Architects call for effort to 'save the city's soul'
Architects call for effort to 'save the city's soul'
JAKARTA (JP): Young architects participating in the 7th Asian
Congress of Architects called on their colleagues yesterday to
help "save the city's soul" by recognizing the diverse needs of
its residents.
Achmad Rida Soemardi said that the soul of Jakarta "is being
threatened by large-scale renewal and the privatization of public
space."
Achmad, representing the group of Indonesian Young Architects
(AMI), most of whom completed their studies in the late 1980s and
1990s, said an answer must be found to the question of "whose
soul" the city represents.
Developers, decision-makers, the rich, the poor and the rising
middle class, he said, "all contribute to the soul of the city."
The young architects of AMI, he said, face the challenge of
helping link residents to the sense of place that once existed in
the past.
Yori Antar, another AMI member, said the city cannot have a
soul as long as the public, including low-income earners, do not
have an equal say in urban planning.
Development of the city is dictated by developers and the
authorities, say members of the AMI.
Numerous former officials, architects, lawyers and social
workers handling land disputes have accused developers and local
authorities of violating and altering the city's zoning colors,
which designate residential, office and public spaces on the
city's spatial plans.
AMI members shared the views of some of their seniors,
including M. Danisworo, the chairman of the city's urban design
review board. Danisworo said that the needs of both the formal
and informal sectors, such as office occupants and street
traders, need to be met.
The city has begun to take some steps, he said. It has ordered
high-rise building owners to allocate space for traders and has
begun phasing out walls and high fences between buildings.
Achmad said the city has fallen prey to the 1960s drive to
make Jakarta "a showcase for modernity."
Buildings are "handsome as single entities", he said, but the
only link between them are pedestrian bridges and flyovers.
The three-day conference, which ends today, was opened
Wednesday by Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar. It is
hosted by the Indonesian Architects Association (IAI) and the
Architects Regional Council for Asia (Arcasia).
Other speakers included former Arcasia chairman Ken Yeang from
Malaysia, who spoke about skyscrapers and efforts to recognize
the needs of its occupants. He cited a recent study that revealed
that most office occupants want control over air circulation in
their buildings.
Responding to his idea, Endy Soebijono, the chairman of IAI's
city branch, said that investors need to be made aware of such
studies. Most, however, are "still too intent on gaining capital
returns as soon as possible," he said.
The result is exclusivity, he said, adding that only occupants
paying steep membership fees are able to enjoy clubhouses and
other private spaces.
When the owners of these buildings try to sell office space,
he said, their advertising is limited to "gimmicks" such as high-
speed lifts, instead of catering to the needs of the occupants
themselves.
The city has at least 80 buildings standing at least 20
stories high, he said.
Tay Kheng Soon, former president of the Singapore Institute of
Architects, said new Asian architecture will be "dominated by
superficiality and imported status symbols of pride and progress"
if it cannot "capture the imagination of the new middle classes."
(anr)