'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.