Opening impression: Gates a stylish entry point

Nirwono Joga, Contributor, Jakarta

The gate still plays an important role in a modern house, accentuating the house's style and beauty. But the first impression of a gate is usually little changed from that of yesteryear -- robust, symmetrical and formal.

Basically, a house gate and gateway have a unique and easily recognized shape -- two large columns, either separated from each other or combined to form an upside down U-shape, a number of cascading steps, and with or without door bars.

With its prominent location, the gate assumes a strong and central position as part of the fence in the front yard of a house.

In traditional buildings, like those found in Java and Bali, one would have to enter through a gate before stepping into a house yard. In simple terms, a gate is meant as a transition space before entering the holy domain of the house, as the dwelling place of a sacred personality.

The inner sanctum of a house is considered sacred since not everyone can enter it. It is also the reason why a gate is usually built using space that only allows one person to pass through at a time, which is also an indication that queuing has long been practiced here.

The cascading steps that one has to tread on to get to the gate symbolize achievement in life. For instance, house ownership is a social status that can be achieved only through tiring stages that require great patience. Philosophically, it tells that nothing can be obtained instantly in life in the pursuit of happiness.

In medium and large houses in big cities today, the basic shape of a gate is maintained but the material to create it has been adjusted to the house owner's taste, building's style and availability of building materials.

Typical features of a gate as a focal point of a house -- to allow everyone to find out where the main entrance of the house is located -- also remain. For security reasons, the doorway is provided with door bars made out of plain or carved durable wood that can withstand all types of weather.

For some people, in order to present a strong traditional impression, a gate may also be made of a coarse-textured slabs of stone usually found in an old temple, a reminder of the gate in Javanese Hindu temples.

Gates in some housing complexes in Bali are frequently made of ancient bricks from the Majapahit kingdom era. But limited availability of this particular stone has inspired the use of other materials which give a similar impression.

For some people, a gate is complete only with the presence of two Dwarapala statues holding their cudgels as guards of the house. The presence of the statues reinforces the impression of fearsomeness, a warning that trespassers should stay out. Others, however, prefer to place two statues of goddesses to give the impression of sweetness, beauty and exoticism.

In many gateways, the steps tend to narrow as they lead to the main door and then they broaden again. The material, however, must be adjusted to those used for the gate: slabs of stones used in a temple, river stones or other motifs.

While in the past torches were placed at a gate, today artistic lamps are used symmetrically on the wall of the gate or slightly inside the wall, creating a solemn and tranquil atmosphere when one enters the gate at night.

When a house is provided with a gate, it means it has quite a spacious yard. The presence of a gate in a medium or large sized house will create a cluttered, smothering impression if there is only a short distance between the front terrace and the pathway leading to it. But in a smaller house, the presence of a gate will become an identifying landmark if the front yard is spacious enough.

As a gate serves as a partition and links the outer and the inner part of a house, if it is specially designed, it adds an artistic nuance and lends beauty to the house, especially if it is in harmony with the entire building in terms of structure, building materials and colors. For the gate, and the initial impression it makes, should never be taken for granted.

-- The writer is a landscape architect.