Protecting old buildings 'not merely for tourism'

JAKARTA (JP): The act of protecting old buildings and areas should not solely be intended to woo tourists to visit but more for the interests of the public in general, experts said on Saturday.

Victor Chan from the Singapore-based development company Premas International told participants of a seminar, "The main reason is to provide a variety of streetscape. Protection is also meant to be a reminder and representation of the past by keeping distinctive characters.

"We can achieve these objectives by keeping both the physical and social features of protected areas and buildings. We must keep the appearances and characters and traditional activities, such as trades, crafts and customs."

Chan and other speakers were delivering their papers at a seminar on the economic potentials of protecting old areas and buildings, organized by Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI) in cooperation with the City Museum and Restoration Agency at the Jakarta Design Center, West Jakarta.

"So, protection isn't about how to attract tourists to visit the conserved buildings and areas. Not all protected buildings and areas, such as residential sites, can be visited by tourists," Chan emphasized.

"We (in Singapore) didn't even intended to turn the protected areas and buildings into tourism objects. We realized it later," he added.

Earlier, IAI's Jakarta chapter chairman, Eddy W. Utoyo, told the participants that Indonesia still lacked proper attention toward its heritage of old areas and buildings.

"Residents find it too expensive and burdensome to maintain because they can't change the construction. They prefer to let it deteriorate and sell the land at a high price," he said.

"Only a small number of residents can appreciate the old areas and buildings and these residents mostly are wealthy. The middle and lower groups of people still find it a luxury," added Eddy.

Eddy also said residents did not find it profitable to own a protected building. He, therefore, suggested the city administration publish a catalog of protected buildings in the capital.

"Interested investors can find suitable locations for their ventures easily if the catalog contains a full list of protected buildings and their owners. Owners can sell the buildings without having to let the building go to ruin," he said.

Chan admitted restoring old buildings was more expensive than building new ones.

"It takes S$1,800 to S$4,200 (US$1,030 to $1,145) per square meter to build new buildings while it needs S$2,000 to S$3,000 to restore old ones," he told the participants.

However, a property consultant with PT Procon Indah, Djody Trisusanto, said establishing business in restored buildings could boost a company's image, giving, as an example, those in London.

"Most offices located in protected buildings have higher rents compared to nearby buildings. It also applies to apartments located in protected buildings," he said.

The City Museum and Restoration Agency's restoration division head, Idrus, said the agency would cooperate with IAI to hold training to provide architects with conservation and restoration skills.

"We expect to have more architects with these kinds of skills to deal with old buildings," he said.

The seminar was also highlighted by several presentations related to protected buildings.

Shinto Marino of Philips Luminaires presented artificial lightings to enhance buildings' appearance at nights.

Yoyo Sulistyo of Natour Garuda Hotel, Yogyakarta, and Bradford Zak of Majapahit Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Surabaya, presented the current style of their properties, which occupied old buildings. (nvn)