DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE 01

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 3

THE COMPLEXITY OF MULTI-LAYERED BOUNDARIES
Abdul Hakim Abdullah & Mohd Sahrul Ahmad

The heritage legacy of colonial

Dutch had strongly embraced
the image of Jakarta through
the establishment of Dutch
Settlement ranging from
Glodok to Sunda Kelapa
that formed a vibrant city
of Kota Toa with Old Batavia
(Fatahillah) as its administrative
centre some 200 years ago.
It had brought significant
value as it was the catalytic
core in the transformation of
Sunda Kelapa harbour into
today’s Jakarta metropolitan
city. But, during the last
30 years of the urban
modernization of Jakarta, the
morphology is threatened as
the development had rapidly
increased the complexity and
fragmentation of the city which
resulting in abandonment
of its heritage value.

Even though the ideas

of conserving the legacy
sounded many years ago, it
doesn’t materialised as critical
urban studies can’t respond to
the basis of cultural urbanism.
The focal aim in revitalizing a
city shall not rely only on the
restoration of the building
façade itself, but it must
be somehow rejuvenated
by creative intervention
of specific programme to
achieve intensity as well as
allowing permeability to the
city blocks and typologies.

4 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
our interpretation As an inseparable part of kampong balokan into the
metropolitan cities, Kampong perimeter site of old batavia
Boundary had developed Balokan has lot of opportunity by implementing the theme
strong gap as it is the and advantage to offer. The ‘bridging the gap’ as the key
catalyst in the increasing of absence of preconceived strategies in producing the
urban fragmentation and planning, improper small notion of cross programmatic
complexity. The gap had alleys and its questionable that could make boundaries
widen as city sunken in its legal status should not be connected and breaking up
territorial divisions and it need seen as problems, but instead the monotonous of existing
to re-connect all of its mental a model based on the idea building typology and
and physical distinction of urban social ecology and reconnect both the informality
as spaces for negotiation, community interaction. of settlement with tourism
tension and intervention. Kampong Balokan also hides and businesses as well as to
a very potential pottery bring new city experiences
Through the observation expertise and timber industry. reality and emotionally.
and studies, the problem of
conservation planning in Old The idea is to adopt the
Batavia and why it doesn’t issues and potential of
worked well was because
the revitalization is defined
incorrectly as it only focusing
in conserving and restoring the
historical buildings but never
intended to look up seriously
on the everyday problems
faced by those actually living in
the Jakarta’s Old Town. The grid
urban setting had divided the
Old Batavia into boundaries
with less connection one to
another. This bring into the
establishment of fragmented
layout with formal sector,
tourism and settlement
being zoned separately.

We discover that the catalytic

point in reviving the old city
of Batavia and its surrounding
milieu lies on the Kg Balokan,
the semi permanent settlement
hides at the back of rear
façade of flat vertical building
envelope of BNI building.
The only settlement in the
perimeter site of Old Batavia
has a unique entity that growth
and evolved in its own way.

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 5

STRATEGIES

BNI building urban void

physical form
sole function of building

existing scenario

existing scenario
changing in role which some of the building
can enhance the functionly abandoned
potential hidden society and few buildings are
very bad in condition
negotiation of ground floor
?
implement function

existing scenario

change scenario

tension approach : tension approach : new program will

government require to existing green space be plug in into the
dedicate ground floor need to be sacrified abandoned buildings
as business, cultural, and allow for specific as an adaptive reuse
tourism spaces of event intervention method

negotiation approach : negotiation approach :

as to counter lost special approach will
space of ground floor, be take into account as
government will replace to relocate lost green
that at another place carpet
plug-in field

intervention approach :
marginal group have
a chance to generate
trade activities
to revilatise vacant street
by implementing leisure
carpet and vendorstreet

intervention approach :
injection of new
program at potential
urban void as one of the
architectural scheme
by creating a new event
will lead towards a new
movement infill approach

tourism attention d e a b f c

6 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
 abandoned building
fire station building (PEMADAM) canal body

