsitektur Rumah Tradisional Bali Berdasarkan Asta Kosala Kosali (Udayana University Press, Denpasar, 2008).
penguripRule1Moves no measurementCanonA principal measure is a whole number of body units plus a pengurip, because a measure landing exactly on its module is called mati — dead. This house is required not to be exactly its own rule, and that is the only rule of its kind in this project.Dwijendra, N. K. A., Arsitektur Rumah Tradisional Bali Berdasarkan Asta Kosala Kosali (Udayana University Press, Denpasar, 2008).
triAngga3Moves no measurementCanonThree vertical parts: the bataran as foot, the saka as body, the roof as head. The division applies to a building, a compound and a village alike, and it is on the building that it reads most directly.Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).
nameIsCount1Moves no measurementCanonThe name of a bale is the number of its saka: sakepat four, sakenem six, sangasari nine, sakaroras twelve. The only rule in this project where the word and the number are the same fact said once.Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).
openPavilion0Moves no measurementCanonA bale is open on its sides: zero wall planes between the floor and the eave. What makes it usable is the reach of the roof rather than any enclosure — so the dimension that decides its comfort is the depth of the overhang.Budihardjo, E., Architectural Conservation in Bali (Gadjah Mada University Press, Yogyakarta, 1986).
raisedOnBataran1Moves no measurementCanonThe building stands on a bataran, a low masonry platform. Not a house on stilts: there is no space beneath it, and the bataran is the foot in the threefold division.Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).
seatedOnSendi1Moves no measurementCanonA saka foot seats on its sendi and is not buried — so the frame can be taken apart and raised again.Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).
kajaKelod1Moves no measurementCanonOrientation is set by the kaja–kelod axis: kaja toward the mountain, kelod toward the sea. It is not a compass direction. In south Bali kaja is north; in north Bali kaja is south — so the same rule gives opposite bearings depending on which side of the mountain you stand.Eiseman, F. B., Bali: Sekala and Niskala, Volume II — Essays on Society, Tradition and Craft (Periplus, Berkeley, 1990).
hipRoof4Moves no measurementCanonA hipped roof: four planes falling to an eave that closes all the way round, with a ridge shorter than the building. On a square bale that ridge length becomes zero and the roof becomes a true pyramid — the form follows from the number of saka rather than being declared.Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).
walledCompound1Moves no measurementCanonA bale stands inside a walled compound with several others around the natah, with the shrine in the kaja-kangin corner. The single building is a part; the compound is the house.Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).
compoundSide22.00 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedSide of the walled compound. That there is a compound is canon; its size is the author’s.No source
wallHeightSite1.80 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedHeight of the compound wall. A Balinese wall is brick and paras with a gate; this is its massing only, with no carving and no gate form.No source
wallThicknessSite0.35 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedThickness of that wall.No source
shrineInset1.00 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedHow far the shrine stands off the wall in the kaja-kangin corner.No source
shrineHeight2.60 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedHeight of the shrine massing in the kaja-kangin corner. A real shrine is a tiered, carved structure; this is a stone block of that height and nothing more.No source
shrinePlan3.00 mMoves no measurementInterpolatedPlan side of the shrine in the kaja-kangin corner. Only its footprint is drawn.No source

Bibliography

  • gelebet-1986 · reference

    Gelebet, I N., Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Bali (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Denpasar, 1986).

  • budihardjo-1986 · reference

    Budihardjo, E., Architectural Conservation in Bali (Gadjah Mada University Press, Yogyakarta, 1986).

  • eiseman-1990 · ethnography

    Eiseman, F. B., Bali: Sekala and Niskala, Volume II — Essays on Society, Tradition and Craft (Periplus, Berkeley, 1990).

  • dwijendra-2008 · reference

    Dwijendra, N. K. A., Arsitektur Rumah Tradisional Bali Berdasarkan Asta Kosala Kosali (Udayana University Press, Denpasar, 2008).

  • anthropometry · none

    Tidak ada sumber Bali. Perbandingan antara satu ukuran tubuh dan ukuran berikutnya adalah antropometri umum yang ditetapkan penulis — bukan angka dari kepustakaan Bali mana pun. Kunci ini dipisahkan dari “tidak ada sumber” supaya perbedaannya terbaca di tabel.

Which of these matters most

Nearly every dimension on this page is the author’s own. What the provenance bar does not say is whether that matters. Each row below is computed by rebuilding the house: one dimension is pushed 20%, and the house is measured to see how far it follows. Nothing is estimated — the figures are the difference between two runs of the generator.

