Civil Engineering and Architecture Vol. 13(5), pp. 3954 - 3966
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2025.130535
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Balinese Cultural Wisdom as a Blueprint for Climate-Responsive Architectural Design: Insights from Traditional Housing Adaptation

Ni Made Emmi Nutrisia Dewi ^1,*, Ngakan Ketut Acwin Dwijendra ², I Kadek Pranajaya ^1
1 Master of Design, Bali Institute of Design and Business (IDB Bali), Indonesia
² Faculty of Engineering, Udayana University, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

The global climate crisis has intensified the need for sustainable and climate-responsive architectural approaches. In this context, traditional Balinese housing offers an invaluable model rooted in cultural wisdom that inherently adapted to environmental dynamics. This study investigates how principles from traditional Balinese architecture particularly those found in residential compounds can inform contemporary architectural strategies aimed at improving ecological resilience. The primary objective is to extract adaptive design principles from traditional housing systems and integrate them into modern frameworks. Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative method combined with environmental simulation tools, the research explores spatial configuration, material usage, and passive cooling techniques found in Balinese traditional homes. Key findings reveal that these dwellings utilize climate-adaptive strategies, such as open spatial layouts, natural ventilation, and locally sourced materials, which significantly contribute to thermal comfort without the need for mechanical intervention. The study concludes that these practices align with contemporary sustainable design principles and can be translated into scalable strategies for modern architecture in tropical contexts. The practical implication is a design framework that can support architects and urban planners in developing climate-sensitive and culturally grounded buildings. Socially, this approach fosters the preservation of cultural identity while meeting ecological demands. Limitations include the regional specificity of the findings, which may require adaptation before applying to other climatic or cultural contexts. Nonetheless, the study contributes to the discourse on how indigenous knowledge systems can be harmonized with modern sustainability imperatives to confront the challenges posed by climate change.

KEYWORDS
Climate-Responsive Architecture, Traditional Balinese Housing, Sustainability, Local Wisdom Adaptation, Passive Cooling, Environmental Resilience

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Ni Made Emmi Nutrisia Dewi , Ngakan Ketut Acwin Dwijendra , I Kadek Pranajaya , "Balinese Cultural Wisdom as a Blueprint for Climate-Responsive Architectural Design: Insights from Traditional Housing Adaptation," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 3954 - 3966, 2025. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2025.130535.

(b). APA Format:
Ni Made Emmi Nutrisia Dewi , Ngakan Ketut Acwin Dwijendra , I Kadek Pranajaya (2025). Balinese Cultural Wisdom as a Blueprint for Climate-Responsive Architectural Design: Insights from Traditional Housing Adaptation. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 13(5), 3954 - 3966. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2025.130535.