Historic Hotel Indonesia, 40 years on
Historic Hotel Indonesia, 40 years on
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
For the past 40 years Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta has been
the capital's major landmark, and its fame is often linked to the
country's political pride.
Built to fill the need for an international standard hotel for
the 1962 Asian Games, Hotel Indonesia was the first high-rise
hotel in the country. At that time, it had 14 floors and 400
rooms compared to its current 586 rooms.
As a landmark, the hotel's acronym, HI, was adopted as the
name of the roundabout where Jakarta's main thoroughfares, Jl.
Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, meet.
During the reformasi years, the HI roundabout became a
favorite spot for demonstrations against the government and the
hotel was the most strategic place for journalists who covered
them.
HI public relations manager Meriem Roy said the hotel's
balconies facing the roundabout would be filled with cameras and
television cameras bearing enormous telephotos to capture the
demonstrations below.
But the value of Hotel Indonesia lies beyond the politics or
history. When visitors tour the hotel complex they are
immediately struck by the numerous pieces of artwork decorating
the walls.
The initiator of the hotel, the late president Sukarno, was a
very enthusiastic art patron and the hotel's interior is filled
with artwork depicting Indonesia at its best.
"Sukarno was very involved with the hotel's construction, his
concept was to create a little Indonesia in the hotel so that
tourists could get a taste of how multicultural the country is,"
the chairman of the Indonesian Architecture Association (IAI),
Bambang R. Yudawan, said.
The building's architecture was designed by American architect
Abel Sorensen, who followed an international style, which,
Bambang said, usually favors purism, minimalism and modernism.
"The numerous pieces of artwork and the international style of
the building are in contrast with each other, of course, but
Sukarno was a very persistent person," he said, with a grin.
Numerous pieces of artwork by local or international artists
adorn the hotel. Outside on the left of the hotel is a three-
meter-by-24-meter relief depicting the scenes of Balinese life
and was created by Sanggar Selabinangun Yogyakarta between 1961
and 1964. Sukarno had a Balinese mother.
"People should be able to enjoy the mural as they come up to
the hotel as it was meant for a more open design. The hotel
should not be fenced in as it covers the mural," Bambang said,
adding that a fence was required to separate street traffic from
the hotel's expanding parking lot.
Upon entering the lobby -- which was a later addition to the
hotel -- visitors are struck by the three flagpoles, created by
noted Balinese sculptor Nyoman Nuarta, flying the national red-
and-white flag.
"This canopy was built because of the need for a more spacious
lobby, but because it wasn't planned, the canopy ruined the
original design and made many of the components redundant,"
Bambang said.
He said that the management of the state-owned hotel is
currently trying to recreate the hotel's original look and the
canopy would need to come down.
Hotel Indonesia was constructed in 1959 with war reparations
from Japan. The construction was done by Japan's Taisei
Corporation and most of the building's material are high quality
imported products.
"Except for the timber, the other material, such as the
stainless steel ceiling in the corridors, were imported from
Japan," Bambang said.
In 1961, the hotel was managed by New York-based Inter-
Continental Hotel Corporations, and was known as Hotel Indonesia
Inter-Continental. It was officially opened on Aug. 5, 1962.
An enormous mosaic of various traditional Indonesian dances
created by G. Sidharta can be seen on the upper walls of the
hotel's main restaurant, the Ramayana. Also in the same room is a
painting by internationally renowned artist Lee Man Fong
depicting the flora and fauna of Indonesia.
Numerous statues also cover the hotel's grounds, including
Trubus' Dewi Sri and Saptoto's creation of a woman collecting
water.
More than that, the hotel is also known to have launched the
careers of many of Indonesia's finest artists in the performing
arts with Hotel Indonesia Popular Theater, including famed film
directors Teguh Karya and N. Riantiarno, actor Slamet Rahardjo
and actresses Titi Qadarsih, Toeti Indra Malaon and Dewi
Matindas.
Famous musicians and singers were also discovered here. They
include Bob Tutupoli, saxophonist Pomo and singer and actress
Marini. Choreographers Juni Amir and Sampan Hismanto also found
fame after performing at the hotel.
"The Ramayana room was also the venue for the first Miss
Indonesia competition in 1969," Debra Yatim, the organizer for
HI's 40th anniversary, said.
For its anniversary this year, Hotel Indonesia will launch a
16-month-long art and cultural program to repeat the work done
years before, which makes the hotel one of the country's cultural
centers.
Between August and December next year the hotel will be open
for cultural shows and workshops, some of which will be organized
by Teater Populer, pop culture and youth foundation PopCorner,
independent film community Konfiden and IAI.
Etched on a bronze plaque in the lobby are these words:
"Mega-mega yang disentuh pudar karena keagungan kerja,
Badai-badai yang ditentang nyisih karena keagungan jiwa. Tiadalah
kebahagiaan sebesar jiwa dan semua pengabdian diuntukkan bagi
keagungan bangsa, dan semua kelelahan diuntukkan bagi kemuliaan
manusia" -- Dijiwai dan diprakarsai oleh Presiden Republik
Indonesia Pimpinan Besar Revolusi Ir. Soekarno
("Clouds that are touched fade through the majesty of work,
storms that are faced subside through the majesty of the soul.
There is no happiness as great as the soul's and all devotion is
for the greatness of the country, and all exhaustion dedicated to
the glory of man." -- Inspired and initiated by the President of
the Republic of Indonesia and Great Leader of the Revolution Ir.
Soekarno)
Just like its motto lebih dari sekadar hotel, Hotel Indonesia
is more than just a hotel.