Photos place local architecture in space and time

Photos place local architecture in space and time

By Maria Sandra

JAKARTA (JP): The 50-year-old building stands firmly in
contrast to a neighboring modern building in Kota, Jakarta.

The new building is constructed of iron, concrete and walls of
green reflecting glass. The older building seems only to be a
foundation of sand, walls of wooden planks and wrought-iron work.

The building, a residence, seems out of place among Kota's
structures, many of which were formerly warehouses and old and
new office buildings, is now conserved, at least in the
photograph.

The scene is captured in a photograph entitled Yang Terawat
dan Yang Terlupakan (The Cared for and The Neglected), one of the
works by noted architect Yori Antar. An exhibition of his works,
Ruang dan Waktu (Space and Time), at the Galeri Twilite Cafe in
Kemang, South Jakarta, runs to Dec. 31.

The 90 photographs display a cross section of Indonesian
architecture, including modern houses, multistoried buildings,
upmarket shopping malls, and shacks along rivers across the
country.

Yori said he wanted to share with visitors "how we sometimes
feel strange and lonely in the middle of sophisticated buildings
we build for ourselves. Meanwhile, many traditional buildings are
being neglected."

For Yori, taking pictures of buildings is part of his
profession.

"Actually, I like to conserve every unique building through my
photographs. These will become a source of inspiration when I
want design a building," said the architect who started taking
photographs in 1983.

"One day, these exotic architectural structures will not be
able to be enjoyed anymore," he said. His pictures preserve
structures which may soon be history in both urban and isolated
settings.

Yori, 37, a member of the idealists in Arsitek Muda Indonesia
(Indonesia's Young Architects), based a design for low-cost
housing in Timor on its traditional style. It won in a
competition organized by Plan International, a non-governmental
organization concerned with development and sanitation.

Indeed, the photographs seem to help his architectural slant
in managing a harmonious blend of the old and the new.

The pictures Simfoni dan Harmoni (Symphony and Harmony) and
Rumah Temanku (My Friend's House) display comfortable-looking
homes with the styles of different times, incorporating both wood
and stone.

Other photographs show a variety neglected buildings, some of
which are almost in ruins, and others which are being renovated.

Kehilangan Jiwa (Loss of the Soul) is the title for an old
building in Senen, Central Jakarta, showing what is left of a
building demolished about five years ago.

People who have never been to the kampong along Kali Code,
Yogyakarta, gain an insight of the area from Yori's pictures of
the shacks.

One photo, Bunga di Perkampungan Kumuh (Flower in the Slum),
shows a row of two-story semipermanent houses built cheek by
jowl.

There seems little space left to breathe. The simplicity of
the "tiles" of palm fiber and the clothes dried on the rooftops
add to the reality of Kali Code.

The fact that residents manage to stay in Kali Code is
attributed to the advocacy and work of Father Y.B. Mangunwijaya,
or Romo Mangun, who worked with residents in managing to adapt
their homes to the environment.

Mangunwijaya is, himself, an architect; one that younger
architects look up to as those who believe architecture must
serve the needs of people who live in a building.

Other photographs display the lilliputian housing along both
sides of an overpass in Jakarta. Conditions are similar to those
found in Yogyakarta -- yet the gap seems more painful.

Senior photographer Erick Prasetya commented: "Through this
(display) we should be able to ... wake up in our awareness in
defending and conserving our inheritance ..."