Asian cities often experience complex urban problems, mainly due to weak regulations to respond to the changes. There is a need to answer these problems. Using Banda Aceh as the case, this study examines the transformation of the city form through reading the urban elements and layers from historical chronological order focuses on the inner city and its surrounded areas. The aim is to identify the physical and non-physical primary elements and the ordinary layers of the city, as well as analyze the symbolical, sociological, historical, morphological layers and their transformation from time to time. Historical and typo-morphological methodology were used by comparing maps and building styles supported with photographs collected through a series of field observation and from literature. The analysis was divided into pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial, and post-tsunami disaster periods. Findings from this study shows that there are three main factors that contribute to the transformation of Banda Aceh: the past international trading activities, colonialism, and the tsunami. This study provides a reference for urban designers and planners to understand the complexity of the urban form of the Asian cities which can also be utilized by policy-makers to control regulations for urban development, particularly in Asia.