Architect sensitively reuses materials

Architect sensitively reuses materials

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Forty-six-year-old Eko Agus Prawoto is just like anyone interested in old buildings: He always feels guilty when going along Jl. Dr Sutomo, Yogyakarta because two old buildings on this street, featuring British architectural style, have given way to two large, modern houses with several storeys.

"Every time I go along Jl. Dr Sutomo I always feel guilty. Why can't we preserve the two old buildings? They must be invaluable in terms of their history and architectural style," Eko, who is also the dean of the School of Engineering of Duta Wacana Christian University, Yogyakarta, told The Jakarta Post from his comfortable house, surrounded by rice fields.

Indeed, the Heritage community in Yogyakarta was helpless to resist the conversion of the two old houses, the only buildings in Yogyakarta that featured the British architectural style, into two modern premises by big capitalists that paid no heed to the city's spatial layout design.

"We should be ashamed because in Yogyakarta, which is famous as a cultural city, large capitalists can arrogantly build their houses. It is time for us to be united so that we can deal with such a problem," he said.

An architect with a Master of Architecture's degree from The Berlage Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Eko is one of the heritage observers in Yogyakarta that came to the Yogyakarta regional administration to fight for the preservation of "the British houses", but to no avail.

He said that their failure in preserving these two buildings was attributed to the fact that only a few people understood the need to maintain the identity of a city. Eko, who learned a lot from the late Father Mangunwijaya, is always concerned with local identity and the use of local materials in architectural activities.

From Mangunwijaya, who built his Code house and Sendang Sono Catholic pilgrimage site, he learned a lot about how to apply architecture in the Indonesian context. "We must not be dazzled by what advanced countries have achieved. We must be more honest in viewing the reality. With our limitations, we can prove ourselves to be more creative than other people."

Local nuances are reflected in Eko Prawoto's architectural designs: the houses of Butet Kartaredjasa and Djaduk Ferianto, the house of Mella Jaarsma, Langgeng Magelang Gallery, Cemeti Art House, Kua Etnika music studio and several churches.

"At present I'm involved in the construction of Toga Mas book shop on the northern ring road, Yogyakarta. Nearly all the beams in the building are made of glugu (timber from coconut trees) so that the local nuance becomes very prominent," said Eko, an architect who does not have a standard scale of fees.

Aside from the priority over the local content in his architectural concept, Eko, a graduate of the architectural department of the School of Engineering, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, also frequently makes use of used materials for his designs.

These used materials, for example, can be seen in his designs of the buildings referred to earlier. Even his house, which is located in Bener village, Sleman, Yogyakarta, is made largely from used materials. The drawing studio in the back part of the house, for example, is almost entirely made of used materials.

These are arranged in such a way that they make up a pretty stilt house. "I've bought these used materials from used goods vendors. Take this window. I bought this one for Rp 15,000 and the other one, in green, for Rp 35,000. I would have spent much more if I'd had them made," said Eko, who now has two children.

Aside from maintaining the local values and using local materials, Eko, born in Purworejo, Central Java, is also concerned with his surroundings. "A new building that takes no heed of its surroundings will damage the environment. We must always respect the environment: the people, the building style, the trees and the natural surroundings." He said that one area must be construed as having several layers of time. "We build on one layer now but there is no guarantee that this will be the last layer.

"There must be other layers in future. Life moves on and we may not understand all that has existed. If you cut a tree, you may make a mistake. The tree may be dozens or even hundreds of years old and may have a role related to birds, insects and so forth," he said.

If you simply cut a tree or dispose of it, he added, then there was bound to be a disadvantage incurred somewhere. That's why you should, as much as possible, avoid doing it that way; we respect nature, he noted.

"I have kept this principle in some of my architectural designs. If there is a well already on the site, we will, as far as possible, keep it," he said. "In the house of Djaduk Ferianto in Bantul, for example, most of the trees growing there have been maintained and they are now the strong point of the house.

"As a result, the house has become environmently friendly. You can see jackfruit and tamarind trees that may be about fifty years old. If you grow the trees now, you must wait for fifty years. Leaving the trees intact means buying time and this is invaluable," he said, adding that a village-oriented architect would always take account of these values.

Eko also took account of the values that would mean little to other people when he built his house in Bener village, Sleman. He designed the house in such a way that it would not be a disturbance to the local farmers.

His house, although fenced, is always open so that local farmers who wish to take shelter there can easily get into the yard, which has been specially designed so that the farmers can easily park their vehicles there during harvest time. "Architects and developers must take into account these small things to avoid tension with the locals in the surroundings," he noted.

Ideally, of course, other architects also adopt the architectural concept that Eko, whose design for a gate made of dried rice stalks was admired in Italy, adheres to in his designs. If this is the case, historical and old buildings, like those that used to stand on Jl. Dr Sutomo, Yogyakarta, will remain intact and a new environment will be created to ensure harmonious living in the community.