Apparently mAAN’s 2004 The Great Shanghai Factory Revitalization Workshop has inspired more people than previously imagined. It begun with a simple idea to have architectural students and young professionals get together with a plan, a real site, a real story, and real credible professionals and academics during a period of time. Apart from having productive fun during summer holiday, this idea supports a better platform for exchange of ideas, networking, learning a wider context of our changing world, and most importantly to have all those learning luxury unlimited by institutional frames and backgrounds. This idea surprisingly inspires a lot of people during the last 7 years, especially to us, Indonesians. Despite only a single Indonesian attend the 2004 workshop, the idea of having such workshop seems to be sipping through and giving us a fresh idea to open up boundaries and opportunities not to be missed.

For Indonesian professional architects, to be involved in any kind of important historic preservation projects is probably one in a lifetime opportunity. Not more than 10 years ago, even to have a chance in important public buildings was considered lucky. Those opportunities seem to hover around established big professional offices, not to mention foreign ones. The academic world is no different. With only limited budget and efforts allocated for research, excursions, and field trainings; it seems that we studied in isolated islands of architectural education institutions. We also rarely interacted with professionals during our undergraduate years.

Along with improvements in our professional and academic situations, the idea of having mAAN-style workshops in Indonesia seems to give us a new approach to do things differently. At least, it was initially giving us a good platform for us to interact and exchange critical ideas as an alternative to usual professional and academic project presentations/ sharings. At best, the idea can give many professionals and students contributing in important public projects. mAAN-styled workshops also help to prepare the client with the brief before a real architectural commission and further development taking place, therefore a workshop paves a way for better practices.

Up to 2007, mAAN’s activities in Indonesia were limited to general architectural heritage mappings/ inventories (Medan, Padang, Bukittinggi, Jakarta, Bogor, Palembang) and an attempt to fill gaps within our own modern architectural historiography (mAAN Modern Indonesian Architecture Workshop 2007 produced a monograph on the house of one of the most important Post-War Indonesian architects). Fortunately the chance of having ideas going into real actions came in early 2009 from a professional film maker Mr. Andre Moedanton, a son of a doctor worked for Semen Padang cement plant, Indarung, West Sumatera, Indonesia.

The Padang Cement Factory

The cement plant was first established in 1910 by the Dutch colonial government, using the latest European technologies available at that time (components shipped from F.L Schimdt from Denmark). The establishment of the plant was consequently pivotal event in the physical development of the region; it enabled massive infrastructure developments as buildings, bridges, roads, and more factories. It supported productions and distributions of commodities such as agricultural and mining activities. Since 1910, the plant had grown consecutively from 1 up to 5 kilns in total creating a vast industrial landscape as big as 68,000 m² site. It is as big as a small town, as complex as a megastructure.

During the late 1990s, the operation of the old plant was terminated due to several reasons: inefficiency, pollution, available new technologies. The company now relies on 4 new operating plants located nearby. After the closing, except for a tiny section, the Indarung 1 plant had been abandoned and left to decay. For more than 10 years; the rotating kilns, water currents under the plant, massive solid walls, scafoldings, towering structures, storage and office spaces, and all movable parts were all turned into a giant industrial carcass that holds memories, traces of events, as well as Piranesian mysterious feels for spectators.

Mr. Moedanton, raised and having a personal nostalgic memories about the complex of Semen Padang (Padang Cement) factory, had given thoughts and efforts about how to preserve and to make use of a 99-years-old factory plant.  After disused, the derelict factory plant is a threat as well as threatened by its corrosive parts. The company had scheduled its demolition. Instead of preserving the plant, the management has initially planned to built a brand new museum on a nearby site to commemorate a centennary establishment of the company.

However, based on information gathered about the success of mAAN Shanghai workshop, Mr. Moedanton succesfully convinced the company’s management to change their mind and called for a workshop. Based on inspirations from succesful industrial heritage projects in Europe and the Shanghai workshop, he had given the company a greater hope on the future of the historic site. At our first visit, we even witnessed an extravagant celebration of the company’s anniversary right in the middle of the old factory plant.

The initial plan of the company’s management is relatively simple but naive; to have a cement museum as a centennial commemoration. Apart of this idea, the management does not know anything about establishing a museum, not to mention the importance of preserving an old cement plant. Mr. Moedanton’s idea to have mAAN in the process was to support the preservation of the historic structure as well as to explore its possibilities and potentials. Its potentials could be something that extends beyond the boundary of the brief (as a cement museum), the ‘monument’ can be something closely related to the immediate surrounding (Indarung, or the city of Padang, or West Sumatera) or the region (as the first cement plant in Southeast Asia), or as a public space that hosts public events (such as art and cultural activities and festivals), or as a permanent home for cultural institutions. We expect that the historic structure can return as monument not only for the company but a general public.

The idea of having a workshop is also to hold the rush of having an instant museum. The idea is to put options after opportunities and to have a clear working plan to save the old factory. The workshop can serve as a moment to rethink and reformulate the potentials of the structure, as well as an opportunity for many learning to handle a very unlikely opportunity. To have a working plan is not an easy task since this is the first attempt in Indonesia to do this kind of preservation and revitalization in such scale. Nevertheless, mAAN’s suggestion is relatively simple but it would take a long term commitment, and having a design workshop is just a small opening step. We realize that to have this idea of long term commitment can be too ambitious as it relies much on supports from all over; the management, local government institutions, local communities, as well as professionals. However, we cannot afford missing the opportunity.

The Padang Cement Factory Revitalization Workshop

Within only two months of preparation, we managed to propose early steps and initiated an international workshop as the beginning. We open a call for participation to our network, and gathered the biggest crowd in a single mAAN workshop; more than 80 participants coming from 5 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, India), 11 unit masters (from Indonesia, India, Korea, and Singapore), 6 steering committee, 5 organizing crew and more than 15 speakers and observers (from 5 different countries) flocking around the factory plant for 10 days.

We invited prominent young professionals and professors as unit masters. In total we had 12 unit masters working in 9 units: Achmad Tardiyana, Adi Purnomo, Eko Prawoto, Lee Sangyun, Tsuto Sakamoto, Widjaja Martokusumo, Suwardana Winata, Amritha Ballal, Suditya Sinha, Moulshri Joshi, and Manoj Mathur.

Upon receiving the brief and inspecting the site, they were required to present their insights or ideas about the site in front of all participants. And the participants were given opportunity to choose accordingly.

We also had a number of speakers giving presentations about specific subjects. Mr. Deng Kunyan, the sponsor and initiator of the 2004 Shanghai workshop, sharing his experiences on managing and developing his own ex-industrial sites in Shanghai. Dr. Jan af Geijerstam presented an introductory notes about the architectural and historical significance of ex-industrial sites, and discussing the non-european context of industrial heritage sites. Eka Budianta and Nirwono Joga took turn explaining the landscape rehabilitation development plan of the Indarung factory plant. Andre Moedanton highlighted his initial ideas along with a brief history of the plant. However, yet, we began with so little information. Apart from the information given by Mr. Moedanton, we hardly found anything written about the history of the plant, not to mention about the details on machinery and structures inside the precinct. Therefore the first few days were crucial for the participants, they spent hours to understand the site and the context accordingly to the unit masters’ directions as well as our technical references from PT. Semen Padang. Some of the speakers were taking the chance to look up the factory’s archive and interviewing senior employees.

The Proposals

All nine units had demonstrated distinct approaches and exercises. Some had given deep thoughts about the industrial ruins and what can be done about the ‘leftover’ spaces. Some had went beyond the factory site and engaging social and cultural issues. Some concentrated on how to preserve and also to demonstrate cement production activities that once was the life of the site.

