Sources — Tongkonan — Rumah Adat Nusantara

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

Dimension	Value	Class	Citation
Length of one bay along the north–south axis.bayLength	3.00 mIf 20% out: 1.80 m	Interpolated	No source
Width of the body, wall to wall.bodyWidth	4.20 mIf 20% out: 0.84 m	Interpolated	No source
Section of an a'riri, the square underfloor post.postSection	0.18 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Height of the pad stone a post stands on.padHeight	0.22 mIf 20% out: 0.04 m	Interpolated	No source
Width of the pad stone.padDiameter	0.42 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Clear underfloor height — the sulluk banua — from the ground to the floor frame.kolongHeight	2.15 mIf 20% out: 0.43 m	Interpolated	No source
Height of the kale banua wall, from the deck to the wall plate.wallHeight	1.95 mIf 20% out: 0.39 m	Interpolated	No source
Depth of the floor frame members.floorFrameDepth	0.24 mIf 20% out: 0.05 m	Interpolated	No source
Thickness of a floor board.deckThickness	0.05 mIf 20% out: 0.01 m	Interpolated	No source
Thickness of a wall board.wallThickness	0.06 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Height of the ridge above the wall plate, at mid-span.ridgeRise	2.95 mIf 20% out: 0.59 m	Interpolated	No source
How far the ridge line sags at mid-span relative to its ends.ridgeSag	0.55 mIf 20% out: 0.11 m	Interpolated	No source
Rise of the front prow above the lowest point of the ridge.frontProwRise	2.60 mIf 20% out: 0.52 m	Interpolated	No source
Rise of the rear prow; always lower than the front.rearProwRise	2.10 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How far each prow projects beyond the end of the body.prowOverhang	3.00 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How far the eave oversails the outer post line, so the drip falls clear.eaveOversail	1.50 mIf 20% out: 0.30 m	Interpolated	No source
How far the eave hangs below the wall plate.eaveDrop	1.00 mIf 20% out: 0.20 m	Interpolated	No source
The share of the roof's total drop already reached at the wall line. This is where the roof breaks: steep above, shallower out to the eave.roofKneeDrop	0.70Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Depth of the wall plate the rafters bear on.plateDepth	0.24 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Width of the wall plate.plateWidth	0.16 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Exposed depth of one ijuk course.ijukCourseDepth	0.34 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How far a course stands proud of the one below it.ijukThickness	0.11 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
The share of a course that the course above laps over.ijukLap	0.40Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Section of the tulak somba, the post carrying the front prow.tulakSombaSection	0.40 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Vertical spacing between horns on the tulak somba.hornSpacing	0.42 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Spread of a buffalo horn, tip to tip. The previous figure, 0.62 m, sat at the small end of the range for a tedong and was too small to count from the courtyard — and being countable is the whole function. Still the author’s figure; what changed is the reasoning behind it.hornSpread	0.95 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Width of a rafter in section.rafterWidth	0.07 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Depth of a rafter in section.rafterDepth	0.11 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Rafters added beyond the per-bay count, for the two prows.raftersAtProws	4Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Radius of the ridge beam.ridgeBeamRadius	0.07 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Radius of a bamboo purlin.purlinRadius	0.04 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Position of the upper purlin, as a share of the run from ridge to the roof break.purlinAboveKnee	0.50Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Position of the lower purlin, as a share of the run from the break to the eave.purlinBelowKnee	0.55Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How far the roof boarding sits above the rafter axis, as a share of rafter depth.sheathingOffset	0.60Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Clearance between the roof boarding and the first ijuk course.ijukBedClearance	0.02 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Width of one floor board.deckBoardWidth	0.26 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Width of a floor-frame member, as a share of the post section.sillWidth	0.90Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Depth of the dish in the pad stone that the post foot seats into, as a share of stone height.postSeat	0.30Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How far a post head runs up into the floor frame, as a share of frame depth. The tenon has to run deep enough that the peg has timber on both sides of it.tenonRun	0.70Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Depth of the tested joint engagement, as a share of the smaller member.jointEngagement	0.30Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How far the ridge curve overshoots its control point before rising to the prow. This is what makes the ridge line a curve rather than a kink.ridgeUpsweep	0.17Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
The share of each prow that tapers into a blade.tipFraction	0.06Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Where the tulak somba stands along the prow overhang. The post goes where the cantilever needs it, not at the tip.tulakSombaSet	0.45Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
How low the bottom horn hangs above the ground.hornColumnFoot	0.60 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Size of the lowest horn relative to the topmost; the oldest are at the top.hornTaper	0.78Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
The house lies north–south; the front, ulunna banua, faces north.orientation	0°Moves no measurement	Canon	Nooy-Palm, H., The Sa'dan-Toraja: A Study of Their Social Life and Religion, Vol. 1 (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1979).
The common division of the body: tangdo', sali, sumbung.bayCountCommon	3Moves no measurement	Canon	Waterson, R., The Living House: An Anthropology of Architecture in South-East Asia (Oxford University Press, Singapore, 1990).
The ridge line sags in the middle and both prows rise.ridgeSags	1.00Moves no measurement	Canon	Kis-Jovak, J. I., Nooy-Palm, H., Schefold, R. & Schulz-Dornburg, U., Banua Toraja: Changing Patterns in Architecture and Symbolism among the Sa'dan Toraja (Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 1988).
The front prow stands higher than the rear.frontHigher	1.00Moves no measurement	Canon	Kis-Jovak, J. I., Nooy-Palm, H., Schefold, R. & Schulz-Dornburg, U., Banua Toraja: Changing Patterns in Architecture and Symbolism among the Sa'dan Toraja (Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 1988).
The buffalo horns are a record of how many rambu solo funerals have been held.hornsAreTally	1Moves no measurement	Canon	Nooy-Palm, H., The Sa'dan-Toraja: A Study of Their Social Life and Religion, Vol. 1 (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1979).
Pegged joints; the frame goes up without nails.noNails	1.00Moves no measurement	Canon	Schefold, R., Domenig, G. & Nas, P. (eds), Indonesian Houses Vol. 1: Tradition and Transformation in Vernacular Architecture (KITLV Press, Leiden, 2003).
Number of rafters per bay, per side.raftersPerBay	4Moves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Posts stand in transverse pairs, symmetric about the ridge plane.postsPerRow	2Moves no measurement	Canon	Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Sulawesi Selatan (Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah, Jakarta).
The alang — the rice barns — stand in a row facing the tongkonan across the yard, so house and barns face each other. The rule that the house faces north is not only a compass bearing: it says what stands in front of the house.alangOpposite	1Moves no measurement	Canon	Waterson, R., The Living House: An Anthropology of Architecture in South-East Asia (Oxford University Press, Singapore, 1990).
Distance from the front of the tongkonan to the row of alang. That the barns stand across the yard is canon; how wide the yard is is the author’s.halamanDepth	9.00 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Plan side of one alang. Only its footprint on the ground is drawn: an alang is a building in its own right, and a building this project does not model will not be raised from a guess.alangPlan	3.00 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Height of the alang floor above the ground. An alang stands on six smooth round posts a rat cannot climb; only its massing is modelled here, and every figure is the author’s.alangFloorY	1.90 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Height of the alang body above its floor.alangBodyHeight	1.40 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Rise of the alang ridge above its body. An alang’s roof is swept like the tongkonan’s; the massing drawn here is a straight gable and not that curve.alangRoofRise	2.90 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Diameter of an alang post.alangPostWidth	0.32 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Overhang of the alang roof beyond its body, on the massing drawn here.alangEave	1.15 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source
Spacing between alang along their row.alangSpacing	6.00 mMoves no measurement	Interpolated	No source

