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Atap Limas
THEORY & MATHEMATICSbeginner
Definition
A hip roof — a pitched roof with four sloping planes meeting at a ridge, with no exposed gable ends. Atap limas is widely used in both traditional and contemporary Indonesian architecture because its four-sided slope sheds rain in all directions, provides overhangs on all facades, and is more wind-resistant than the open-gabled atap pelana. The limasan roof form is also the basis for several traditional Javanese house types of intermediate social rank.
Example
The Javanese limasan house type — one rank below the joglo — uses the atap limas as its primary roof form, its four slopes giving equal shade to all four walls and signalling a status level between the common atap pelana house and the aristocratic joglo.