existing scenario
polluted water body create unwanted
scene for public
existing scenario

importe outside culture

and intermingle with
local culture (a + b = c)

existing scenario joint venture organization

reformat program

overlapping the
program to make
diversity and variety in
creating activities

bring more density

organize function/event connecting program

open square as one

of the promoter
mechanism towards
culture of arts

generate income celebration square

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 7

 L
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The project scheme had 7. Maintaining local

undertaken few strategies community inside the site and
before specific intervention prevent them from migration.
being injected into every
demarcated layer and
boundaries, namely:
1. Identification of potential
space (urban void),
2. Bringing glocal residents
into the city,
3. Rehabilitation of building
adaptable to new economic
uses,
4. Extending glocal tourist into
the city,
5. Rehabilitation of basic
infrastructures,
6. Improved multi-ethnic
relations and revival of
harmonious socio cultural life
through attractive outdoor/
indoor and meeting spaces,
community facilities, and
community advocacy,
ovelapping the programs and events

8 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
hypothetical programme

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 9

proposed scheme

All these strategies will be

based on the basic approach
of tension, negotiation and
intervention. As the main
intention in revitalizing the
city is to extract the value
and potential of kampong
balokan as the base modules
that could later on give benefit
to the village and its society.
Most of the programme
injections will innovate the
potentiality of timber industry
and pottery expertise through
identification of new parcel
programmes at every each of
existing boundary and layer.

10 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
Existing open square
encouraged us to propose
something by providing new
intervention at vicinity area.
Injection of new programmes
and also new buildings helps
in creating more diversity of existing scenario new development making connection public entertainment
activities rather than just an
appearance of new building
typologies. Existing building
such as post office need some CAFE

OFFICE
SCREENING

STUDIO

architectural refreshing, by
HOUSE OF MUSIC
FACTORY OUTLET

stacking up new block on top house of music esplanade emporium

of the existing building, the

collaboration of old and new
architectural element will be
formed.

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 11

The first layer of intervention is
the vacant green space located
a side from BNI building. This
urban void has been identified
as a focal point to bridge the
hidden kampong with the
This art academy can become
as center for people to learn
more specifically about pottery
and also other things.
existing situation potential urban void

other part of old Batavia.

Art academy is one of our
building interventions within
a perimeter given. As its main CLASSROOM

function known as education LIBRARY

LABORATORY
center, other relevant point ADMINISTRATION
that we want to highlight is GALLERY / OBSERVATION DECK
AUDITORIUM
enhancing the art of pottery
COMMERCIAL
craft. This reason responds
to the potential skills that
Kampong Balokan villagers
have. By establishing new
building with land dedicated
for education purpose,
government can do some
of new programs such by
inviting Balokan’s villagers as
existing scenario setup new square establish setback extrude urban block
to contribute their knowledge
to other people. Later, the art
of pottery may evolve from by
doing in traditional way then
to a hybridisation of computer
technology.

12 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
connecting open square erecting new building respond to the village area

deform the block connect to public adding box plate rotate to suit additive and subtractive

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 13

Long city block is a common
problem in any heritage site,
the existing grid pattern of Old
Batavia seem failed to achieve
intensity and permeability thus
resulting in closed business
opportunity and crime. So,
through the intervention of
built form, we had introduced
plug-in-field programme
known as museum cum bazaar,
where the layer which place
the History Museum of Jakarta,
hotel and Bank Mandiri will be
intervened and transformed
into a livable communal park
which link both formal sector
and tourism. This would bring
glocal tourist into a new kind
of shopping experience as well
as to increase their knowledge
and public awareness. While
leisure carpet programme
device to break the
monotonous of city block into
two parts to make the layer
more permeable and to bring
new business opportunities
for informal sector especially
the street vendors. They will
be re-located here to run their
business proper and safe.
This communal urban space
is aimed to be a hub of new
innovative pottery and timber
craft under the R&D from art
academy. This indirectly helps
the local society gain income
to improve their daily life.

