Tsunami teaches architects a hard lesson on code compliance<\/p>\n
Prapti Widinugraheni, Contributor\/Istanbul<\/p>\n
There was a deep sense of frustration among the Asian
\narchitects discussing the plight and slow progress of
\nreconstruction efforts in areas affected by the Dec. 2004
\ntsunami.<\/p>\n
Architects from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and
\nIndonesia -- all the Asian countries affected by the tsunami --
\nhad abundant data and numerous photos of the disaster which
\nkilled about 200,000 people in the region. But when it came to
\npresenting concrete and tangible outcomes from the monetary
\ndonations that had poured into the region the last few months,
\nthere is, so far, little to show.<\/p>\n
The architects met as part of the 22nd World Congress of
\nArchitecture, held earlier this month as the peak triennial event
\nof the International Union of Architects (UIA). The panel
\ndiscussion on post-tsunami reconstruction in Asia was attended by
\nIndonesian Architects Institute (IAI) President Budi Sukada,
\nPresident of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Oktay Ekinci,
\nVice President of the UIA, Gaetan Siew and three dozen leaders
\nand members of many other Asian architectural organizations.<\/p>\n
There was an awareness that bureaucracy and financial
\nmismanagement had sidetracked reconstruction efforts. But soul-
\nsearching led the architects to ask how much they unwittingly
\ncontributed to the destruction of homes and buildings by not
\nprotesting lax building codes and designing unsuitable
\nstructures.<\/p>\n
Oktay Ekinci said an architect's role was not after a
\ndisaster, but before it struck.<\/p>\n
\"Don't be sorry after an earthquake hits, but be hard-hearted
\nnow to enforce regulations and good design and building
\npractices. If there is unwillingness on the part of the
\ngovernment, or states, to plan coastal areas well, we must ask:
\nWhy? What interest groups are involved?\" he said.<\/p>\n
Balbir Verma from the Indian Institute of Architects, said the
\nleast that planners and designers could learn from the tsunami
\nwas that they should be strict in abiding by coastal-area zoning
\nregulations and refrain from requesting for any relaxations.<\/p>\n
\"In the absence of such regulations, we must insist on
\nimplementing them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Budi, however, was wary of putting too much emphasis on
\nregulations, particularly in Indonesia's case.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jakarta Post, he said so much in the
\ncountry was \"business\" and \"no morality\".<\/p>\n
He said it was important for certain ideals to get through to
\nthe government -- such as the architectural community's
\ncommitment to environmental sustainability, responsible planning
\nand respect for local culture -- and he had come to accept that
\nless-than-idealistic means, which often included business-style
\nnegotiations and transactions, justified an honorable end.<\/p>\n
\"We have to join the 'game'. Our aim, for example, may be to
\npreserve (local architectural) culture, but in order to do that,
\nwe have to 'do business' - or we get nothing. We have young
\narchitects who are very optimistic, hard-working and excellent in
\nterms of technical ability and creativity, but they don't have
\nmuch experience in this kind of discourse. What I have to do is
\nshare some of this 'experience' with them, because they will have
\nto deal with it one day; they must accept it. It's sad, but I
\nmust convince them that what I do has nothing to do with a change
\nof attitude, it is just a strategy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The architects gathered that afternoon voiced concern about
\nthe need to respect and preserve local cultural identity in the
\nreconstruction of buildings, and more importantly, of homes.<\/p>\n
\"Sustainability and preservation of cultural identity needs to
\nbe thought about in our interventions. Our guiding principals
\nshould be the question of why we are there, solidarity and
\ntransparency,\" said UIA's Gaetan Siew.<\/p>\n
Budi said there were many examples in Aceh in which houses of
\nvarious shapes and sizes - experimental projects or otherwise --
\nwere speedily built, without consulting the local people, only to
\nbe scorned, then abandoned, because they either \"resembled
\nchicken sheds\", used material that was foreign to the locals, or
\nsimply because the Acehnese felt they could do a better job.<\/p>\n
Budi said the IAI was taking both a top-down and bottom-up
\napproach to reconstruction in Aceh. The organization is at the
\ninitial stage of working with the central government to draw up
\nbuilding codes and to remake the master plan for the whole of
\nAceh; it has also been approached by foreign donors wanting to
\nhelp rebuild homes. On the field, IAI's members are holding
\nmeetings and consultations with community groups on home building
\nand design that can both satisfy local tastes and meet sound
\nbuilding requirements.<\/p>\n
By the end of this year, Budi hopes to have a two-story, 40-
\nsquare-meter \"help clinic\" in Banda Aceh which to provide
\ntechnical assistance and support to locals who want to build
\ntheir own houses. The upper floor of the building will serve as
\ntemporary living quarters for architects, both local and
\ninternational, who would like to come for short periods of time,
\nand the ground floor will contain help desks for meetings with
\nlocal people.<\/p>\n
\"We are very careful with top-down programs ... Our job is not
\nonly to control aid, so housing projects are not done
\noutrageously, but to ensure that local people don't have to
\nchange culturally. The bottom-up approach is much better, but
\noften takes longer. Either way, to some extent we must teach them
\nabout space, place and orientation, why bedrooms should
\npreferably face east, and why it's better not to have houses too
\nclose to each other. In the end, they do understand and
\ncooperate,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Budi said IAI followed strict requirements on assisting donors
\nwith home building projects. The organization, he said, insisted
\non controlling the number of houses; the building's location,
\nwhich should be acceptable to the Acehnese; and the house design,
\nwhich must suit local customs.<\/p>\n
\"The bottom-up process is slow, but it's better than rushing
\nout and building a product that can't be used by people,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Architecture was emphasized in the UIA Congress as being not
\nonly an art of building but a profession bridging technology and
\nsocio-economic needs through designs that used resources
\nappropriately.<\/p>\n
The congress, attended by 6,000 architects from around the
\nworld, called for the well-being and protection of the planet and
\nof the guiding principals of participation, partnership, economic
\nand social equity, conservation of resources and the use of
\ntechnology for the benefit of the environment and humanity.<\/p>\n
Budi Sukada said that in Indonesia, IAI has drawn up
\ncomprehensive guidelines on the protection of the archipelago's
\nheritage, land and people. The organization has made several
\nattempts at introducing the guidelines to various presidents --
\nstarting from the time of BJ Habibie -- but has received no
\nresponse from officials.<\/p>\n
\"I detect a tendency to deliberately neglect the value of the
\nenvironment, as governments seem to want to build as much as
\npossible. If we manage, one day, to get a courtesy call with
\n(President) SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono), we will mention again
\nthat our land and our culture are slowly being eroded
\nintentionally by ourselves ... We must conserve our heritage --
\nnot just the buildings, but the landscape and culture; we must
\nnot build on sites with heritage value, or on fertile land; we
\nshould build only on land that (otherwise would) give us
\nnothing,\" he said.<\/p>",
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