Unit Tsuto Sakamoto was centered on preserving and introducing public access into the old factory. Some spaces inside the factory were developed as ‘secret gardens’. Unit Sakamoto views the site can be potentially developed as ‘open air museum’ using the remaining authentic object and some necessary addition. New programs might be introduced to support the site as a cement museum as well to enhance the idea of the ‘secret  garden’.

Unit Adi Purnomo’s approach traced the existing running water stream under the site. The old factory was utilizing the water supply brought by a long running pipeline from uphill. Once a vital resource needed by the cement production, the unit thinks it is possible and important to create and manage water bodies before imposing programs. Water and the existing space (as well as the contour) can be developed to create boundaries, directions, visual tricks, as well as to supply landscaping. Water in the site seems to be the first issue to be considered as it causes erotion and corrotion to the site.

Unit Suwardana Winata considers the old factory as a sculptural monument to be protected and viewed as an object. Therefore, instead of having elaborate proposal about the old factory, the unit proposes  a minimal interventions by introducing programs and creates a gigantic protective shed covering the main factory site.

Unit Widjaja Martokusumo works mostly on programs based on the unit’s spatial understanding of the site. For the unit, the spatial structure of the site consists of four layers. Those four layers are potentially developed into specific themes and purposes, as well as combined to create an architectural tour for visitors. The first/ bottom layer can offer a tour on cement making process. The second offers interesting experience walking in spaces between kilns. The third layer, at the entry level, offer open spaces for observations. The fourth layer takes visitors to the highest platforms and offers green spaces as well as views to the surrounding area.

Unit Eko Prawoto was not attempting to approach the development from masterplanning, but begun with surveying nature and local craftmanship potentials from the surrounding area. The unit sees the site to be developed as a rehabilitation site, it should ‘pay back’ the debt to the environment and local surrounding. Therefore the old factory site is perceived  as a ‘showcase’/ ‘exhibition space’ for local potentials; natural preservation, local commodities, home industries, etc.

Unit Suditya Sinha & Amritha Ballal imagines possible future scenarios for the factory. The unit sees that there are four different programs can be developed inside the old factory: nature and recreation, arts and cultural activities, research and education, history/ memory. The unit’s main contribution to the workshop lies on its inventory on spatial qualities from inside the old factory site. The inventory would enable dynamic development of the site; allow permanent/ non-permanent activities as well as events to take place inside. This approach allows the site to grow and evolve ‘naturally’ accordingly to situations, and not to be limited by a rigid masterplanning.

Unit Moulshri Joshi & Manoj Mathur approaches the physical planning from children’s perspective.  The unit’s process involved children living outside the precinct of the factory to perceive the site and the old factory from their imaginations. The unit took the children for a tour into the factory and asked them to play together. After getting familiar with each other and the factory, the unit helps the children to develop ideas and programs about the future development of the factory.

Unit Sangyun Lee surveyed the existing old factory and came up with a listing of spaces inside the factory. In a way it is similar to Unit Suditya/ Amritha, the different is that this unit spent more time in studying and listing physical (and visual) qualities of spaces as well as building types and access meticulously. This unit’s proposal concentrates on programs that are considered fit and appropiate for the spaces. The programs and the site were perceived metaphorically as a ‘zoo’, consisting of permanent exhibits/ collections, temporary exhibits, general facilities, and circulation/ access.

Unit Achmad Tardiyana defines the site as two different areas: the preserved area and the supporting area. The unit allows interventions into the preserved area as long as it supports the main function as a museum: enabling access for visitors into the factory as well as to support the narative of cemen making process and the history of the factory/ industrialization of the region. The preserved area is perceived an interactive museum, where the visitors will be following of the cement making process with their own body. It means that visitors

The Post-Workshop Recommendations

By the end of the workshop, mAAN recommends few points to the owner, PT. Semen Padang, regarding necessary early steps toward the preservation of the old factory and the establishment of a museum dedicated to national cement industry. Firstly, mAAN thinks that it is very important that the owner to establish and to appoint a special committee who will compose the plans of revitalization works. The committee should be appointed with a clear, specific, and professional individual engagements/ contracts. The committee will work until March 2010 with its main task to establish long-term programs and legal working standings. The committee will also recommend strategic efforts should be made and coordinate with the appointed professionals for the centennial commemoration of the factory.

The workshop suggests that the old factory (Indarung 1) is projected to be a new arts and cultural center in West Sumatera. Therefore it is important to stress that Indarung 1 Revitalization is not simply a renovation and temporary physical restoration but it is also a continuous effort that needs continuous support and attention from the owner of the facility. Based on that point, mAAN recommends PTSP to establish/ to appoint a legal body who will manage the Indarung 1 site development for the long run. For example; to set up a foundation (non-profit body) or an independent company (private limited). mAAN also recommends the owner to regularly use the old factory site for any ceremonial and public/ social events, to promote the site as  a new center for social cultural activities. mAAN released a general summary taken from the 9 proposals produced by the workshop as a consideration for all decisions to be made in the future.

Padang Earthquake

Just within a couple of months after the workshop, by the end of September 2009, Padang and West Sumatera was hit by a 7.6 Richter earthquake. The scale of the disaster was among the worst in Indonesia since the tsunami that hit Aceh in 2004. With the death toll reached 1100 within the region,  the city of Padang suffered the most. Major building collapsed, thousands lost their homes. It was difficult to contact everyone during few days since the first hit as communication and electricity were down.

Fortunately everyone we know and the factory were reported relatively unharmed. However the disaster seems to change a lot of things. Since then all efforts were focussed to rebuild the city and the region. Aids and social workers were helping reconstructing houses, schools, and religious buildings. It was like Padang having a clean sheet to build over. Therefore anything related to preserving an old factory was no longer relevant to the situation.

After Padang: Bogor

Despite the unfulfilling results, it seems the workshop method was well acknowledged by many, more that we previously imagined. Some thinks that the workshop is a way to introduce a good professional conduct as well as academic considerations into the public. It can be very supportive for public initiative causes working on a public agenda involving a lot of stakeholders, especially bridging government bodies, public institutions, and local communities. Therefore the object and subject matter of the workshop can be a simple structure, a historic building, a building complex, a park, as well as a city. The subject can range from our core discipline, architecture, as well as engaging others such as urban planning, urban management, conservation and preservation, archaeology and history, landscape architecture, art and designs, museology, anthropology, biology, etc.

A group of heritage activist from the city of Bogor was delighted with the idea of the workshop as its program. The group, Bogor100, focuses on helping and promoting public awareness on preserving the Bogor Botanical Garden and Bogor city center, finds the workshop can help and empower local young activists as well as public officials to learn more about methods, perspectives, and creative approaches in dealing with urban planning and conservation issues. This activist group mainly concerns about the way Bogor was developed recently, by  sacrificing many of its urban historical structure and infrastructure, which in turn threathen the very existence of the Botanical Garden as its historic green core. Uncontrolled physical development in the city center was causing water and air pollution which is threatening the Botanic Garden’s precious collections, as well as sacrificing the public facilities and spatial qualities along the town center area.

The aim of the workshop is to map problems and potentials surrounding urban physical/ environmental development and urban social management, and to relate those problems/ potentials with the existence of Bogor Botanical Gardens as the ‘natural green’ core of the city. The workshop was also to propose programmatic solutions to help revitalizing several historic buildings inside the Garden; including the historic Treub Laboratory and a former director’s house. The Bogor Botanical Garden can be viewed as a strategic spot, as the research and development body, that historically helped the changing landscape of the colonized countries during colonial period. The laboratory was where experiments on agricultural commodities were tested and developed before being exchanged within the network of botanic gardens across the globe. The workshop tries to highlight those aspects and proposes creative solutions and improvements which lead to specific aims. Bogor100’s intention is to have the public informed about the importance of the Garden for Bogor’s urban ecosystem and also for the communities. Bogor100 also acts as an open forum that enables stakeholders, institutions and communities, to discuss current problems and ideas for Bogor’s development.