Bibliography

kis-jovak-1988 · survey
Kis-Jovak, J. I., Nooy-Palm, H., Schefold, R. & Schulz-Dornburg, U., Banua Toraja: Changing Patterns in Architecture and Symbolism among the Sa'dan Toraja (Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, 1988).
waterson-1990 · ethnography
Waterson, R., The Living House: An Anthropology of Architecture in South-East Asia (Oxford University Press, Singapore, 1990).
schefold-2003 · reference
Schefold, R., Domenig, G. & Nas, P. (eds), Indonesian Houses Vol. 1: Tradition and Transformation in Vernacular Architecture (KITLV Press, Leiden, 2003).
nooy-palm-1979 · ethnography
Nooy-Palm, H., The Sa'dan-Toraja: A Study of Their Social Life and Religion, Vol. 1 (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1979).
depdikbud-sulsel · reference
Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Sulawesi Selatan (Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah, Jakarta).

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.

1bayLength1.80 mbody length
2bodyWidth0.84 mbody width
3ridgeRise0.59 mridge height
4frontProwRise0.52 mfront prow tip
5kolongHeight0.43 mridge height
6wallHeight0.39 mfront prow tip
7eaveOversail0.30 mroof reach
8eaveDrop0.20 meave height

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.

What being wrong looks like

Solid: bayLength as the pack sets it, 3.00 m. Dashed red: the same value pushed 20%, to 3.60 m. Both are drawn by the same generator on the same axes. There is no control here — bayLength is not a parameter and will not become one.

Invariants

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

pass
Bilateral symmetry about the ridge plane
29484 points; largest mirror deviation 0.00 mm.
pass
Every tenon contained in its mortise
33 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
155 parts, every one bearing on something already standing or on the ground.
pass
Mesh integrity: indices, triangles, normals
44400 triangles; indices in range, none degenerate, every normal unit length.
pass
Ridge sags in the interior; both prows rise; the front prow is highest
lowest point at s=0.53 (7.01 m); front prow 10.16 m, rear 9.66 m.
pass
Ijuk courses lap with no bare strip; the ridge is covered
25 courses; smallest lap 3.2% of the slope run.
pass
The eave oversails the outer post line
eave 3.60 m from the axis; outer post face 2.10 m; oversail 1.50 m.
pass
The eave clears the wall plate
roof at z=2.01 m sits at 4.63 m; top of the wall plate 4.73 m; eave 3.60 m.
pass
Post count follows the declared bay count
3 bays → 4 rows × 2 posts = 8 a'riri, 8 pad stones.
pass
Every part declares the dimensions it came from
155 parts, every one tagged. By least-sourced input: 0 measured, 0 canon, 155 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.

This check enforces something a source states rather than something the arithmetic already guarantees: the front prow stands higher than the rear. Raise the rear past the front and the house stops being able to say which end is its face.

The house as built

pass10.16 m / 9.66 mfront prow · rear prow

lowest point at s=0.53 (7.01 m); front prow 10.16 m, rear 9.66 m.

Rear prow raised to 2.73 m

fail10.16 m / 10.29 mfront prow · rear prow

lowest s 0.48, front 10.16, rear 10.29.

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.