Javanese Traditional Settlement: Lawang Pethuk

Kampung Wisata Purbayan is located in the Purbayan Village, Kotagede District, Yogyakarta. This place is closely related to the history of the Mataram Kingdom and also has several sites and buildings that show typical Javanese architecture. This historical building gives an atmosphere that seems to throw us into a time machine.

Kampung Wisata Purbayan has many clusters spread across the big city area, there are Ndalem Kedaton, Alun-alun, Cokroyudan, Mbumen, Kemasan, and Mboharen. One of the most interesting clusters is in the Kampung Alun-Alun. Kampung Alun-Alun is located on the south side of the economic center of the Kotagede community (Kotagede Market). This area is formed by walls and small gates that connect narrow alleys as a link between villages. This area is known as Lawang Pethuk (Between Two Gates).

The name of Lawang Pethuk was created by a Research Team from the Architectural Engineering department of Gadjah Mada University in 1986. The shape and layout of the traditional Javanese houses found in Lawang Pethuk has maintained its authenticity to this day and is part of the Kotagede living museum. Uniquely, the buildings outside the Lawang Pethuk area do not have traditional Javanese architectural characteristics like those in this area. The uniqueness of this area is very important to maintain because it will become the local identity of the place.

Lawang Pethuk is the smallest neighborhood of a semi-closed settlement because it is flanked by two gates at both ends. This environment is formed from several Joglo lined up in one row. In this area, there is also a division of spatial zones that still maintains the culture of traditional Javanese houses, namely the placement of divided spaces based on the nature of space, namely public, semi-public, and private.

Public space is a space that can be passed or entered by everyone, for example a hallway. Semi-public spaces are spaces that are reserved for certain people, such as courtyards and terraces. While the private room is a very private space and only family members are allowed to enter it, such as the reading room.

The narrow alleys between houses in the Lawang Pethuk area also have quite a unique social function. In this location, there is a strong kinship system reflected through interaction spaces along the corridor. The Lawang Pethuk residential area opens to interaction via the Rukunan street. People in these settlements realize that they are part of the community, so to understand one another, they try to mingle and interact with other people in the community. Other forms of harmony are also marked by the making of a seat in the form of steps made of concrete on the side or front of the house.

Rukunan street also shapes the character of the people who access this road, because people who access this road are aware that the road is actually part of privately owned land. However, the public may pass through it. This makes road users appreciate the road owner more, which is realized by greeting each other when passing Rukunan street.