Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, third from left, posing alongside the team of architects curating the Indonesia pavilion. (Photo courtesy of Biennale Architettura)
French novelist Victor Hugo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” wrote: “The greatest products of architecture are less the works of individuals than of society; rather the offspring of a nation’s effort, than the inspired flash of a man of genius.”
Undoubtedly, Indonesia has some of the world’s greatest architecture, in a building tradition that stretches back several centuries.
Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, is a fine example. Built in the ninth century, the Buddhist monument attests to the greatness of the Sriwijaya Empire, which ruled the country between the seventh and 13th centuries. The 55,000-square-meter structure, which is entirely made of interlocking volcanic rocks, has been named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Wae Rebo village, located on a scenic green plateau in East Nusa Tenggara, is another example. The traditional village is made of a group of conical wooden stilt houses, known locally as Mbaru Niang. These traditional houses, humble as they may seem, can withstand the harsh mountain winds and earthquakes that often strike the area.
Indonesian modern architecture is no less astounding than the traditional type.
The national mosque, Istiqlal, in built in the modern-minimalist architectural style of the 1950s. The 72,000-square-meter mosque is made entirely of marble and stainless steel — uncommon materials in Indonesia at that time. Its architect, Friedrich Silaban — a devout Christian — vowed that the mosque would stand for a thousand years.
These buildings will be featured in the 2014 Biennale Architettura, or International Architecture Exhibition, in Venice through Nov. 23 this year.
The Biennale Architettura is part of the prestigious La Biennale di Venezia, or Venice Biennale. The International Architecture Exhibition, which has been held since 1980, is considered one of the most important architecture exhibitions in the world.
There are 66 countries participating in the architecture exhibition this year, and for the first time ever Indonesia is present at this high-profile international event.
“The most important thing is that you can’t just register to participate in the Venice Biennale,” says Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesia’s minister of tourism and the creative economy. “You have to be invited.”
It was the curator of the exhibition, world-renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who invited Indonesia to the biennale, Mari says.
“And the fact that Indonesia is officially invited to the prestigious event proves that the international world has now acknowledged our country’s greatness,” she adds.
The architecture exhibition this year comprises three main themes and inter-related exhibitions, which are “Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014”; “Elements of Architecture”; and “Monditalia.”
Indonesia was invited to create a national pavilion that is in line with the first theme, and to prepare, last year the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI), the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry and the Education and Culture Ministry held a competition for Indonesian architects to come up with innovative ideas for the Indonesia pavilion at the biennale.
Six groups of architects were picked as finalists, and the winner — the group comprising Avianti Armand, Setiadi Sopandi, David Hutama, Robin Hartanto and Achmad Tardiyana — was announced in September 2013.
Their installation, “Ketukangan: Kesadaran Material” (“Craftsmanship: Material Consciousness”), is now on show at the Indonesia pavilion at the biennale.
The pavilion itself occupies a space of 500 square meters at the Arsenale in Venice.
Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta, top, will be featured at the Biennale Architettura in Venice. (Photo courtesy of iennale Architettura)
The Indonesia pavilion
“Traditionally, [Indonesian] architects are craftsmen,” says Avianti, who as a winner of the competition has also been named a co-curator of the pavilion.
The profession of architecture, according to Avianti, then grew to become more idealistic.
“Today’s architects are more concerned with ideas than implementation,” she says. “They’ve become less and less conscious of the materials that they use in buildings. And this lack of material consciousness has caused deforestation, floods and global warming in the country.”
In the Indonesia pavilion, the five curators feature six building materials in their installation — timber, stone, bricks, steel, concrete and bamboo — all of which were commonly used throughout Indonesia in the past century.
“We didn’t include glass in the installation, because glass is not a friendly building material in the tropics,” Avianti says.
But the material still plays a central and unique role in their installation.
Inside the pavilion hang a row of glass sheets hangs, arranged in a labyrinth.
