Identification of the Architectural Housing Form and the Existence of Ulos Communities in Hutaraja Village, Samosir, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Tourism has played a major role in boosting the economy of every country in the world. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has obviously taken its toll since it hit Indonesia over a year ago. This condition has urged the Indonesian government to diligently make optimal changes, especially in improving regions that have been neglected this whole time, with the purpose of establishing a tourist destination that will prove interesting to tourists. Parahyangan Catholic University plays a role in providing information in the form of scientific studies regarding architecture of the traditional Batak Toba habitation in the Samosir regency of North Sumatera province. The Hutaraja village has been selected as the object of research with the foundation being the existence of ulos fabric artisan communities as an appealing feature. This ulos fabric plays an important role in the cultural lives of the Toba Bataknese, and may have potential in value and aesthetic uniqueness. The purpose of this study is to identify the relation between the architectural housing form and the existence of the ulos fabric artisan communities. The study has been conducted through a qualitative approach with exploratory and explanatory methods. Its findings show that the Hutaraja village's housing form is strongly related to both cultural and environmental aspects. On the other hand, the existence of ulos fabric artisan communities has been discovered to change the attributes of interior and exterior housing forms.