'Always Traveling' exhibit by Dutch architects

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): While composers and choreographers discussed the issue of multiculturalism at Art Summit 1995 between Sept. 27 and 28, an exhibition held at the Erasmus Huis in Jakarta quietly addressed the diversity of architecture in the Netherlands.

The problem of immigrants in Holland seems to have reached a significant level in the last decade, Marga Kuperus and Harkolien Meinsma pointed out in the introduction of the exhibition catalog.

By 1990, the percentage of unemployed among immigrants was higher than among natives, resulting in a negative perception of immigrants, especially those coming from former Dutch colonies.

Concerned with the worsening image of immigrants, Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture Hedi d'Ancona instigated a policy to provide more opportunities to artists of foreign origins. In response, Curaao-born architect Mike Janga got together a group of colleagues with sound reputations as architects and artists in the Dutch community. Five of the 11 are of Indonesian descent. They approached the ARA Foundation to formalize their ideas.

Since 1992, art historian and journalist Marga Kuperus and publisher Harkolien Meinsma have combined their activities in the ARA Foundation, which aims to stimulate interior design and architecture. They came up with the idea of exhibiting the endeavors of architects and artists originating from former Dutch colonies and now working in Holland. The 10 architects and one artist hoped that such an exhibit would help their different hopes to converge as well as help developers overcome their hesitation in commissioning immigrant architects and artists.

Entitled Altijd Op Reis (Always Traveling), the exhibit shows that the architects and artist feel their lives are still not rooted in Holland, although they have lived and worked in the country. Some have thought about returning to their countries of origin. Those who have done so fail to feel at home.

Roots

The feeling of being without roots is not entirely negative, however. Many of the architects feel privileged by their ability to stay in the middle of two cultures, considering it a wonderful opportunity to obtain knowledge from two cultural resources.

"My Indonesian background can be seen in my sense and use of colors and materials. As inspiration, I still often use the greens and the colors of the flowers of my mother's garden," claims Jakarta-born Djuanita Soedjono.

It is clear that she is fully conscious of both her Indonesian and Dutch backgrounds. Perhaps the most interesting aspect in this exhibition is that the architects place great emphasis on elements that go beyond buildings. Most focus on enhancing the quality of the spatial experience in their architecture. While Djuanita Soedjono places great importance in colors and materials, Bert Tjhie, another architect born in Jakarta, sees architecture as a meeting point of not only human beings, but also form, color and material. It is important to find the balance between contrasts such as serenity and movement, light and darkness, small and large.

"The built environment should act as a stabilizer in a chaotic community," asserts Yogyakarta-born Ernest Kasanmoentalib.

"Therefore," he adds, "not all buildings need to be lavish and obtrusive. There has to be a rhythm in the impressions that are experienced by human beings."

He continues to strive toward achieving a balance and interrelatedness in his works.

Just as Mike Janga often uses poetry in his explanation of plans, Indonesian-born Gerrit Kuen believes the significance of poetry for architects lie in spaces. Spaces are abstract entities. A space only becomes concrete because of light, or by traversing the space.

Similarly, Freddy van Trikt is interested in the composition and interrelation of spaces. His designs are characterized by a series of gradual transitions between various spaces.

"I am conscious that when creating the design I am moved by these things: how you organize spaces, how you experience them, and how you walk across them. What kind of emotions do you feel at that time. Architects need to possess a sensitivity toward a thinking based on space," says van Trikt.

Suitably, the exhibition is nicely packaged in an installation which seems fit for constant travel, as its title suggests. The architects' works are transported ready-to-exhibit in a pair of pine shipping containers, hinged together and latched. The display is simple: Just open the latch, and the pair of cases unfold to reveal the exhibition panels containing the various element of the architects' presentations. Each of the architects used a variety of different visualization methods, such as plans, elevations, axonometric drawings, perspectives and photographs, to create a stimulating display.

Informative

The variety of renderings and materials used add to the strength of the exhibit. Unfortunately, only one small paper model was included in the show, although the depth of the pine cases warranted the incorporation of more three dimensional objects.

Although the exhibition is filled with informative labels, it is also a pity that there seems to have been no anticipation that the show would be viewed by non-Dutch speaking people. Supplementary labels are only made available in Indonesian, and even these are placed quite far from the display. The clip-on working lights, although somewhat large, are in tune with the feeling of transience and the travel theme.

According to Marga Kuperus and Harkolien Meinsma, the project has enabled many of the architects to contemplate their architectural views and their mode of work in respect to their ethnic backgrounds. Interrelated elements and ideas surfaced unexpectedly, giving this multicultural exhibition potential beyond an exposition acknowledging the existence of architects from places other than the Netherlands.

As the Netherlands faces the social impact of increased immigration, multiculturalism may offer solutions to the problems likely to arise with these changes. Ed Morroy's approach to architecture illustrates the potential of multiculturalism.

"I do not question that my cultural background influences my design style. In Holland, I naturally would construct differently than I would in Suriname. The comparison between architecture from the East and architecture from the West is not first and foremost about architecture, but rather about our backgrounds and our way of thinking; which is different compared to the way of thinking of people who have always lived in Holland," he explains.

The 10 architects and one artist may therefore change the way of life in the Netherlands.

The exhibition ends Oct. 12.