Dutch buildings designed modestly, experts say

Dutch buildings designed modestly, experts say

JAKARTA (JP): The Dutch colonial government didn't construct
tremendous buildings during their decades of rule in ancient
Jakarta, and this is chiefly because they were concerned with
making money, experts said on Wednesday.

Joop Ave, founder of the Lestari foundation for cultural
heritage conservation and revitalization, and Budi Sukada, second
chairman of the Association of Indonesian Architect (IAI), told a
seminar that most of the existing Dutch buildings in Jakarta were
for the most part constructed and designed modestly.

According to Joop, a former minister of tourism, post and
telecommunications, the Dutch government had no intention of
developing their colonies. They took the money they made from
their colonial exploits and threw it into the Dutch nation's
coffers instead.

"Many great buildings were constructed in the Netherlands in
the 17th century -- dubbed by them as the Golden Age -- with
capital originating from here. That's why they didn't have any
interest in building something great in Jakarta," he told
participants in the seminar on conservation models in Indonesia,
held by private-owned Tarumanagara University and Lestari
Foundation at VOC Galangan Cafe in West Jakarta.

The presidential palace and Gedung Pancasila buildings in
Central Jakarta, for example, were initially residential places
during the Dutch colonial period, he said.

The Dutch, however, adapted a different policy in its other
colonies -- such as those in India and the Philippines -- in
which they constructed a number of elaborate buildings.

"That's why we can see several superb buildings with advanced
Spanish architecture in the Philippines. Similar edifices can
also be found in India," he added.

Sharing Joop's idea, Budi said that the 19th century
Parliament House in New Delhi, for example, was 10 times bigger
than the presidential palace complex in Bogor, West Java.

"The British colonial government even brought qualified
architects from England when the parliament house was built. Such
efforts were never adopted by the Dutch colonial government
during their rule in Indonesia.

Most of the buildings here were constructed simply to please
the modest tastes of the owners, most of whom were traders," Budi
said.

That's why, he added, Jakarta doesn't have a single Dutch
building with anything approaching real splendor.

The seminar also presented Malaysian architect Lawrence Loh,
who had taken part in a number of restorations of old buildings
in Penang, Malaysia.

"I believe that there's life in old buildings and that we
should keep their originality," he said.

Lawrence said that the Malaysian government, which issued
guidelines and laws for building conservation, had been paying
great attention to the preservation of the state's heritage.

"It is an ongoing effort, 10 to 15 years. The NGOs started by
creating an awareness program and also by continuously lobbying
the government," he said.

He said at present there were six conservation zones in Penang
with a total of 9,000 old buildings.

"It is about 10 percent of the total number of buildings in
the area," he said after the seminar.(ind)