City ignores conservation of old buildings
City ignores conservation of old buildings
Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta
An observer of old buildings, Grace Pamungkas, criticized the
city administration on Friday for not making a sufficient effort
to preserving the dozens of old buildings that stand in the
capital.
Speaking at a seminar titled "Jakarta: the Past, the Present
and the Future", she pointed to the lack of policy that could
encourage the owners of old buildings to help maintain their
property in good condition.
She said many old buildings were in poor condition as their
owners ignored their maintenance, arguing the buildings did not
have an economic value.
An architect herself, Grace pointed to the poor state of old
buildings located in the Kali Besar area, West Jakarta. The area
-- which served as an area to load and unload supplies and
merchandise from ships -- is home to widespread criminal
activities due to the presence of prostitution and gambling
operations in the surroundings.
"It is obvious that the quality of buildings in the
conservation zone of the Old City has degraded because the
surroundings have not been improved, either, by the
administration," she said, citing Glodok and Kota railway station
as further examples.
Noted historian Adolf Heuken pointed to the reconstruction of
the Luar Batang Mosque in North Jakarta by the Jakarta Culture
and Museum Agency as additional proof that the administration was
not serious in preserving old buildings.
"It is regrettable that a historical mosque like that was
demolished and replaced by a completely new building," he told
The Jakarta Post.
Jakarta Spatial Planning Agency head Nurfakih Wirawan said
that the city could rely on many legal instruments to protect old
buildings.
He admitted, however, that there were always problems during
the renovation work, which resulted in a compromise having to be
reached between preservation and business interests.
Grace also criticized universities in the city, which do not
pay serious attention to conservation efforts. She said so far
only Tarumanegara and Pelita Harapan universities had a
conservation department within their schools of architecture.
"This means there are very few architects who have expertise
in the conservation of old buildings. On the contrary, the demand
(for such expertise) is increasing," she said.
Grace categorized around 500 old buildings and heritage sites
in the city into four periods, based on the year in which they
were built.
The first is the VOC era from 1619 to 1799, the second the
transitional era from 1800 to 1816, the third the Dutch colonial
era from 1816 to 1942 and the last the independence era from 1945
to the 1950s.
Grace called on universities nationwide to devote serious
attention to opening a conservation department within their
architecture schools to address the growing demand to preserve
old buildings in the capital.