Uploaded on 2017-03-29 by Frank de Gouw

A few months ago, I went to Indonesia to do research for my Bachelor’s Thesis. This research was about the effects of urban sprawl in a developing and expanding city in the global South. The city of Yogyakarta was my case area. After doing my research, however, I went with other students on a trip to Sumatra to do a 10-day jungle trek. Our destination after 10 days was the village of Bukit Lawang in the middle of the jungle (with Medan as the closest, large city). Due to the presence of a sanctuary for Orangutans this village is increasingly more known by tourists and therefore, a few years ago, a few guest houses have been built for these tourists. The past years these small houses have developed into an entire eco lodge, full of sustainable built houses for tourists integrated within the nature itself. The eye-catcher within this eco lodge is the main building, which is almost completely made of bamboo. This main building is a huge, two-level building where the reception and the restaurant are situated. While watching the video of ‘Forms of Habitats – Use of Habitats’, I immediately thought about this structure. This bamboo structure is completely, in a sustainable way, made from local materials but nevertheless has a global, more modern appearance, while it doesn’t look in any way like the older, traditional buildings of the village itself. So, the village of Bukit Lawang, in my opinion, did a great job in attracting tourists while doing this by building in a modern, yet sustainable and innovative, way. Unfortunately, I only had pictures of this building with myself or my friends on it, and I don’t think they would appreciate it if those pictures will be shared on the internet, so I have to upload a picture that isn’t taken by myself.