For this workshop, Bogor100 collaborated with several institutions and non-governmental communities; Bogor Botanical Gardens, P4W – LPPM IPB, Landscape Department of Bogor Institute of Agriculture, and Kampoeng Bogor community and mAAN. The event was held for 7 (seven) days in the Botanical Garden; in the historic Guest House (former director’s residence) and the historic Treub Laboratory. Overall, there were more than 30 participants coming from the National University of Singapore, the University of Malaya, Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Bandung Institute of Technology, Pelita Harapan University, Petra Christian University and young fresh graduates and local volunteers.

Several speakers were invited to share revelant information for the participants; Prof. Johannes Widodo (National University of Singapore) spoke about World Heritage and UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards, accompanied by several good preservation practices; Prof. Lai Chee Kien (the National University of Singapore) discussed the role and history of the botanical gardens around Southeast Asia; Prof. Yahaya Ahmad (University of Malaya, Malaysia) shared his experience dealing with Penang and Malacca maintaining their World Heritage Site status; Dr. Ernan Rustiadi (P4W IPB) shared his research on Bogor current economic development and urban/ regional planning; Setiadi Sopandi illustrated Bogor’s urban morphology and architecture; Dr. Kuswata Kartawinata (Bogor Botanical Garden, UNESCO) shared his knowledge about the history of Bogor Botanical Gardens; Dr. Siti Nurisyah (Landscape Dept. IPB) talked about landscape architecture documentation and survey; and Dr. Dedy Darnaedi (Bogor Botanical Gardens) discussed the garden’s role as nature conservation site.

The results were very interesting. A unit headed by Prof. Yahaya Ahmad formulates buffer zones (which should be reinterpret into urban planning guidelines/ conservation zoning policy) and linkages of the Bogor Botanical Gardens, as it is prepared to be listed as a World Heritage site. Unit Prof. Lai Chee Kien looked into the role of two rivers passing through the city center and how the current development ignores them. The ignorance caused problems of flooding, water pollution, diminishing urban spatial identity as well as other environmental hazards. Unit Adi Purnomo (architect, based in Bogor) deals with creative simple and experimental ideas on how to utilize Bogor high percipitation as potential benefit for the Jabodetabek megapolitan region. Unit Avianti Armand (architect/ writer, based in Jakarta) surveys and rethinks the boundaries of the Botanical Garden, the only element that separates the Garden and the city. The unit sees and tries to reformulate the boundary walls as the last stronghold of the Garden, as a center for tropical botanical biodiversity conservation, from the ills of a developing city. Unit Widjaja Martokusumo (Bandung Institute of Technology) prescribes creative programming and revitalization plans on how to use old structures and existing condition in the Botanical Garden. Unit Rahman Wijaya (landscape architect, based in Bogor) tries to propose a package/ program/ trail for tourists to the Botanical Garden so it can help reduce the use of private transportation inside the city center.

Muntok

Apart from establishing a new tradition for architects and architectural students, the next challenge for mAAN (in Indonesia) is about how to bring all ideas and strategies forward. However opportunities are equal to pre-requisites; a host institution/ body that is interested to the public cause and has the capability to execute strategic moves, individuals supportive to the cause, a manageable scale of context and intervention, supports from local communities/ different stakeholders, a considerable fund that enables the first few exemplary steps.

mAAN Indonesia next move is on a small mining town located at the western tip of Bangka Island. The national tin mining company, PT. Timah (Persero) Tbk., invited mAAN to cooperate running a program dedicated for the city of Muntok. The program concerns with the current situation of Muntok.

Muntok is located around 2.5 hours drive from Pangkal Pinang, the capital of the Bangka-Belitung province, or around 3 hours ferry journey from Palembang, another provincial capital. The origin can be traced back before 18th century as an enclave for Malay royal descendants, and played an important role in political currents of the Malay Kingdoms. Its proximity with the Palembang, Musi river, and its location in the Bangka channel had established Mentok as an important port city harboring ships and people from abroad. We could easily placed Mentok within the historic maritime connections with Malay peninsula important centers (Johor, Siantan, Malaka, Singapore) as well as Javanese and Sumatran Kingdoms. Apart from the strategic location, Bangka and Belitung islands are located at the south end of the so-called Southeast Asia Tin Belt. The rich deposit of tin had established Mentok (and Bangka and Belitung islands) further as one of the most important cities since as early as late 18th century. The mining activities in the area had begun even before the colonial period. This area produced and processed tin as export commodity. And it was all started in Mentok. The island’s landscape was totally changed since the Dutch (and the British) began massive industrialization by tin exploration both on Bangka and Belitung. The Dutch brought Chinese from Fujian as mining coolies/ laborers, mainly Hakka. They had been there since then, with hard livelihood and interactions with other ethnic groups – Malay, Bugis, etc. -, established a very distinct composition of society. Since early 19th century, Mentok has become home base for tin mining explorations and important hub for export commodities. Modern infrastructures as well as urban development had turned Mentok as a modern colonial city; along with the development of the ethnic enclaves (houses, religious structures, markets, graveyards), new building types (hospital, civic centers, offices, institutional buildings), new types of urban spaces (streets, parks, modern harbor front). For sometime, Mentok is also famous for its pepper cultivation. It makes Mentok already deeply linked to the global economic dynamics for more than 150 years. Even, now, pepper for local population is a very good currency. People can keep pepper for months and sell it during price hike, or even trade it with another commodities. The area was also associated with Indonesia’s national independence struggle after the World War 2. Many nationalist leaders, including the first President and Vice President of the Republic, were stationed in Mentok during the exile.

However, despite the important events that signifies Mentok, fate also leads to the downside of industrial and urban development. Apart from the ups and downs of global economic situations, recently the exploration finally reached a point that it caused environmental problems. Ages of wealth, occupations and political intricacies had led the island towards a massive environmental disaster. On the island level, deep pits as well as open mining transformed the natural landscape into a vast mining landscape, polluting the soil and the water and leaving the land bare. After the land mine exploration cost went skyrocketing, the exploration had been focused on the water. Using dredgers extensively, a ship designed to collect tin from the shore, the environmental destruction had actually moved to the sea. The scale of exploitation went up and down for decades. The tin mining company, PT Timah, once held the monopoly of exploration, now is no longer the only dominant tin mining operator on the island. Some smaller companies are also permitted to exploit, and even groups of people manage to exploit lands and waters illegally. Some costly-rehabilitated ex-mining surfaces were even re-exploited illegally.

As for Mentok, political instabilities and shifts during the 20^th century added to the uncertainties for future development of the town. The establishment of Pangkal Pinang as the province capital had frozen Mentok’s development, leaving the once important center as a declining urban backwater. Development of infrastructure halted, leaving the town without a vision. Due to the lack of coherent planning, Mentok is now facing several environmental threats; the danger of water drainage system failure, the rising tide level, waste management plan, illegal squatters, and the deteriorating heritage buildings and structures. Lacking appropriate infrastructures and facilities, Mentok youngsters go to the bigger cities looking for better educations, careers, and future opportunities. Poor migrants encroach into squatters in the old cities due to the remains of the wealth. This situation directly impact to the declining livelihood of Mentok. The town life is almost over by mid-day. Evenings and weekends in Mentok are silent.

