The Tsunami Museum is a museum to recall the devastating events that once hit Aceh on December 26, 2004, which claimed more than 240,000 lives. The museum is located on Jalan Sultan Iskandar Muda near Simpang Jam and opposite the Blang Padang Square in Banda Aceh. Building this museum is supposedly designed by a lecturer architecture ITB Bandung, M. Ridwan Kamil.
The design entitled Rumoh Aceh as Escape Hill takes the basic idea of Aceh's rumoh that is the traditional house of Aceh people in the form of a house building on stilts. The purpose of this museum construction is not only to be a monument building, but also as a historical object, where this building becomes the center of research and learning about tsunami disaster as a symbol of the strength of the people of Aceh in the face of the tsunami disaster. In addition, this building is expected to be a legacy for future generations of Aceh as a message and a lesson that the tsunami once hit Aceh that has swallowed many victims. The construction of this museum has spent budget of 140 billion rupiah.
The building of this museum consists of 4 levels with decoration decoration nuanced islam. From the outside it can be seen that this building is shaped like a ship, with a flare upright standing on it.
The exceptional exterior look that expresses Aceh's cultural diversity can be seen from the decorative ornaments of the transparency element of the outer skin elements of the building. This ornament symbolizes saman dance as a reflection of Hablumminannas, which is the concept of human relations in Islam.
On the ground floor of the museum there is an open space that can be utilized as a public space. This floor is made high as a destination escape hill, a hill-shaped garden can be used as one of the anticipated rescue location in case of flood and tsunami disaster in the future. Each floor (measuring 25 meters x 20 meters) can accommodate thousands of citizens in an emergency.
When entering this building, the first room to be visited by visitors is the space of reflection. In this room there is a narrow and dim hallway at the same time can listen to the sound of water flowing along with the voice of the call to prayer. To the left and right of the aisle wall there is a flowing water which is likened to the rumbling of a tsunami that once occurred in the past
After passing through the devotional space, museum visitors will enter the memorial hill with glass room equipped with monitors that can be used to access information about the tsunami that hit Aceh on 26 December 2004 ago.
The aceh Museum's tsunami function is as a historical monument where all photographs and documentation videos are stored during the aceh tsunami. other than that this museum is also used as a place of data collection and as a center of research and learning about tsunami aceh. and this museum is also made as a place of Escape Building (Rescue Place) in case of tsunami in the future.
The museum building consists of 4 levels On the ground floor of the museum there is an open space that can be utilized as a public space. By the time you enter this building, the first room to be visited by visitors is the space of reflection. In this room there is a narrow and dim hallway at the same time can listen to the sound of water flowing along with the voice of the call to prayer. On the left and right of the aisle wall there is a flowing water that is in the thundering tsunami that ever happened in the past.
After passing through the devotional room, you will enter a mirrored room called "Memorial hill" equipped with a monitor that can be used to access information about the tsunami that hit Aceh on 26 December 2004 ago.
After passing through the memorial hill space, you will enter the "The Light of God" room, which is a cylindrical well-shaped space that shines dim light. At the top of the room looks Arabic calligraphy shaped GOD. On the walls of this room filled with the names of the victims of the tsunami that died in the big event. This building contains religious values that are a reflection of human relationships with the creator / God.
On the second floor of the museum, access to multimedia spaces such as an audio room and a 4-dimensional "tsunami exhibition room" room, pre-tsunami, while stunami, and post-tsunami rooms.
Then the 3rd floor of the Museum is available some facilities such as geological space, library, musalla, and souvenirs. In geological space, you can get information about the disaster that is about how the earthquake and tsunami occurred, through the explanation of some displays and simulation tools contained in the room.
The final level of the Aceh Tsunami Museum Building, serves as an emergency rescue / Escape building in case of another tsunami in the future. The roof level is not open to the public because of the concceept of visitor safety and security, and will only be opeened in an emergency or when needed only.