The Aceh Tsunami Museum, located in Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, 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 Ridwan Kamil. The museum is a 2,500 m² 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

Saman

Saman may refer to:* Saman , a fictional character in the video game Deus Ex: Invisible War* Saman, Iran, a city in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province of Iran* Saman District, an administrative subdivision of Peru...

 dance, a symbolic gesture dedicated to the strength, discipline and religious beliefs of the Acehnese people

Acehnese people

The Acehnese are a people in Aceh, Indonesia. Their homeland is located in the northern-most tip of the island of Sumatra and had a history of political struggle against the Dutch...

. From above, the roof resembles a tidal wave. The ground floor is modelled on the kind of traditional raised Acehnese houses that were best equipped to survive the tsunami.

The building acknowledgess 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 on-going 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.