The stakeholders of the city; public officials, people on the streets, the mining company’s employees, cultural activists, senior citizens, local artists, craftsmen, etc.; had been longing for changes in Muntok for sometime. Therefore, the company (PT. Timah) sees mAAN workshop can play a significant role by seizing the momentum and providing a ‘neutral’ platform of cooperation between the stakeholders. The program includes a 7-day workshop as the starter and followed by several other activities. The workshop is trying to map the problems and issues, and relates them in terms of urban and architectural planning. Therefore the workshop has a good chance to provide a channel which the discipline of architecture, urban planning, and designs can provide ideas, projections, and solutions on how to bring up public life back again by architecture; historic preservations and urban development. These speculations are expected to bring about the local communities’ awareness, pride, and hope back about the city. This workshop also considers the available but dormant assets owned by the company in the city can be developed as triggers to social and cultural activities in the near future.

The workshop consists of two parts. Workshop 1 is a short-research/ seminar aiming at ‘re-reading’ the history of the tin mining industry in Mentok in particular, and its extend to the whole island, and valuating the current status of the city of Mentok, about its potential resources and its immediate future. This part was taking place between 18-22 July 2011. Few researchers from different backgrounds were invited to come together and conducted a 2-3 days excursion and research. They are Prof. Johannes Widodo (NUS), Prof. Lai Chee Kien (NUS), Prof. Widjaja Martokusumo (ITB), Prof. Ahmad Rida Soemardi (ITB), and Dr. Jan Af Geijerstam (University of Gothenburg, Sweden).

Workshop 2 was the ‘usual’ mAAN design workshop, but with special focus on developing ideas about urban interventions in the tin town of Mentok. The workshop was held between 21-28 July 2011. The intention of the design workshop is to incite creative and fresh ideas to revitalize and bring changes to the town. The ‘projects’ can be assumed as a massive public urban redevelopment or a new proposal for urban development & management by the authority, a company social responsibility program or simply small local community initiatives/ participations. It can be simply an effort or system that responds to the challenges and briefs set by the workshop 1. The designs/ project ideas pursued in the workshop can be aimed at particular buildings or building-complex, particular neighborhood, as well as any plots/ historic structures and street/ urban  spaces (i.e. the harbor, fish market, Chinese quarter, the city center, the river, Malay quarter, etc.), or Mentok city as a whole.

Appointed unit masters freely choosen the site and the context to their respective ideas. The designs and creative proposals are expected to be something that creatively respond and enrich the brief. Inputs and circumstances given by the stake holders and local references can be considered as a design assumption as well as starting point of discussion or criticism. The result will serve as (1) an exemplary of how Mentok can be developed, (2) a promotion for save guarding Mentok’s historical monuments and sites, (3) a promotion for building people’s awareness on their own urban environment, (4) a way to open linkages between Mentok’s urban stakeholders. The unit masters were all practicing architects: Adi Purnomo (Bogor), Ahmad Djuhara (Jakarta), Oky Kusprianto (Bandung), Yulianti Tanyadji (Makassar), and Yu Sing (Bandung). The results will be published into a book and video presentation.

Apart from the workshop, a team of architects (Abang Winarwan, Setiadi Sopandi, Rendy Aditya, etc.) has been working on the documentation of the ex-Banka Tin Winning (BTW) headquarter (1915). The ex-BTW building, the first tin mining office building in Indonesia, is one of the most important asset of PT. Timah (Persero) Tbk. in Muntok and it has served as one of Muntok’s landmarks. Being abandoned for quite sometime, now the owner begins to see the building as a potential trigger spot for future development. The building itself is now under restoration and going to be reuse as a museum (dedicated specifically as a showcase for the development of mining technology, as well as for Muntok history) and a center for public and cultural activities. The building restoration is expected to be finished next year and consequently followed by a number of art and cultural programs. However the extensive work on the physical planning of the building precinct might need longer to be really effective, along with other programs.

Paper presented at mAAN Seoul Conference, 2011

Draft, 01092011

Dalam sejarah perkembangan arsitektur Eropa, fungsionalisme diyakini beranjak dari sebuah perubahan yang intens di berbagai lini kehidupan pada pertengahan abad ke-19 dan puncak beberapa pemikiran yang sudah bergulir sejak masa Pencerahan. Berbagai pengalaman material ini juga telah dimulai sejak bergulirnya Revolusi Industri pada abad ke-18, menghasilkan berbagai teknologi dan material baru.

Bahan seperti besi tempa dan kaca mulai menggantikan peran batu, beton, dan kayu sebagai material pokok struktur utama bangunan. Besi sebelumnya hanya berfungsi sebagai elemen-elemen sambungan konstruksi saja, sementara kaca penggunaannya terbatas pada pengisi daun jendela. Namun berkat produksi massal dan perkembangan teknologi, kedua bahan bangunan itu dapat diproduksi dengan jumlah dan ukuran besar. Cukup besar untuk dapat menggantikan peran-peran material konvensional, sehingga memungkinkan bangunan seperti Crystal Palace (1851) dibuat.

Pada akhir abad ke-19, berkat pengaruh Ecole des Beaux-Arts, pengaruh keberadaan material kaca dan besi hanya sebatas sebagai substitusi material batu dan beton maupun kayu. Hal ini menyiratkan bahwa secara sistem struktur, besi dan kaca belum memberikan dampak signifikan pada sistem membangun, hal ini juga berarti kedua material baru ini belum memanfaatkan potensi-potensi ruang yang dapat dihasilkan. Gereja yang dibuat Louis-Auguste Boulieau, St. Eugene di Paris, baru melakukan substitusi material atas sebuah rancangan Gotik. Konstruksi geometri yang dirancang masih merupakan konstruksi geometri Abad Pertengahan Akhir, sedangkan pada tampilan luar gereja ini, bangunan ini nampak tidak berbeda dengan buatan 2 abad sebelumnya.

Estetika di Eropa pada abad ke-19 juga pada umumnya diliputi kegandrungan orang pada bentuk-bentuk lampau dan eksotis. Berbagai bangunan dihias dengan ornamentasi dan dekorasi dari berbagai langgam digabung dengan material dan teknik membangun terkini. Selera ini tidak berlangsung tanpa tak tertandingi.

Selera orang Eropa tergugah akan ruang-ruang arsitektural baru yang dihasilkan oleh material dan teknologi baru. Terutama setelah didemonstrasikan oleh Crystal Palace dan Menara Eiffel (1889).

Sebagai seseorang yang dijuluki teoritisi arsitektur modern pertama, Eugene Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879), telah menginspirasikan banyak arsitek setelahnya untuk mengerahkan potensi material-material baru dalam membentuk ruang-ruang arsitektur yang baru dan berbagai kemungkinannya. Berbekal pengalaman melakukan restorasi sebuah kastil dan benteng di Carcasonne dan sengaja memposisikan dirinya berseberangan dengan Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Viollet-le-Duc mengembangkan pemikiran yang menganalogikan sebuah bangunan seperti layaknya seperti sebuah bangunan anatomi mahkluk hidup. Pemikiran-pemikirannya tidak dalam bentuk terbangun, namun lebih banyak berupa analisa anatomis dan gambar rancangan yang dipublikasikan, terumata lewat dua karyanya terpentingnya: ”Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVe siècle”(1868) dan ”Entretiens sur l’architecture” (1864).

Viollet-le-Duc menelaah katedral-katedral Gotik dan membedahnya, dan menjelaskan elemen-elemennya hingga yang terkecil sebagai sebuah satu kesatuan sistem struktur. Perbedaan yang mencolok antara kajian Viollet-le-Duc dan berbagai pemikir lain sejamannya adalah, Viollet-le-Duc tidak menekankan pentingnya rasionalisasi order, sebaliknya mengamati katedral Gotik sebagai sebuah produk pemahaman teknologi struktur dan metode membangun yang melampaui batasan penciptaan ruang arsitektur pada era sebelumnya. Elemen-elemen pada gereja-gereja Gotik bekerja seperti layaknya sebuah anatomi kerangka tubuh makhluk hidup; setiap bagian memiliki bentuk tersendiri yang mendukung perannya dalam keseluruhan sistem. Pemahaman pada sistem inilah yang memberikan kontribusi pada wacana teori arsitektur pada abad ke-19. Hal ini jelas bertentangan dengan teori arsitektur yang lazim pada zamannya yang lebih pada wacana mengenai order/ aturan gramatikal dari komponen-komponen arsitektural.

