Another protected building destroyed

Another protected building destroyed

JAKARTA (JP): The number of destroyed or damaged historical
buildings in the capital is increasing.

Another protected building, located on Jl. Teuku Cik Ditiro,
Central Jakarta, which once won a city administration award for
its well-preserved architecture, was demolished over the course
of last week.

All that is left of the area, which used to be a residential
one, are debris and bricks. The site has been encircled by a high
white fence.

An expert on the city's historical buildings, Arya Abieta,
said on Saturday this was another example of the city
administration's failure to preserve old and protected buildings.

"People have seen yet again the city administration's
seriousness in protecting old and protected buildings.

"Such an occurrence should not happen if the city
administration was performing its monitoring and controlling role
seriously," Arya told The Jakarta Post.

"It is made more saddening because the building on Jl. Teuku
Cik Ditiro won a city administration award for its well-preserved
architecture in 1995," he said.

Arya, who is also head of the Architectural Research and
Preservation department of the Association of Indonesian
Architects (IAI), said he had observed the demolition of the
building -- estimated to have been built in the 1920s -- last
week. "But I could not do anything because there was no
information on the building's owners."

When the building won the award it was owned by business
tycoon Mohammad (Bob) Hasan, he said. There is no information on
the current owner of the protected building.

Arya said the building was valuable because it followed the
model of Indische Huis, an architectural trend of the early
twentieth century, characterized by large verandas and
symmetrical composition in room division. Houses of this type are
mostly found in the elite Menteng area of Central Jakarta.

The house was included in the Menteng preservation area
declared under a Gubernatorial Decree in 1975. Arya predicted
that there were some 100 old buildings in Menteng alone.

The number of old and protected buildings in the city
continues to decrease, either because they are demolished or
rebuilt in different styles.

There is no exact data on missing or destroyed buildings, but
people can clearly seem them in many places in the city.

Contacted separately on Saturday, head of the City Museum and
Restoration Agency Robert Silalahi, said he had yet to receive
information on the flattened building.

"We are, of course, upset by the event but we can do nothing,
as the supervisory role is managed by the city's Development
Control Agency.

"The control agency should not have issued a permit allowing
the building to be flattened if it is categorized as an
historical one," he said.

The Museum and Restoration Agency is only responsible for
making recommendations to the Development Control Agency, while
the latter issue licenses to reconstruct or destroy historical
buildings, Robert said. (ind)