The Aceh Tsunami Museum, located in
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh ( Acehnese: ''Banda Acèh'', Jawoë: كوتا بند اچيه) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of . The city covers an area of and had ...
,
Aceh
Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, is a museum designed as a symbolic reminder of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami disaster, as well as an educational center and an emergency disaster shelter in case the area is ever hit by a tsunami again.
Design
The Aceh Tsunami Museum was designed by Indonesian architect (and now incumbent Governor of
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Bante ...
)
Ridwan Kamil
Mochamad Ridwan Kamil (born 4 October 1971) is an Indonesian architect and politician who is the 15th Governor of West Java, the most populous province of Indonesia. He was also the mayor of Bandung from 2013 to 2018. As an architect, he design ...
. The museum is a 2,500 m
2 four-story structure; its long curving walls covered in geometric reliefs. Inside, visitors enter through a dark, narrow corridor between two high walls of water — meant to recreate the noise and panic of the tsunami itself. The museum walls are adorned with images of people performing the
Saman dance
Saman (or the dance of a thousand hands) is one of the most popular dances in Indonesia. Its origin is from the Gayo ethnic group from Gayo Lues, Aceh province, Indonesia, and is normally performed to celebrate important occasions. The dance is ...
, a symbolic gesture dedicated to the strength, discipline and religious beliefs of the
Acehnese people
The Acehnese (also written as Atjehnese and Achinese) are an ethnic group from Aceh, Indonesia on the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra. The area has a history of political struggle against the Dutch. The vast majority of the Acehnese p ...
.
From above, the roof resembles a tsunami. The ground floor is modelled on the kind of traditional raised Acehnese houses that were best equipped to survive the tsunami.
The building acknowledges both the victims, whose names are to be inscribed on the wall of one of the museum's internal chambers, and the surviving members of the local community.
In addition to its role as a memorial for those who died, the museum also offers a place of refuge from future such events, including an "escape hill" for visitors to run to in the event of another tsunami.
Collection
Exhibitions at the museum include an electronic simulation of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, in addition to photographs of victims and exhibits featuring stories from survivors of the disaster.
Maintenance and use
Adequate funding for the ongoing maintenance and use of the Aceh Tsunami Museum has not been forthcoming.
[ ] The museum is one of a large number of so-called "tsunami assets", the precise legal ownership of which has been in dispute between different levels of Indonesian governments since at least 2009. As of late 2010, the Museum was only open intermittently and was poorly patronised.
References
{{reflist
, refs =
[
{{cite web
, last = Williamson
, first = Lucy
, title = Tsunami museum opens in Indonesia
, date = February 23, 2009
, publisher = BBC News
, url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7905770.stm
, accessdate = 2011-02-12
]
[
{{cite web
, title = Aceh Tsunami Museum offers tribute to victims and survivors
, date = 2009-03-06
, work = WorldArchitectureNews.com
, publisher = World Architecture News
, url = http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11248
, accessdate = 2011-02-12
]
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Museums in Aceh
Museums established in 2009
Buildings and structures in Banda Aceh
History museums in Indonesia
Natural disaster museums