Arsitektur digambarkan sebagai sebuah instrumen ketimbang sebuah perangkat ritual. Arsitektur sebagai sebuah ritual hanya dapat dijelaskan lewat relasi puitik: asosiasi, metafora, alegori dan simbol. Arsitektur yang dipandang seperti ini sulit diperdebatkan sebagai sebuah subyek ilmiah, sehingga hanya menyisakan sedikit ruang untuk ditelaah lebih lanjut. Sebagai sebuah instrumen, arsitektur dijelaskan dalam hubungan antar komponen-komponennya dan dapat ditelaah sebagaimana sebuah instrumen dirancang.

… bersambung

1. Recognizing, understanding, interpreting and harnessing ‘Industry’ as ‘heritage’ is a challenge in Asia.

2. Our industrial past is a complex phenomenon:

i) Industry in Asia, unlike many parts of the post industrialised West, is still alive and very much a part of our physical and cultural landscape today. It is under continuous and sometimes rapid change. This time & distance required to view this as ‘heritage’ is one reason for this.

ii) Industrial past is not static & tangible. It is a process connecting sites of production and its transfer & consumption through a complex network.

iii) Where the industrial past has been lost or ceased to remain in action, its memory contributes to the sense of identity at various levels (personal, local, regional, national etc).

iv) One aspect of this complexity comes from the painful association with industry that many Asian sites carry. The discontents of an exploitative industrial past can alienate us and highlight our differences. At the same time a cultural landscape that industry has created though continuity and exchange presents us an opportunity to seek each other’s investment in our past, making it shared and mutual. The sharing may not always be equal, the gratification not always mutual but the difference provides texture & colour to this landscape. It is in the context of this ‘unequalness’ that we must place our exploration, interpretation and (re)appropriation.

v) Industry is inherently ‘local’ as it is specific to a site, a community and/or exists in the memory of a certain group of people geographically localized to a certain place. However the connections that it establishes through shared technology, investment, and consumption represent its ‘global’ nature. This simultaneous duality and dynamism is a nature of our industrial past.

vi) In Asia we need to see place industrial heritage in the context of the evolving industrial process taking place in period where we have experienced the far reaching effects of post war, post‐colonial transitions, unprecedented economic development urbanization condensed into a period a few decades.

3. We seek to expand our understanding of industrial heritage in Asia to include traditional industries that remain living and vital to our culture and not restrict it solely to heritage associated with development paradigms rooted in the industrial revolution in the west. Developing the tacit knowledge of practices, crafts skills and cultural systems necessary for continuance of many production processes is important for this understanding.

4. Industry represents the critical & fragile connection between nature & us. The relationship between industry and ecology is crucial to the discussion on sustainability. Emerging challenges of ‘climate change’ and lessons from our collective industrial past holds valuable lessons towards our present concern for achieving development with sustainability. This presents the opportunity to expand the traditional boundaries of the subject of heritage studies, by placing it as a discipline that can actively contribute to current urban issues.

5. The understanding of the culture of industry and industry as culture needs to be reflected upon. We need to devote time & space to this discussion. We must, during this engagement, cooperate and collaborate with different disciplines, diverse scholarships and wider community to enrich this complex exploration.

Seoul, 26 August 2011

This declaration is announced in the mAAN Seoul 2011 International Conference on “Our Living Heritage: Industrial Buildings and Sites of Asia” organized by mAAN International and mAAN Korea, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, Seoul Museum of History, ICOMOS Korea, ICOMOS Shared Built Heritage Commission, and TICCIH (International

Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage), in Seoul, 25-27 August, 2011.

Memahami arsitektur sebagai sebuah profesi tidak sesulit memahaminya sebagai sebuah disiplin. Sebagai sebuah profesi, kita tidak akan kesulitan menggambarkan sesosok arsitek (dengan berbagai atribut fisiknya) bersanding setara dengan dokter atau pengacara atau insinyur sekalipun. Namun sebagai sebuah disiplin yang abstrak, mungkin akan sulit sekali membayangkan sebuah ’bangunan’ disiplin keilmuan yang seringkali mengurusi soal bangun-membangun.

Disiplin ilmu kedokteran tidak berada jauh dari hakikat profesinya; dibuktikan hadirnya Sumpah Hipokrates bagi setiap lulusan fakultas kedokteran. Sebagai lulusan arsitektur, kita tidak terikat sumpah apapun. Disiplin ilmu kedokteran dibangun atas dasar dan sumpah yang tak tergoyahkan; para calon dokter bersumpah untuk menghindari dan mengobati manusia dari berbagai macam ancaman kesehatan dan penyakit. Dari dulu hingga sekarang hal tersebut tak terbantahkan, secanggih apapun peradaban dan teknologi telah mengubah dunia. Namun cerita ini lain sekali dengan ilmu arsitektur.

Setiap periode sejarah menghasilkan pemikiran dan pemahaman tersendiri mengenai apa itu ’arsitektur’. Dalam hal ini arsitektur benar-benar seakan jelas berada dalam ranah ilmu-ilmu kemanusiaan/ humaniora dan kesenian ketimbang ilmu-ilmu keteknikan. Bahkan setiap periode sejarah menghasilkan definisi mengenai disiplin, kata, dan profesi arsitektur itu sendiri!

Pada suatu ketika, arsitek identik dalam profesi pendeta atau ’orang pintar’ yang bertanggungjawab tidak hanya menentukan berbagai hal yang menyangkut proyek pembangunan monumen-monumen penting, tapi juga memimpin upacara keagamaan dan meramalkan berbagai kejadian alam. Pada abad ke-16 dan 17, arsitek berada dalam satu paket dalam diri para polimath, yang mengabdi para patron menghasilkan karya-karya agung lukisan, seni patung, musik, hingga alat-alat perang. Pada abad pertengahan, arsitek berada dalam diri kepala tukang batu yang juga identik sebagai ’insinyur’ dan ’pengrajin’ sekaligus. Pada awal abad ke-20, Bauhaus memproklamirkan bahwa semua seniman dan desainer seharusnya adalah ’pengrajin’, sehingga tidak ada lagi beda kelas sosial di dalam masyarakat yang dihasilkan oleh industri benda-benda seni dan produk desain.

Perbedaan peran dalam sejarah juga tentunya melahirkan perbedaan dalam persepsi. Pada masa tertentu, masyarakat menempatkan arsitektur sebagai bagian penting di dalam kosmologi mereka. Piramida-piramida berdiri tegak mewah menyempurnakan perjalanan para firaun menuju keabadian masyarakat Mesir Kuno. Arsitektur abad pertengahan memberikan bentuk pada institusi dan birokrasi Gereja. Kekokohan dan kesan kokoh pada suatu saat sangat menentukan nilai bobot sebuah arsitektur, pada kesempatan lain keringanan dan ketidakpermanenan merupakan obsesi. Masa Renaissance memberikan ruang bagi arsitektur untuk tampil sebagai karya seni dan juga ekspresi pencarian keagungan masa lalu. Orisinalitas dan eksplorasi keruangan seakan menjadi tujuan utama dalam seni Barok. Kemegahan dan keagungan adiluhung melandaskan karya-karya Boullee dan Ledoux. Efisiensi dan fungsionalitas menjadi salah satu obsesi Arsitektur Modernis. Di kala kemegahan dan kemewahan dipuja masyarakat tertentu, sebagian yang lain justru menyembah kesahajaan. Universalitas arsitektur pernah dianggap kehidupan yang lebih baik bagi umat manusia, namun di saat yang hampir bersamaan keseragaman dicerca sebagai bencana.

