Heritage Buildings and Land Subsidence in Semarang, Indonesia

Abstract

Among recent studies on land subsidence, only a few have discussed it from the architectural point of view. Historical data have shown that Semarang, located in North Java has experienced a land subsidence rate of around 20 cm per year. investigate the subsidence phenomenon and to identify the subsidence rate occurring in an area in terms of existing distortion, revealing the land subsidence. This study uses old photos of a heritage building to compare the original architectural sizes with the latest conditions and. It also employs the data taken from the excavation of the building renovation project. Findings show that the original floor and toilet levels were located approximately 100 cm under the present levels. The rate of land subsidence resolved from this analysis is about 3.3 cm/year. This rate is commensurate with the figures of the land subsidence map produced using geospatial data. The architectural approach demonstrated in this study could become a complement tool to investigate the subsidence phenomenon.