Can Jakartans feel at home in their city?
Can Jakartans feel at home in their city?
JAKARTA (JP): From the tailors in the old market to the new
Seibu department store, there's something for everyone in the
Blok M shopping center.
Watch and key repair shops are still in place since the
renovation of the center began in 1985.
If there are other plans for the shopping center, the
"collective memories" of what Blok M means to its long-time
patrons must not be wiped out, says Endy Soebijono, an architect.
Nostalgia for what happened in an area, the historic sense of
a place, should remain intact if city residents are to feel at
home, he said.
This is one part of the vision architects have for a better
Jakarta; continuing efforts to save the remainder of what is
already gone.
Retaining features of "an Asian city" is another part of the
distant dream.
This does not mean replacing skyscrapers with buildings that
have eloquent carvings but linking the space in between
buildings.
"Actually, as a people, we love spending time outdoors," said
Michael Soemarijanto, an advisor of the Indonesian Association of
Architects.
But, he said, cities across Asia are losing their
characteristics.
Sociologist Hotman Siahaan of Surabaya, a similarly expanding
city, says that far from enjoying walks, people must "breathe in
all that metropolitan dust".
If owners of private buildings can be talked into breaking
down their walls and fences, to link the space in between,
architects vision that people will gladly take a stroll, provided
there is some shade.
Buildings along Jl. M. Thamrin, the national showcase, should
set the example of reducing the individualistic nature of the
city and its citizens, Michael says.
If architects get their way, equally plenty public facilities
for the rich and the poor would complete the picture of a city
where no one feels left out.
This may be all farfetched for the average Jakartan.
Not only do architects claim they can bring back what has
vanished; they also want to realize an idea that may be radical
to Asians used accepting the differences of the rich and the
poor.
For the rich, Endy laments, there is a vast range of shopping
centers in one subcenter alone.
"The well-off can choose Pondok Indah Mall, Blok M Plaza,
Plaza Senayan and others, which are not far apart, while the poor
can only go to the Mayestik market," Endy said.
A better city, he said, is one which recognizes that the poor
also need areas for shopping and recreation.
Developers, he said, should think twice before they build
trendy shopping centers in nearby areas.
"The Senen area is an interesting case," he said. "The Yaohan
center had to close down, as people gradually went to centers
near to home, and Senen residents obviously had no need of an
expensive shopping center."
For urban design consultant Emmanuel J. Constantas, the vital
ultimate facility a city must provide is "the shorter number of
trips a person must take daily" to conduct his or her activities.
This, says Constantas of the local representative of Greece-
based Doxiadis and Associates, requires a comprehensive,
coordinated plan of the existing transportation network, the
trend in population growth, vehicles and road space.
For this purpose, he welcomes plan to build a subway from
South to Central Jakarta.
Beautifying a city is just not enough, which is why fearful
residents have responded to the mushrooming of new towns.
Consultants can design all they want, says Constantas, but do
they know what the neighboring developer is doing?
"The government needs to update the Jakarta master plan in a
more comprehensive way, coordinated with its surrounding areas,"
says Constantas.
"Look at the master plan, the strategic development to the
east and west does not have an adequate plan," he said.
Within the city, a designer also needs a comprehensive plan
regarding drainage and other infrastructure, which is not
available, he said.
Endy agrees that armed with reliable data on the
infrastructure, architects can better work out designs for
buildings and sites, where efficiency and safety can be made to
meet esthetics.
This means architects must strive to know the people likely to
pass and use a building, not only the ones who are paying them.
Provided that local architects step up their professionalism,
Michael says, they can be trusted to know their environment
better than most foreign experts who designed the city's
skyscrapers.
After all, says Djoko Sujarto, another expert on urban design,
building new towns also means bringing back the towns to the
people who live in them.
Endy says an eye opener to architects was the recent Aga Khan
Award for the Soekarno-Hatta international airport. It won the
category of linking buildings and landscape.
"Without such awards we forget that an architect's work to
bring people into harmony with their surroundings is still
appreciated."
The master plan of the airport was by Aeroport de Paris and
designed by Paul Andreau.
But, Michael says, most of the buildings on Jl. M.H. Thamrin
by foreign architects "lack commitment to retain features of an
Asian city".
If local architects polish their professionalism, Michael
ensures the incorporation of regional features will reduce the
copycat image of the capital.
Hopefully, this feeling is widespread in the profession.
For now, the Jakartan who lands at the Soekarno-Hatta airport
cherishes the experience, because they know that it is far too
brief. Once plunged back into the city, the resident is again the
creature seeking only survival -- forget harmony. (anr)