Jaya Ibrahim: Designer translates tradition for our time<\/p>\n
K. Basrie, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"I am not an architect by schooling,\" admitted Jaya Ibrahim.<\/p>\n
He studied sociology and economics at York University in
\nEngland, but it is his fashionable and exotic interior design
\ncreations that have made him the talk of international
\narchitectural circles.<\/p>\n
In January this year, he was named among the world's 100 top
\ninterior designers and architects by Architectural Digest maga
\nzine.<\/p>\n
In The Tropical Asian House, published in Singapore last year,
\nauthor Robert Powell explores the diverse contemporary touch of
\nthe tropical continent. Among those selected to be featured were
\nJaya.<\/p>\n
Here in his homeland, his projects include The Dharmawangsa,
\nthe luxury boutique hotel in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta, the
\nLegian, a small exclusive all-suite resort in Bali, the Four
\nSeasons at Jimbaran, also in Bali, the colonial-style Museum Cafe
\nin Jakarta's venerable Kota area, Wayang Gallery in Jakarta and
\nseveral private upscale homes.<\/p>\n
He has also been involved in the restoration of places like
\nthe State Palace and the Jakarta City Hall.<\/p>\n
Abroad, his recent projects cover the interiors of the Fuchun
\nResort in China, the lounge of T8 restaurant in Shanghai, the
\nTrans Asia hotel in Sri Lanka, Sukotai hotel in Bangkok and a
\ngrand boutique shop in Taipei.<\/p>\n
\"On average, I only have 10 days every month in Jakarta. The
\nrest I have to examine my ongoing projects outside,\" he said at
\nhis cozy office of Jaya Ibrahim Associate (jayaoffice@cbn.net.id)
\non Jl. Erlangga in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Born in Yogyakarta of traditional Javanese parents, Jaya left
\nIndonesia after high school and spent the next two decades in
\nLondon.<\/p>\n
He continued on from his economics background to work as an
\naccountant but only lasted less than a year in the job, realizing
\nit was not his calling.<\/p>\n
Jaya then made a living as a dishwasher at the famed Blakes
\nboutique hotel in South Kensington, London, before he met the
\nhotel's owner, Lady Weinberg, aka Anouska Hempel, who had become
\na London hotelier and internationally renowned fashion and
\ninterior designer.<\/p>\n
\"I then became her assistant and found that interior design
\nwas my real world, which I was desperately looking for,\" Jaya
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The news of his father's death forced him to fly back home in
\n1992. But his family, particularly his beloved mother, the
\nrecession that battered many European countries and the property
\nboom in Indonesia that offered greater opportunities managed to
\nshift his heart and mind. He decided not to return to London.<\/p>\n
\"So many reasons and so many happenings made me finally pick
\nIndonesia as my homebase. After all, I am a citizen of this
\nrepublic.\"<\/p>\n
Since then, he established his own firm and works for
\ncorporate and individual orders from his Jakarta office. He also
\nhas a secretary in Hong Kong to help manage orders.<\/p>\n
\"Based on my experience in handling interior designs for
\nhotels, I'm happy to get hotels because we'll only deal with the
\nconcept,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"For private homes, sometimes the clients have no idea what
\nthey really want, while I am very conscious to meet the needs of
\nmy clients.\"<\/p>\n
In his eyes, a home or property designed with an all-out
\nimmersion in a certain ethnic, cultural or period theme in a
\ncompletely different environment is no longer unique. Instead, it
\nbecomes an eyesore to passers-by and guests.<\/p>\n
\"During the property boom era, for example, people were racing
\nto totally copy designs from outside, like European,
\nMediterranean and Californian styles, for their buildings here.<\/p>\n
\"And you saw what happened? For me, it's like something
\nalien.\"<\/p>\n
It's not wrong, he said, to take your pick of a range of
\ndesigns, \"but a home with 100-percent Balinese design in Jakarta
\nstill doesn't fit with its new surroundings, right?\"<\/p>\n
He advises people who wish to select an outside design for
\ntheir environment to make sure that it also embraces certain
\nparts of its new surroundings in the design.<\/p>\n
\"We all are often being influenced but let's use it to inspire
\nour creative works. Catch the spirit only,\" Jaya said.<\/p>\n
It's based on this simple philosophy that Jaya carries out
\ncommissions. His projects for the five-star Fuchun Resort and T8
\nrestaurant, for example, prodded him to first master an
\nunderstanding of the history of China to rediscover its culture,
\ntraditions and touches from new and different perspectives.<\/p>\n
\"I'm glad that visitors at T8, for instance, were stunned with
\nmy work, saying that the overall setting really looks like an the
\nlegendary authentic China Clubs.\"<\/p>\n
Jaya's European experience and Javanese roots play a
\nsignificant role in his works, and it's apparent at his Erlangga
\noffice. Grandly furnished with antique Javanese accessories and
\nornaments, the office also has European nuances, such as framed
\nworks on paper of European designers of the 1800s.<\/p>\n
His long-time adventure with design powerhouse Hempel also
\nindirectly inspired some of his works here, such as certain parts
\nof The Dharmawangsa and his outstanding house in Bogor, which has
\nbeen described by many as one of Jaya's most prestigious works.<\/p>\n
The interior decor of the 30-room Blakes hotel, which has
\nbecome the model for fashionable small hotels around the globe
\nand a magnet for international business, is dark and opulent with
\nblack walls, lots of distressed leather, bamboo, luxurious
\ncushions and some Asian artifacts.<\/p>\n
It offers the high-class of style, elegance and sensational
\nservice to film stars, top designers and well-traveled
\nconnoisseur.<\/p>\n
Have a brief look at his complete projects here and you can
\nfeel the spirit and even a dialog between his European journey,
\nhis Javanese blood and, of course, the elegant taste of the
\nowners.<\/p>\n
Along with his British partner, John Saunders, whom he met in
\nLondon in the early 1980s, Jaya translates all of them into a
\ngrand manuscript.<\/p>\n
The first joint project of Jaya and Saunders was the
\nrenovation of a dilapidated Victorian flat in London. Since then,
\nthey have continued working together on various private
\ncommissions, including the renovation of a 12th century monastery
\nnear Lucca in Italy.<\/p>\n
Jaya stands in the ranks of designers who don't believe in the
\nexclusivity of a design. Anyone, for instance, can learn from one
\ndesign and craft a new one based on his own taste.<\/p>\n
\"Look at the craftsmen in the 17th and 18th centuries, they
\nsaw the European furnitures and adopt the styles but based on
\ntheir own cultures. It's not imitating,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"All of traditional art and crafts available can be
\ninterpreted by redesigning them into a modern contemporary
\nlanguage and based on the local touch where they will be placed.\"<\/p>\n
In fashioning hotels, he strives so that the look and mood of
\none hotel are different and unique from others.<\/p>\n
\"A guest entering the lobby of a hotel in Jakarta should have
\nthe feeling that he or she is in a hotel in Jakarta, not similar
\nto one in Hong Kong or Manila,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But today, the look of the lobby of many hotels is similar,
\nleaving guests with same feeling wherever they are checking in.\"<\/p>",
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