Indonesia still dreams of a new architectural paradigm<\/p>\n
By Bambang Eryudhawan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian cities are still being built
\naccording to the old paradigm of horizontal city development.
\nThis decentralized pattern causes urban sprawl and, sooner or
\nlater, the borders of cities will overlap.<\/p>\n
The relationship between a town and a village, according to
\ntheir respective roles in an ecosystem, tends to be
\ndisadvantageous to the villages. When the community slowly loses
\nits power, forests, hills and farm land also disappear.<\/p>\n
Thousands of individual residential units with spacious yards
\nand mega shopping centers will take over, ignoring the negative
\nimpact on the environment. Greed makes our cities a dangerous
\nenvironmental parasite.<\/p>\n
Suburbia is supported by the automobile culture which in turn
\nis the cause of air pollution, conspicuous energy consumption and
\ntraffic congestion. The ease of getting credit for housing
\nthrough the KPR BTN and Papan Sejahtera schemes also accounts for
\nthe destruction of the environment. The ease of obtaining
\nbuilding permits and the feeble control on development by
\nregional governments allows unscrupulous developers to strip the
\nland.<\/p>\n
This anti-urban paradigm gradually annihilates the character
\nof a city. It focuses on decentralization, the automobile culture
\nof those who believe that mobility is far more important than
\naccessibility, reaching housing supply targets for the sake of
\nstatistics, economic motives without social and environmental
\nconcerns, and the act of building -- which is always seen as
\ndevelopment. Architects don't have much choice in this paradigm.
\nThey must compromise and create a built environment for the sake
\nof an ideal goal, or be artists preoccupied with esthetics, not
\nbothering with social and environmental issues.<\/p>\n
Indonesian urban morphology is shaped by the actors of
\ndevelopment fighting for their own interests.<\/p>\n
This involution is performed by all parties according to their
\nrole. Even if a consciousness that it is time to resolve the
\nurban crisis existed, the result would be uncertain because of
\nthe prevailing paradigm. Traffic congestion will continue because
\nworkplaces will continue to get further away from residences,
\nfertile soil will disappear, water reserves will be depleted and
\ncities will become corrosive. If short-term interests continue to
\ndominate, Indonesian cities will not be strong or powerful.<\/p>\n
Architectural development will only struggle with the problems
\nof superficial esthetics because architects will find their
\nauthority limited to facades by specialized fields that slowly
\ndevour the authority of the architect in the planning of built
\nenvironment developments. It is no wonder that architects are
\noften mocked as cosmetics specialists.<\/p>\n
To recapture their privilege, architects must challenge the
\ncurrent paradigm. Only then will they be able to secure their
\nposition in society as respectable professionals. A step must be
\nmade toward nurturing architectural works that account for the
\necosystem.<\/p>\n
New paradigm<\/p>\n
A new architectural paradigm can be based on the premise of
\nsmaller, more efficient cities. Greater building density as a
\npolicy of development planning, as is being accomplished by the
\ncity of Jakarta, should be the built environment development
\nplan.<\/p>\n
The creation of perimeter blocks with inner courtyards are
\nclearly more appropriate in promoting positive urban life. Land
\nwill be optimally utilized and buildings will once again become
\nintimate parts of public space.<\/p>\n
It is time for pedestrians, bicyclists and public
\ntransportation to have greater priority than cars. The city
\nshould not be designed by traffic engineers who sacrifice urban
\nspaces to the myth of mobilization. It fails to guarantee
\nanything except the entrance of thousands of new cars.<\/p>\n
Roads can be seen as positive spaces where people meet each
\nother. This interaction requires the effort of serious traffic
\nmanagement with the opportunity to explore new territory away
\nfrom the shadow of the old paradigm.<\/p>\n
Urban development oriented toward public transportation
\nterminals, which act as development nodes, will open up new
\nideas. Urban functions will be regulated by the distance
\npedestrians or bicyclists can comfortably travel. Transportation
\nmodes will change and urban life will be easily controllable,
\nmore humanitarian and not land-greedy.<\/p>\n
With an efficient and compact urban concept, the amount of
\nmixed-use buildings will increase. Workplaces will be near
\nresidences which saves time and money, and increases human
\ninteraction around the clock.<\/p>\n
Guaranteeing water absorption and clean air will be easier. In
\nhigh-density cities there will be a greenbelt of urban parks
\navailable to everyone. Water absorption areas will be safe
\nbecause they will be the property of the community.<\/p>\n
Low-rise high-density buildings with humans as the main
\ncomponent of a positive urban life, and the commitment to combine
\nthe various urban functions into a compact and efficient
\nreceptacle, will certainly create an environment conducive for
\nthe progression of architecture in Indonesia. Style will no
\nlonger be the driving force, but will become part of a social and
\nenvironmentally responsive architecture. When this is achieved,
\nIndonesian architects will at least recover part of their lost
\nauthority. Maybe from there, Indonesian Architecture will be in
\nsight.<\/p>\n
Bambang Eryudhawan is a Fulbright scholar who received his
\nmaster's of architecture from the University of St. Louis, St.
\nLouis, Missouri.<\/p>",
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