'Gedung Imigrasi' renovation halted

'Gedung Imigrasi' renovation halted

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

The Jakarta Culture and Museums Agency has temporarily halted its
renovation work at the old immigration office on Jl. Teuku Umar,
Central Jakarta, due to a serious mistake in the plans which has
led to damage being inflicted on the original features of the
heritage building.

The head of the agency's supervision unit, Candrian
Attahiyyat, said on Monday that the renovation work had been
stopped in mid-April and would only be recommenced after a
comprehensive assessment of the project had taken place.

"We will revise the renovation plan together with members of
the Indonesian Architects Association. The revised plan will also
be assessed by the Renovation Assessment Board (TSP)," he told
The Jakarta Post by phone.

Meanwhile, he added, his office would seek more archeological
data about the building, which was erected in 1912 and was
originally named the Netherlands-Indische Kunstkring (the
Netherlands-Indies Arts Circle). It was then used for artistic
and cultural shows.

The building, which later became widely known as the Gedung
Imigrasi (Immigration Building), served as the Jakarta
Immigration Office until 1997, before the government handed it
over to private developer PT Mandala Griya Cipta in 1998 in a
land swap deal.

It was originally designed by Dutch architect Pieter Adriaan
Jacobus Moojen.

But now the old building has lost the concrete roof of its
left wing. The building itself is classified as a Class-A
Building, which means that any renovation of the building must
retain its original look.

But Candrian did not put all the blame on the developer "as
the problem was due to a lack of detail in the renovation plan,
which was drawn up in a very short space of time".

PT Mandala had planned to demolish the building and replace it
with a new one, but the plan elicited strong opposition from the
public.

The city administration bought back the building for Rp 28
billion (US$3.29 million). Unfortunately, some antique fixtures
and fittings, which had previously been transferred as part of
the land-swap deal, went missing when the building was owned of
the private developer.

The administration has allocated Rp 6.1 billion (US$709,302)
out of its 2004 budget on the renovation of the heritage building
and spent another Rp 300 million last year on a contest for the
redesign of the building.

Heritage observer Naniek Widayati, who is the chairwoman of
the Center for Architecture and Conservation, supported the
halting of the renovation, but she criticized the culture and
museums agency for the blunder.

"If the renovation had not been stopped immediately, there
would have been more damage to the original parts of the
building," she told the Post, adding that heritage lovers should
always watch how city heritage sites were being renovated,
including Indonesian's first multistory hotel, the Hotel
Indonesia.

She gave a number of examples of careless renovations of old
buildings in Kota, West Jakarta, where the results were not in
line with the designs.

The agency has also been roundly criticized for the demolition
of the more-than-200-year-old Luar Batang Mosque in North
Jakarta.