MUSEUM OF SOEKARNO

-

Between 8-12 August 2021, I became one of the judges for a competition to design a museum for the birth house of Soekarno in Kampung Peneleh, Surabaya. The competition was organized by Tata Matra Indonesia and  Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Kota Surabaya (Agency for Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of Surabaya). The aim was to raise awareness about heroism amongst the youth. 

The other judges were Prof. Dr. Ir, Johan Silas, Ir. Dadoes Sumarwanto MArch., Prof.Dr. Purnawan Basundoro S.S. M.Hum., Zaky Umara ST. MALA, and Dimas Nugroho. 

All participants were architecture students or graduates so they used architectural approaches with ideas about how a museum should look like.  Despite the fact that most submissions were impressive, I thought it should be better if students and graduates from museum studies participate, too. This would strengthen the ideas and be also fairer to the museum's professionalism. It is not everyone can create a proper museum. Nevertheless, I understood that in Indonesia museology is not known as a specific study yet. Heritage issues are usually approached by architects, including ideas of adaptive reuse as museums. 

During the judging process, I was humbled to learn from all participants and also from all other judges. The youths had fresh ideas and would like to reach the ideals, that were what inspired me. They also understood the basic concepts of heritage conservation and showed appreciation for the history of Soekarno. What angle of the history they have chosen was the most interesting for me because Soekarno is a person with many facets.

My favorite angle was the group who decided to choose an angle of Soekarno as a coffee drinker. Soekarno once said, "Instead of the bookworms who do nothing, I'd prefer the youths who smoke and drink coffee while they do something for their country." This quote inspired the group tremendously and they translated it into a cafe and museum altogether. They wished to attract the youth to come to drink coffee and to read about the history of Soekarno. For Indonesia's situation, this approach might works. This place might earn sufficient income to be able to support the museum and become a lively place for the youth in the middle of kampongs in Surabaya. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Corbusier's Ghetto (and how the Dutch deal with it)

-
Image
Last night I took a part in an online discussion for television and live stream programs with the representatives of the Municipality of Amsterdam and the Housing Corporation Rochdale about living in Amsterdam Southeast. It was organized by the New Metropolis Zuidoost, a branch of Pakhuis de Zwijger, a think tank for urban and sustainability issues.  I had to be bold in five minutes that I had during the broadcasting. So what I said is that Amsterdam Southeast was built based on the ideals of Le Corbusier, the Swiss architect, that everyone no matter from which background has the right to light, air, and space. He dreamed of urban development that separated work, living, recreation, and various modes of mobility. This ideal was applied in Amsterdam Zuidoost in the 1960s to be the largest experiment ever in the world in terms of scale and innovations. The experiment was lead by Cornelis van Eesteren, the pioneer of modern architecture in the Netherlands. The reality showed that some...
Read more

INFILL DEVELOPMENT

-
Image
Perpaduan antara bangunan lama dan baru selalu menarik perhatian saya karena saya percaya pelestarian pusaka (heritage conservation) haruslah aktual dan menjawab kebutuhan zaman. Jadi tidak semata-mata dan sama sekali bukan untuk nostalgia. Jika memang niat ada banyak cara untuk mempertahankan bangunan lama dan mengkombinasikannya dengan bangunan baru. Dengan cara ini pelestarian pusaka dan pembangunan baru secara simultan terakomodasi. Solusi seperti ini umumnya disebut Infill Development . Definisinya menurut BUILD, is the economic use of vacant land, or restoration or rehabilitation of existing structures or infrastructure, in already urbanized areas where water, sewer, and other public services are in place, that maintains the continuity of the original community fabric. Solusi Infill Development juga berdasar pada semakin meningkatnya kesadaran tentang pembangunan berkelanjutan dan pelestarian lingkungan hidup. Pendekatan Infill adalah tanggapan terhadap kebijakan pemerintahan ...
Read more

RISE AND FALL OF SUGAR INDUSTRY IN INDONESIA

-
Image
Sugar Factory Olean, Situbondo, East Java, Indonesia  (Source: Het Rozenhuis) The Sugar Industry in Java as shown during the International World Exhibition in 1910 in Brussels, Belgium (Source: J.W. Ramaer)  Heritage hands-on is selected as one of the participants “Sharing and Collaborative: The Footprints of Asian Sugar Industrial Heritage” is a part of the international symposium on “Multilateral, Sharing and Collaborative: Developing a Common Vision of Asian Industrial Heritage.” This event will take place in t he Cultural & Creative Industries Park, Taiwan, 30 th May – 31 st August. The organizer is  the Bureau of Cultural Heritage Ministry of Culture, Taiwan and it is implemented by National Yunlin University of Science & Technology Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation. Heritage hands-on will present the exhibition about "Rise and Fall of Sugar Industry in Indonesia".   I n the 1930’s Indonesia was the world sec...
Read more