City of Philosophy: Evaluation of Tree Philosophy and Its Architecture in Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis Towards UNESCO World Heritage

Abstract

Yogyakarta has a special urban design considering the philosophical axis extending from the south to the north (from Panggung Krapyak to Tugu Pal Putih). The axis has a philosophical meaning about the journey of human life, which is reflected in the architecture of the buildings, floor plan, and tree species that contain historical-cultural heritage. In Serat Salokapatra, it was mentioned that tree species along the imaginary axis symbolized a human journey. A combination of tree philosophy and urban design are Yogyakarta’s special symbol and meaningful design. This research aimed to evaluate the suitability of tree species and pattern according to the existing conditions with the pakem keraton (palace guidance) and reviewed people’s knowledge of the philosophical axis. The method used was an inventory and identification of tree species and architecture and interviews. Based on the inventory, there was a discrepancy between the actual tree patterns and the pakem Keraton. The philosophical axis had eight plant species based on the palace guidance and 359 plants within 24 species. The tree architecture models were Corner, Aubreville, Koriba, Rauh, Roux, Troll, Leeuwenberg, and Scarrone. Out of 51 total respondents, 29% who were elderly people over 65 y.o. understood the philosophical axis and 6% knew about the submission of Yogyakarta in UNESCO World Heritage. The results of this research may be taken as a consideration for the government and society for the restoration of the tree species in the philosophical axis to support the realization of Yogyakarta as City of Philosophy at the UNESCO World Heritage.