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.