Setiap kali persepsi-persepsi itu berkembang, setiap kali itu pula pendefinisian Arsitektur itu dimulai kembali. Dengan kata lain, disiplin Arsitektur adalah disiplin yang selalu terlibat upaya definisi-ulang dirinya sendiri. Maka bila disiplin ilmu lain sibuk membangun dan memperkuat pondasi keilmuannya, Arsitektur sibuk meruntuhkan, membangun, meruntuhkan kembali, dan membangun kembali.

17 April 201

pertama kali menyambut tawaran untuk datang ke india, saya sudah mengira bahwa akan mengunjungi sebuah negara mirip indonesia. kota besar yang hiruk pikuk, jalan berdebu, kendaraan saling serobot, dan fasilitas umum yang jorok. macet tentunya. sanitasi yang buruk. diprediksi pula bahwa akan banyak orang- orang luntang lantung di tempat-tempat umum yang tidak jelas melakukan apa selain merupakan ancaman bagi para turis lugu. dugaan saya tidak meleset. sambutan pertama delhi adalah ratusan orang menawarkan tumpangan selepas baris railing stainless steel terminal 3 indira gandhi international airport yang baru dan bersih. kabut pasir, sinar lampu merkuri, dan angin dingin adalah sambutan selamat datang yang khas bagi saya. di tengah kerumunan, supir taksi yang dipesan lewat hotel sudah menunggu. namun saya tidak yakin benar bahwa mereka (ada 3 orang) adalah orang yang benar-benar asli supir yang dikirim hotel. saya juga tidak jelas betul apa mereka supir taksi biasa yang dipesan hotel, atau supir yang bekerja di hotel. khawatir. sedikit panik. semua insting protektif bekerja menyita semua organ bekerja. nomor sandi untuk memastikan penjemputan tidak ada. tapi konfirmasi adalah bahasa inggris. dan mereka tidak berbicara bahasa inggris, meski demikian dengan berbagai cara mereka selalu berusaha membuat saya mempercayai dan mengikuti mereka. hal ini justru yang membuat saya semakin curiga pada muka-muka mereka. meski nomor lokal sudah menyala, blackberry belum bisa kerja, belum 72 jam katanya. mencoba menelpon seseorang di hotel, untuk mengabarkan bahwa supir sudah menjemput dan memastikan mereka orang yang tepat. ternyata mereka memang supir bodong yang disewa kantor. lega sedikit, tapi tetap gentar juga melihat truk-truk norak, autorickshaw (yang di indonesia kita sebut merek-nya: bajaj), taksi-taksi produksi tata (yang produknya meliputi semua hal yang bisa dibeli orang india, dari makanan hingga kendaraan), klakson-klakson memekakkan telinga, dan lagi-lagi hempasan hawa dingin ke muka.

2

saya dapat membayangkan perasaan gentar orang-orang dari belahan dunia yang lebih maju ketika harus menghadapi situasi yang nampak seperti chaos. semua nampak tidak berpola, hanya tumpukan kekacauan, tumpang tindih sirkulasi, informasi, teriakan dan ketidaknyamanan. kepastian, konfirmasi, adalah hal yang hampir mustahil dijumpai sejak kaki melangkah keluar bandara ini. dan keinginan untuk mendapatkan kepastian merupakan salah satu hal yang sangat saya redam selama 3 minggu ini. satu-satunya kepastian hanyalah bahwa kita tahu bahwa di balik muka-muka asing itu punya keinginan mengambil uang atau apapun yang ada di bawaan kita. ya ya ya. orang-orang yang (sok) relijius akan bilang: “tidak ada yang pasti di dunia, yang pasti hanya…” (tidak perlu saya lanjutkan). tokh indonesia berikut alam, manusia, dan kotanya juga menjanjikan ketidakpastian. jadwal dan rute kendaraan umum yang tidak jelas, ongkos murah tapi tidak pasti, makanan murah tapi tidak dijamin bersih, naik gratis turun bayar. tidak berbeda. sebelas duabelas. kegentaran yang berbeda saya alami waktu mengunjungi tokyo dan bepergian di jerman timur. di tokyo saya gentar melihat peta jaringan metro mereka. tanpa bantuan profesor saya yang pernah belajar di sana, tak mungkin saya mengerti prinsip dasar cara kerjanya. beliau sendiri pun butuh waktu untuk menjelaskannya pada saya. namun dalam 2 hari, saya mulai mengerti kegilaan ini. bahkan agak menikmati kekacauan jaringan yang diakibatkan serangan taifun pada kereta terakhir (padahal hal ini bisa berarti terkatung-katung di bawah tanah). namun seorang wanita tokyo dengan suka rela tanpa diminta susah payah mengantarkan saya kepada petugas yang juga dengan susah payah menjelaskan apa yang terjadi waktu itu. akhirnya saya selalu mengingat jasa mereka karena tanpa mereka saya pasti tidur di dalam kereta malam itu. kegentaran ini lebih kepada keraguan atas kemampuan kita mematuhi kepastian mereka. saya tidak meragukannya, bahkan cenderung berpandangan berlebihan pada ketepatan jadwal, kepresisian petunjuk mereka. kita sulit mempercayai ada masyarakat yang benar-benar terprogram untuk mematuhi itu semua. jerman, tidak usah dikata, merupakan salah satu dari biang itu semua. fasilitas kereta nasional mereka, DB, merupakan salah satu yang terbaik di dunia. presisi hingga hampir ke detik keberangkatan. ketepatan ini tidak terganggu fasilitas minim yang disediakan republik ceko bagi jaringan transportasi jerman ini. bis transfer DB tetap berangkat dengan waktu jerman yang presisi meski harus menerobos kemacetan praha.

3

dunia masih terbagi dua. atas dan bawah. khususnya di selatan sini, dunia masih terbelah-belah. dan nampaknya, saya hidup terombang-ambing diantara yang berbeda itu. angkot bogor yang menyebalkan tapi murah, meski tidak terlalu aman. mobil pribadi nyaman tapi terjebak kemacetan jakarta. makan siang di warung nasi, makan malam di restoran mewah. pada hari yang sama. baru saja, saya ‘melarikan diri’ dari delhi yang menggila dengan melewati dinding kaca terminal 3 indira gandhi. bermodalkan kopi hitam 115 rupee (sekitar 25.000 rupiah), kita jadi kelas yang berbeda dari orang-orang di pinggiran jalan. kopi ini membeli kepastian. paling tidak untuk sementara. supir taksi yang dibayar mahal lewat hotel menyajikan kecemasan terakhir saya; dia mengambil jalan menuju terminal 1 padahal saya menuju terminal 3. dia cuma bilang; “ok ok, shortcut sir, shortcut” sambil melambaikan tangan tanda yakin. dalam hati saya menuduh dia hanya ingin menghindari bayar tol atau sejenisnya. dia seperti mengerti saya; “no worry sir, this is shortcut, faster, no trucks, no traffic, just taxi”. kemarin saya masih dihajar dua dunia berbeda. delhi lama di utara menyajikan ‘anomali’ bagi para pendatang dunia atas. monumen dan aksis monumental mughal sudah pudar didesak oleh kehidupan. di hadapan benteng merah old delhi, chandni chowk menggila setelah pukul 10. semua orang berjalan, berteriak, memanggil. jalan-jalan besar penuh sesak, jalan-jalan kecil lebih penuh sesak. bangunan lama lusuh tapi vital. bangunan baru lusuh seperti bangunan lama. motor, mobil, becak, sapi, kuda, anjing, kambing, burung, babi bersama makanan dan kotoran mereka (basah maupun kering) ada di sana. profan dan sakral berdampingan. delhi baru ada di selatan. masih terpelihara semenjak dibuat inggris 90 tahun yang lalu. segitiga raksasa bagaikan crop circle pola segitiga raksasa masih tergambar jelas. total dan tegas. kekacauan harus merelakan sebagian kebebasannya pada bundaran-bundaran simpul jalan. menghambat lajunya, demi rancangan yang hanya bisa dinikmati dari angkasa. konon para perancangnya; brodie, luytens, dan swinton ditugaskan beberapa hal. pertama tapaknya harus ditentukan segera. kedua, hubungan dengan delhi lama harus dibuat. ketiga, sebuah titik penting bersejarah harus dianggap sakral untuk mengenang pemberontakan prajurit pribumi. namun yang paling terutama adalah untuk tidak terlalu terpengaruh dengan apa yang sudah direncanakan sebelumnya dan mempersiapkan delhi baru yang bersanitasi baik, teraliri listrik dan air, aman, bertumbuh, dan hemat. kota merah jambu kuno jaipur selintas menyajikan sebuah kota peninggalan abad 17 yang terencana ketat. 9 petak mandala, dengan istana di tengahnya, dikelilingi tembok. semua bangunan berhias plester dan cat merah jambu. tidak ada kecuali. namun yang ada dibaliknya sama sekali berbeda. meski jalan bertemu tegak lurus, kehidupan tumpang tindih di sana mengisi kotak-kotak geometrinya. sekali lagi; motor, mobil, sapi, kuda, anjing, kambing burung, babi, dan gajah bersama makanan dan kotoran (basah dan kering) mereka bersama-sama ada. penjual penganan berhadapan dengan bocah kotor yang bergelantung menuntaskan hajat paginya. dan kami bersama-sama mencoba gorengan manis pagi mereka. manis. terlalu manis.