  1. 1bayUnits1.02 mlength of the bataran
  2. 2hastaRatio0.93 mridge height
  3. 3ridgeRiseUnits0.51 mridge height
  4. 4sakaHeightUnits0.42 meave height
  5. 5eaveOversailUnits0.17 mdepth of the overhang
  6. 6mustiRatio0.10 meave height
  7. 7bataranHeightUnits0.10 meave height
  8. 8bataranOversailUnits0.10 mwidth of the bataran

If only one dimension could be surveyed, this is the one. This is sensitivity, not uncertainty: it shows what moves, not how likely the value is to be wrong. The 20% is itself the author’s choice.

Invariants

There is no measured drawing yet, so correctness rests on structural truth. These checks fail the build.

  • pass
    Bilateral symmetry about The building mirrors about z = 0, the plane the ridge runs along

    1112 points; largest mirror deviation 0.00 mm.

  • pass
    Every tenon contained in its mortise

    50 pasak, takik and tumpu joints; every one engaged.

  • pass
    No joint spans more than one stage

    Every joint engages two parts from the same stage or from consecutive ones.

  • pass
    Stage ordering, and nothing below ground

    120 parts, every one bearing on something already standing or on the ground.

  • pass
    Mesh integrity: indices, triangles, normals

    176 triangles; indices in range, none degenerate, every normal unit length.

  • pass
    The number of saka is the name of this building

    Bale gede (sakaroras): 12 saka, 3 × 4. The name and the count are one fact said once.

  • pass
    Every principal length is a whole number of its owner’s body

    9 principal lengths, in 3 body measures, from a depa of 1700 mm. Not one length in this building is written as a metre; every one is counted off its owner.

  • pass
    No principal length lands exactly on its module: an exact measure is dead

    A pengurip of one useran, 21.3 mm, added to 9 principal lengths. This building is required not to be exactly its own rule, and no other rule in this project has that shape.

  • pass
    Three vertical parts, in order: bataran, saka, roof

    Foot 0 → 0.53 m, body → 2.71 m, head → 5.43 m. The head is the largest part, as it should be.

  • pass
    Open on every side: not one wall plane between the floor and the eave

    Zero enclosing planes between 0.53 m and 2.71 m. What makes this bale usable in rain is not a wall but 0.87 m of overhang.

  • pass
    Four roof planes at one pitch, and a ridge shorter than the building

    A ridge of 1.72 m over an eave of 7.61 × 5.89 m: shorter by exactly half the eave depth at each end.

  • pass
    The eave reaches past the bataran on all four sides

    0.87 m across and 0.87 m along. On a building with no walls this figure is what decides which of it stays dry.

  • pass
    The saka feet seat on their sendi and are not buried in the bataran

    12 saka standing on their stones. Because none is buried, the frame can be taken apart and raised again.

  • pass
    Every frame member stops where its roof plane runs out

    No point of the frame reaches outside the roof surface at its own height. On a hip the four planes narrow as they rise, so a rafter near a corner is shorter — and a fault of this kind is completely hidden by the thatch.

  • pass
    Thatch courses lap with no bare band, from the eave to the ridge

    18 courses over 3.91 m of slope.

  • pass
    Every part declares the dimensions it came from

    120 parts, every one tagged. By least-sourced input: 0 measured, 0 canon, 120 interpolated.

  • skipped
    Checked against a measured drawing of a real house

    Skipped. No measured drawing has been wired in, so there is nothing to compare against. This check will not be made to pass by weakening it.

What a check is preventing

Ten green rows are not a reason to believe anything. So one check is run against a house built to break it, and what is printed below is that check’s own verdict rather than a description of it.

The pengurip is one useran, and its job is to keep every principal measure off its own module. Grow the useran and nothing bends, nothing collapses and nothing goes to zero — the addition simply climbs until it is a whole unit in itself, and the measure it was keeping inexact lands squarely back on its module: dead again, just one unit larger. Every other counterexample in this project ends with a building that cannot be constructed. This one ends with a building that stands perfectly well and is wrong for a reason no amount of looking would reveal — which is the strongest argument the project has for why the rules live in the model rather than in the caption.

The house as built

pass21.3 mmthe pengurip

A pengurip of one useran, 21.3 mm, added to 9 principal lengths. This building is required not to be exactly its own rule, and no other rule in this project has that shape.

Rear prow raised to 0.08 m

fail127.5 mmthe pengurip

4 lengths still land exactly on their module even with the pengurip added.

The second house is never rendered. It is built during the build, failed, and thrown away.

This bar moves as real surveys are wired in. That movement is the project's progress metric.