Louvre glass windows of a Wooden House

Louvre glass windows are commonly used in timber framed houses in tropical region. The minimum thickness of the glass is 3 millimeter. The following photograph shows the passive ventilation of a house in Wasior town of West Papua province of Indonesia. The glass windows attached inside wooden frames were installed around the outer walls. Below the corrugated clay roofs are the jalousie windows made of timber. Because the humidity in this tropical island is high, the louvre and jalousie windows greatly reduce the moisture inside the wooden house and improve the indoor air quality of the rooms.

We all know that the temperature in tropical region is quite high between 30 to 32 degrees Celcius during the days. Louvre glass windows can enhance the air circulation inside a house without the help of fan. The maintenance cost is also low. However louvre windows are not suitable for passive ventilation in cold region. This was written by Charles Roring

Also read: 

• Wildlife Tour in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland
• Wooden Furniture from Leilem
• Birdwatching in Sonder of Minahasa regency
• Birdwatching tour in Minahasa highland

Wooden house of Minahasa an earthquake resistant construction

This was written by Charles Roring

An earthquake resistant house designs have been a compulsory construction for home owners living in the ring of fire areas such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philipine and Japan. Just building a concrete houses will not be enough. Architects who design earthquake resistant houses must add steel frames inside the concrete beam and columns to reinforce them. 

A typical wooden house of Minahasa highland

For traditional wooden houses, the material which is mostly used is of course the wood. Wood if well preserved and dried is one of the best construction materials for houses.

In Minahasa of North Sulawesi, people build houses mainly from wood. Minahasa is a region in northern part of Sulawesi island. There are a number of active volcanoes which often erupt and cause earthquakes. So, the house construction there is mostly made from wood.

The kinds of wood which Minahasan people use are coconut, lingua, cempaka and sometimes besi (meaning ironwood) or merbau. Old coconut tree which is not productive anymore in producing coconut will then be cut and converted into home building material.

The wooden house of Minahasa looks beautiful in terms of their architecture. Architecture is the art and science of buildings. Although the traditional builders of Minahasan wooden houses have never taken any formal education, their designs are really environmentally friendly and united with the nature. Tourists who visit Minahasa often buy these wooden houses in Woloan village. This village has exported their knock down wooden houses to many countries around the world.

Wooden house can be one of the best home materials due to its earthquake resistant properties but it is not fire resistant. To minimize the risk of burning, architects must apply new design approach to their wooden house by applying fire resistant materials to some parts of the house. This can include fire resistant drapes and wall paper, as well as kitchen room made of ceramic materials.

When the new approach has been applied to the design of an earthquake resistant Minahasan house, it will be able to enter wider market of worldwide wooden house trade. 

Tour to see wooden house of Minahasa

In recent years, tourists who travel to Minahasa regency of Indonesia also do some visits to see these wooden houses. If you are interested in seeing various design and construction of the wooden house of Minahasa and want me to accompany and guide you, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp through the following button:

Also read:

• Tropical Wooden Houses
• Wooden Houses Jalousie Windows
• Birding in Minahasa Highland of North Sulawesi
• Birding and Butterflywatching in Sonder of Minahasa Highland

Tropical Wooden Houses

Tropical wooden houses in Minahasa have been around for hundreds of years. Most of the Minahasan people live in houses that are constructed from wood. Cempaka, Merbau,  and Natoh (Latin: Micelia celebica) are the main types of wood used in the house construction due to their hardness and durability in resisting wet climate of the tropical weather. In addition, they are more resistant to termite attack. Most of the earthquake resistant wooden houses of Minahasa are single and two floors constructions. Besides they are more suitable to hot and high moisture climate, wooden houses are chosen for aesthetic reasons. All of the rooms in a traditional wood house of Minahasa have ventilation holes. Jalousie glass windows are the preferred choice because they allow sunlight to penetrate the rooms even when they are closed. They enable the air to flow freely in and out of the house. Most of the ventilation in bedrooms are covered with mosquito nets. 

Wooden house in tropical island of Sulawesi

Minahasa is a regency in the province of North Sulawesi of the Republic of Indonesia that is surrounded by several active volcanoes such as Mount Lokon, and Mount Soputan. In addition, it is located within the ring of fire of the Pacific Ocean where tectonic earthquake frequently occurs.

If we explore wooden house thoroughly, we will see that ladders are installed one at the front of the house which enables guests to come up directly to the second floor (where the living room is located) and the other at the back of the house connecting the second floor with the kitchen (which is located at the ground floor). The ground floor is usually allocated for the storage of agricultural produce (such as clove, rice, peanuts, and coffee), parking area for cars, and kitchen. Typical Minahasan wood houses have large yard area where the owners (whose profession as farmers) dry their agricultural commodity under the sun. Minahasan people like to grow clove and coconut trees in front of their houses. They also grow various flowers at the front yard as decoration that beautify the outside appearance of the house. The second floor is usually allocated for bedrooms and living room. These ladders stiffen and strengthen the construction of the wooden house against horizontal movements caused by tectonic and volcanic earthquakes. 

In the past the roof of the wooden houses are made of palm leaves. Because of frequent fire incident, today's wood houses have roof made of metal sheets which in Indonesia are called daun seng. Ordinary thin corrugated metal roof is actually not suitable for house construction in Minahasa whose atmosphere is often filled by sulphur emitted by the volcanoes but the local people there do not have other option. Actually the manufacturers of the metal roof need to produce metal roof sheets that are more resistant to corrosion caused by high sulphur content in air. 

Today the Minahasan wooden houses are being exported in the form of knock-down package that can be ordered directly from the internet and shipped in containers. House builders will be sent to help the buyer of the house construct the package.

If you are interested in traveling to Manado city to see the designs and constructions of tropical wooden houses in Minahasa regency, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp through the following button:

Also read:

• Wooden House of Minahasa
• Wooden House Jalousie Windows
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa Regency
• Birding and Butterfly watching around Sonder town

Traditional House of tribes from Arfak Range

Rumah Kaki Seribu

I spent 5 days in Arfak mountains last week visiting some villages around Anggi lakes. The scenery was very beautiful. I also went hiking in the tops of Mount Kobrey and Mount Sensenemes. There were a lot of species of high altitude flowers including Anggi gladiol, nepenthes, rhododendrons, orchids, ants nests (myrmecodia). During the tour, I stayed in the houses of the indigenous people called Rumah Kaki Seribu. Local people burned firewood to keep the room warm. Unfortunately, their houses did not have chimneys. I could not stand the smokes that filled in the whole spaces of the house.
It had a lot of wooden pillars as its supports with walls made of tree barks arranged in overlapping layers stiffened by wooden sticks that were arrange and tied in upright as well as diagonal positions. This was an earthquake resistant house. I like the trip in Arfak mountains.
It was a nice adventure. I hope to be back soon.