4

sungguh, perjalanan saya kali ini adalah perjalanan yang menyita seluruh kesiagaan panca indera. lebih daripada yang pernah saya lakukan sebelumnya. mulai dari aroma, kebisingan, dan angin dingin pahar ganj di malam pertama; hingga menyerah pada hari ke-21; semua indera saya dibombardir pengalaman baru. sejak memasuki ring 1 taj mahal hingga hari kemarin di old delhi; membuka sepatu (dan kadang bersama kaos kaki) adalah kegiatan rutin yang melelahkan dan menyebalkan. ya ya ya, membuka sepatu adalah sebuah tanda hormat memasuki rumah ibadah, seperti orang eropa membuka topi mereka saat memasuki gereja. masalahnya, tempat yang akan saya injak jelas-jelas lebih kotor daripada jempol saya yang bau. ditambah petugas yang bertugas dititipkan (yang kadang ada kadang tidak ada) biasanya agak menyebalkan (dan saya sangat mengerti resiko pekerjaannya). di pelataran taj mahal, saya mulai memahami pengalaman ini. pola geometris komposisi batu-batu kapur merah dan marmer putih mulai menampakkan perannya; dingin marmer terasa menyengat dan batu merah hangat bergantian mampir di telapak saya. sementara mata saya dibombardir pemandangan monumental simetris, serba terolah dan tanpa celah. gerak tubuh dan orientasi pandang seakan terus menerus dikalibrasi shah jahan, sang penggagas makam istrinya. bangunan marmer putih menyilaukan di bingkai hamparan bangunan-bangunan merah dan taman-taman yang simetris sempurna di keempat sisinya. setiap aksisnya dialiri kericik air dari jamuna hingga orang buta pun akan paham simetrinya. karena merupakan situs warisan dunia dan situs bersejarah paling populer di india, kehadiran gelombang turis yang luar biasa juga nampak di sana. mereka melakukan hal-hal yang biasa dilakukan: berpose sebagai bukti hadir, merekam, dan mencoba kagum. sebagian mungkin membandingkan. suka tidak suka, mereka bagian dari tontonan.di ring 2, tidak kalah interaktif. penjaja dan gembel gemar mencolek-colek turis dengan gigih tanpa putus asa, sementara sapi turut menyebarkan aroma kotorannya. orang buta pun tahu dia ada di mana. candhni chowk, seperti tempat sibuk lain di india, menyajikan manusia-manusia yang tak mau kalah dalam gerak. bagai benda cair, mereka mengisi tempat yang kosong dengan tubuh dan berbagai alat transportasi. mereka bergerak laksana cairan kental, layaknya susu kental manis di larutan kopi panas. di kuil sikh, semua kepala harus ditutup kain dan semua telapak kaki harus telanjang. pelataran dan tangga masuknya beralirkan air. kita harus basah dan dingin di sana. dibelakang saya, beberapa jemaah menghirup air lelehan yang lewat jempol saya dengan penuh hikmat. marmer putih mungkin tampak agung dan steril bagi mereka. karpet merah lusuh cukup menghangatkan, karena seketika telapak menjadi tidak lagi basah. namun pemandangan dan suara langsung mengisi rongga sensoris lain. saya juga mencium bau makanan dan gemericik uang receh di sudut ruangan. berjingkat-jingkat melewati beberapa orang sikh yang berdoa, saya bersila dekat-dekat sebuah tiang marmer. dingin. musiknya konon menenangkan, namun bagi saya musiknya sangat serius. digiring ke luar ruang, saya melihat beberapa orang berturban menempelkan jidat bibir dan jenggot mereka ke sebuah tiang berbalut kain oranye. entah simbol apa. andreas si swedia bingung; “kenapa mereka menyembah tiang telepon?”. saya jawab sekenanya “dunno, it’s their culture probably”. keluar dari sana, pengunjung mendapatkan sejumput makanan manis di telapak, sebuah rangsang bagi indera terakhir. kita pun terpaksa mencuci tangan. di kuil jain, kembali telapak kaki bersentuhan. kali ini dengan batu-batu merah yang dingin di bawah rindang pohon. buddhisme dan hinduisme berpadu di sini. guru-guru jain ditampilkan sebagai buddha. para pengikut berdoa mengiringi perpindahan sejumput beras kuning dan merah ke nampan kedua. mereka pantang membunuh, apapun. bahkan mereka tidak makan umbi karena tidak tumbuh di atas tanah. beberapa guru nampak tidak mengenakan apa-apa. karena alam menyediakan segalanya, maka menurut mereka manusia tidak lagi butuh apa-apa. cukup merawat kelestarian seperti sedia kala.

catatan:
kalimat-kalimat ini bukan penggalan, namun diketik persis sama seperti yang ditulis dalam lembar ujian

steplike teras eksterior

cenderung ke arah geometri yang kuat

menaruh imajinasi puitis pada karyanya bukan untuk arsitektur puitis tapi untuk berasal dari rasa puitis

dekonstruksi tidak sama dengan form follow function, melainkan sesuatu yang tidak terkait waktu, bentuk sama kuat dengan ruang dan ada ideologi/ tujuan formal untuk membongkar kebakuan

karya sebuah hasil komposisi khas deconstructivis campur aduk, sudut dalam kebodohan yang menyenangkan fungsional. tidak ada ruang sepenuhnya terutup tetapi smorgasborg delighful derasa terus menerus variabel-kandang

fitur yang terbuka
mengkombinasikan dengan desain esoteris dan penggunaan bahan tradisional, seperti plastik, ubin, dan neon pada bagian dalam
mengaktifkan ruang-ruang yang efektif dan menghasilkan bentuk yang sintesis

gerakan melengkapi dari ada yang belum ada pada arsitektur modern

“arsitektur dekonstruktivis” atau yang lebih sering kita dengar “dekonstruksi arsitektur”.