Above each corner of the labyrinth is a film projector that shows a short movie on the sheet glass, featuring how each of the other materials is harvested or made, their uses in the past and present, as well as the buildings that use these materials.
The installation looks sleek and modern. Visitors can walk through the labyrinth and feel as if they are actually inside the buildings shown by the film projectors and watch how the use of each material has transformed over the last century.
“It’s not an exotic installation that some people might expect from Indonesian architects,” Avianti says. “But we’re trying to project Indonesia today, something that’s not far from our daily realities.”
“Interestingly, each material has its own ebbs and flows,” adds Setiadi, who is also a lecturer at the department of architecture at Pelita Harapan University outside Jakarta.
Setiadi says today is a golden moment for timber, which is in hot demand for use in houses and buildings because of its warm, organic elegance, even though the material is now very scarce and expensive.
“As a solution, many young Indonesian architects re-use discarded old timber [from demolished houses] in their buildings,” Setiadi says.
A prime example is the Potato Head Beach Club Bali. Designed by Indonesian architect Andra Matin, the facade of the building is made of hundreds of discolored old wooden window panes. This unique feature has become the standout point of the beach club.
Bamboo is also a rising star in Indonesia’s architecture scene, Setiadi says.
“Bamboo is now considered to be a ‘heroic’ material. It’s considered to be new, green and eco-friendly,” he says. “Plus, our ancestors used to actually make buildings out of bamboo before.”
A new leisure park and resort complex made of bamboo, which is also presented in the Indonesia pavilion’s installation, is the Dusun Bambu (Bamboo Village) in Bandung.
Brick has also undergone major transformations in the past century.
“Bricks were considered to be a raw material in the colonial era,” Setiadi says. “That’s why brick walls were plastered over, whitewashed and painted.”
But today, exposed brick walls are considered to be de rigueur. Many upmarket homes and posh nightclubs and restaurants in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities feature exposed brick walls rather prominently.
At the Indonesia pavilion, the curators feature a private villa by Indonesian architect Adi Purnomo. The villa, in Petitenget, Bali, has oblique walls that are made of exposed red bricks.
Natural rocks, which were nearly forgotten in the 1970s, have again became a favorite building material, following the renovation of Borobudur between 1972 and 1983. The industry was revived as people became aware of the beauty of natural rocks in their buildings once again.
“The Borobudur renovation also employed many skilled local artisans,” Setiadi says. “As the result, the [nearly extinct profession was also revived.”
High expectations
Architecture, which falls under the purview of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, contributed Rp 12.9 trillion ($1.08 billion) to Indonesia’s GDP in 2013.
“It might be a relatively small share of our GDP, but the growth has been quite significant,” Mari says.
In 2013, the architecture industry grew by 8 percent, much faster than the growth rates of the country’s other creative industries, which averaged 5.8 percent.
Architecture also employs nearly 41,000, who on average earn Rp 121 million per capita per year.
“The impact of our participating in the biennale won’t be seen in the short term, but we hope there’s going to be a snowball effect and all Indonesian architectural products and services will become known to the wider world,” Mari says.
The curators also believe Indonesia’s participation at the prestigious event will make a huge positive impact on the country’s own architects.
“It’s a great chance for Indonesian architects to reflect, look inside and realize that they’re definitely no less capable than their international peers,” Avianti says. “So there’s no need to feel inferior.”
By feeling confident in their own talents, Avianti says she hopes that Indonesian architects can explore their skills and knowledge to find creative solutions for buildings in the country, without always turning to outside references.
“We should find our own architectural identity, without having to follow international architects,” she says.
After the Biennale Architettura in Venice ends in November, the installation at the Indonesia pavilion will be brought home and displayed in museums and galleries in the country.
“It’ll be our pride, as well as a reflection of Indonesia’s great civilization,” Mari says.
By Sylviana Hamdani on 05:13 pm Jun 10, 2014
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