Bagas Godang - Traditional Mandailing Architecture at Tor Sibohi Hotel

---

---

Hello everyone and all members of Architecture+Design Community, how are you today? May we all always be healthy and happy in carrying out this work and routine. This is my first time contributing to this community, I ask for guidance and support from all of my friends.

A few weeks ago, I went on vacation in Sipirok City and stayed at one of the very cool hotels with beautiful views. The hotel is named Tor Sibohi, besides having beautiful natural views. This hotel has a building that has a traditional design and architecture that attracts visitors when staying here. This cottage has a traditional architectural design from the traditional mandailing house, which is usually called Bagas Godang

---

---

Bagas Godang

Bagas Godang is a traditional house or traditional architecture of the Mandailing People. Mandailing is one of the six ethnic groups of the Batak Tribe. The Batak Tribe are ethnic groups with the largest population in the province of North Sumatra-Indonesia, consisting of the Karo ethnicity, Pakpak ethnicity, Simalungun ethnicity, Mandailing ethnicity, Toba ethnicity, and Angkola ethnicity. Each ethnic dai Batak tribe has a different traditional architecture and is very interesting to discuss.

Bagas Godang comes from two Batak language words. Bagas means home or hometown, and Godang means big. It can be said, Bagas Godang is a big house that functions as a place to live and a place to go home when we are overseas. In the past, Bagas Godang was used as a residence for kings and a place for people's deliberation.

---

Design and Architecture

Bagas Godang is a traditional house that uses wood as its constituent material. This traditional house has the concept of a house on stilts and has a very interesting architectural design. The house on stilts is a type of traditional architecture that we most often find in Indonesia. There were many reasons why Indonesians used the concept of houses on stilts in the past, such as preventing floods and wild animal attacks. In addition, wooden stilt houses are also very earthquake resistant. We know that Indonesia is a country with a very high potential for earthquakes. It seems that our ancestors knew the best and safest way to coexist with the potential for earthquakes and natural disasters.

One characteristic that distinguishes this building from other modern buildings is the shape of the roof. The pyramid-shaped roof has a deep philosophy for Mandailing people. The shape of the roof is also pointed at both corners. On the roof, we can see there are distinctive ornaments with red and yellow colors. The ornament has a philosophical meaning and significance for the people of South Tapanuli.

Entering the front door of the cottage, we can immediately see the terrace from this cottage. This cottage building uses wood for the floor of the building. There is a pair of chairs and a table made of wood. This furniture is very classic, like the 1990s furniture style. The terrace is an important part of this building, before the era of social media and technology. Many people spend time in the afternoon by sitting relaxed on the terrace while looking at the surrounding scenery.

This cottage has several sections. There is a living room, bedroom and bathroom. This room is quite wide and spacious for a cottage. The furniture of this room is very classic or old, it seems that it has never been updated since this inn was founded. Although, the design and furniture are classic but I like this hotel room because it feels warm and unique.

The walls of this room also use wood and plywood to muffle the sound. In Sipirok, the weather is so cold that every inn does not need air conditioning. The use of wood material also keeps the temperature in the room stable and awake.

Okay, this is my story this time, hopefully it can provide good information for all of you.

---