seorang seniman lain membuat sebuah kaleng dengan isi yang tidak jelas dari bahan apa, diberi judul “the shit of architec” –> ia ingin menjelaskan kalau mau berpotensi sebagai arsitek, makanlah kotoran dari arsitek ini

beberaa strategi yagn digunakan oleh para arsitektur post-modernist dalam mengkritik arsitek modernis adalah dengan tetap menarpkan “bentuk berikut fungsi”, “kemurnian bentuk”, dan “kebenaran bahan”

jadi, simbol utama dari penglihatan yang secara tradisional sebagai “shelter of art”, tidak dipikirkan disini. karena meskipun ini shelter bangunan, tetapi tidak melambangkan fungsinya.

dua aspek teori kritik ditemukan, yaitu kecepatan dan analisa dalam dekonstruksi, untuk itu banyak kritik digunakan untuk membangun, berbagai contoh dilakukan pada:…

gehry memindahkan kulit luar bangunan ke depan sehingga nampak seperti layar. bentuk baru dengan keluar dari bentuk aslinya idenya seperti seolah-olah “membuka” bungkus suatu bangunan, membawa bentuk asli ke bentuk yang baru. gehry mendesain berdasar metodologi dan menghargai konstruksi serta unsur arsitektur sebagai pembentuk dan pencipta ruang.

aldo membuat unsur-unsur tidak bergerak bukan hanya sekedar untuk pajangan namun harus dimanfaatkan sebaik-baiknya

http://www.archdaily.com/89234/white-box-house-indra-tata-adilaras/

http://indratataadilaras.posterous.com/white-box-house-1

***
Mungkin elu ga setuju, tapi gw selalu merasa bahwa tangga itu adalah bagian yang paling menarik dari desain elu. Waktu itu, kita rame2 berdiri di pool deck di depan tangga, trus ada 3 orang anak yang lewat, naik-turun di tangga itu. Hal yang muncul pertama di benak gw adalah “Nude Descending A Staircase”-nya Duchamp. Mungkin karena memang waktu itu gw ga punya kosa katanya, jadi yang muncul bersifat asosiatif. Kalau dipikir2 sekarang, sebetulnya issue-nya sederhana aja, ini masalah spasio-temporalitas dari suatu objek arsitektural.

Gw sempat kepikiran, rasanya jarang kita bicara tentang (objek) arsitektur secara spasio-temporal. Fokus kita kebanyakan adalah “space”. Skala dan proporsi. Tapi “waktu”? Padahal kalau dipikir2, bukannya justru relasi antara ruang dan waktu itu yang menjadi tema besar dari arsitektur modern(is)?

Kalau dianggap bahwa tangga (dan ramp) barangkali adalah salah satu elemen arsitektural yang paling gamblang menggambarkan relasi antara ruang dan waktu, jadinya memang masuk akal kalau dua elemen itu seringkali mendapat pengolahan istimewa. Jadi desain elu mungkin sebetulnya ga istimewa2 amat dalam hal ini (sorry!). However..

Menurut gw, somehow elu berhasil menjadikan tangga itu unik karena settingnya sedemikian rupa sehingga dia tampil seolah2 seperti “stage”. Elu meng-ekspose relasi antara ruang dan waktu dan menjadikannya suatu “spectacle”. Ini, yang menurut gw, jarang2 gw temui.

My point is, bagi gw tangga itu sudah melampaui materialitasnya berkat kehadiran aspek temporal yang dipertegas oleh pergerakan orang (naik/turun, menghilang di belakang tembok, muncul, naik/turun lagi…). Dan karena itu juga, tangga itu jadi terasa erotik sekali. Bayangin aja, malam2 terang bulan penuh bintang di langit, si suami berendam di kolam berair hangat, menunggu si istri perlahan2 menuruni tangga dari km tidurnya di lantai atas… nude descending the staircase. Huhuy!
***

ketika sebuah buku arsitektur lokal berwarna oranye muncul mengiringi sebuah pameran bersama – di belantara industri arsitektur dan konstruksi di indonesia, satu hal yang menarik di sana adalah munculnya sebuah nama yang dicantumkan sebagai penulisnya. bagi banyak orang mungkin hal tersebut tidak merupakan sebuah hal yang luar biasa. artinya? sebuah publikasi serius menuntut adanya sebuah figur yang bertanggungjawab penuh atas isinya; mulai dari gagasan awal, butir-butir pemikiran, uraian pemikiran, argumen-argumen, pemilihan sumber kajian, teknik penulisan, hingga masalah-masalah penyajian dan teknis penerbitan. singkat kata, ada masalah, salahkan dia!

di buku oranye itu sekumpulan arsitek dan sekumpulan karya bergabung. dipajang berderetan, diberi sedikit ulasan oleh penulisnya – yang nampak sebagai pilihannya. menariknya, yuswadi saliya memberikan kritiknya; bahwa diakui sekumpulan karya tersebut tampil terampil, namun pembuktian ada di luar wacana tulis. singkatnya: puding tidak untuk dibuktikan dengan dibincangkan, namun dirasakan.

figur penulis – sebagaimana juga arsitek – adalah sosok otoriter awalnya. ia akan menentukan apa yang dituturkan dan memilih apa yang layak disimak oleh pembaca. dengan demikian ia juga telah menentukan apa yang TIDAK layak. sebelum buku oranye, hampir tidak ada penulis yang melakukan kompilasi karya arsitektur terkini yang diberi label sedemikian luas – “indonesia”. maka dari itu, publik langsung mencari tahu: apa dasarnya? angka? kemiripan rupa? kemiripan wacana? popularitas?

namun apabila menengok ulang apa yang ditampilkan buku arsitektur lokal berwarna oranye tadi, kita perlu menengok presedennya. sebelumnya beberapa publikasi arsitektur lokal yang menampilkan kompilasi karya-karya arsitektur dan tulisan hampir tidak menampilkan sosok penulis maupun editor. namun buku-buku tersebut tidak tampil anonim, malah tampil dengan singkatan tiga huruf monumental, gagah dan patriotik, namun generik. konon kumpulan itu adalah hasil pertemanan akibat kesamaan semangat  untuk tetap berwacana, dan juga konon justru semangat itulah yang merupakan substansi utama dari monumen tersebut. bukan kompilasi karyanya. namun tentunya, sekali lagi, peran dan makna bisa beragam.

hingga saat peluncuran, lazimnya kesemua itu adalah milik si penulis dan si empunya. namun setelah meluncur deras ke pangkuan pembaca dan khalayak ramai, ceritanya menjadi lain. cerita melebar ke batas-batas hingga dipertanyakan menyentuh batas etika.

nampaknya muncul monumental dari tengah-tengah kubangan ketiadaan publikasi arsitektur di indonesia adalah sebuah kemewahan sekaligus tanggungjawab tersendiri. di satu pihak, ada kebanggaan tersendiri dapat muncul dari ketiadaan. kredit sebagai perintis biasanya sulit dipatahkan.

namun di lain pihak, kualitas senantiasa menuntut dipertanggungjawabkan. namun, begitu sebuah buku meluncur, figur penulis tiba-tiba tidak lagi otoriter. bahkan mati, kata barthes. jurang melebar di sana. monumen berdiri dan publik mengamini, mengapresiasi dan menghakimi. sejarah terbentuk, fakta-fakta dipilah: ditampilkan atau dikubur. pihak yang berkenan akan mengangguk, pihak yang tidak setuju akan termotivasi menandingi.

selanjutnya perang wacana akan terjadi di berbagai lini. menyangkut substansi maupun etika di antara para pelaku dan pengamat, baik pada tataran antar proyek maupun dalam wacana teoritis. hal ini akan berlangsung seperti aliran air menuruni permukaan tidak rata. hingga munculnya sebuah monumen baru. bila itu terjadi, kita layak mengingat dan merenungi – apakah kita jogging di atas sebuah treadmil atau telah berada lebih tinggi di lereng sebuah bukit terjal.

2 november 2010