existing building layout new green setting breaking the city blocks establish programme flow new intervention

14 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 15
Through plug-in-field
programme, we had
identified the specific area for
intervention along the East
Kali Besar through preliminary
building stocks study. The
intervention include the existing Situation
abandoned and vacant spaces,
inner green areas, alleys and
also the additional space on
top of the existing structure.
The programme ranging from
formal to informal, stack-
up and interlinked one to
another in order to bring new partial demolition

architectural experience as
well as to project image to the
existing building surrounding.

partial in fill

green space and path

16 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
Rehabilitation of public
amenities and water bodies
is undoubtedly important as
the old Batavia and other sub-
district of Kota Toa (Old Town)
were formerly generated
by canals for transportation
and water supply. Thus,
river corridor programme
takes place to rehabilitate
both polluted water bodies
in re-projecting the image
of Dutch city as well as for
recreational purpose for
tourist and local communities.
Despite have a walk on land,
people will experience walking
through floating boardwalk for
sight seeing towards historical
building and the Kampong
Balokan.

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 17

Under the community
development programme,
the kampong balokan will be
the subject for intervention,
since our early intention is
to let the kampong runs and
evolves organically, the spatial
solution chosen in improving
the kampong will consider two
circumstances, the current and
future prospects. Minimalist
intervention approach will
transform the kampong’s
circulation layout, waterfront
side, building façade and other
relevant amenities. The only
existing entrance to the village
will be widen and linked
across the kampong straight
to the river. Some houses
will be re-located under
form with new circulation
setting will let the community
to stay which resulting in less
migration. The area of the
kampong will expand until it’s
no longer able to cater high
population density and cause
problems to the community.
So, under the future prospect
programme, we come up with
a vertical housing scheme, an
affordable modular house that
can be installed and arranged
based on need and demands.
This stack up module is
designed in respect to the
existing built form to reflect
the originality of Kampong
Kampong Balokan. It can
be done by establishing the
core on the targeted vacant
lands. The module will be
assembled on ground and
stack up vertically which
later on more houses will be
installed and link the core one
to another. Perhaps this could
be the best spatial solution
to the up coming scenarios
of the continuous growth of
Kampong Balokan.
tension approach :

negotiation approach but still surrender the required spaces

in the perimeter area of the to allow new projection of

kampong. In order to promote programme

and inject some business

opportunity into the informal
sector of the kampong, culture
walk will be the open path
for tourist to walk-in and feel negotiation approach :
the synergy of the ‘illegal’ relocation of existing space to
kampong’s communities. The another place
rehabilitation of canal will
change the overall view of
Balokan as many more tourism
programme will be injected
along the water body. As the
intervention of programme
on the peripherical area of
kampong Balokan show
some improvement. The
result will definitely affect the
intervention approach :
condition of people living in
establishment of new
the kampong, more income
programme through injection
gained will increase demand,
of proposed modules into the
thus lead to the second
specific/targeted location.
transformation of their daily
life, more houses will be built
to replace the old, proper built

18 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
 possible development growth possible intervention of housing module establishment of road/alleys

roads & alleys dwellings amenities/waterfront retails

single unit dwelling

1-2 persons
unit size : 7m x 4m x 3m
28 sqm / 301 sqf

double unit dwelling

2-4 persons
unit size : 7m x 8m x3m
56 sqm / 603 sqf

triple unit dwelling

4-6 persons
unit size : 7m x 12m x 3m
84 sqm / 904 sqf

Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 19

 existing scenario tie-up structural framework

establishment of new connection existing and new programs evolved

intervention at peripherical area centralise open square

identification of new housing core modification at certain spot

20 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009
Bachelor Architecture (Hons) - Design Philosophy 21
Bibliography

“New Scapes - teritories of complexity”,

Paola Gregory, (Birkhauser - Publishers
for Architecture, 2003)

“Negotiation and connectivity: a bound-

ary approach to multi-layered landscapes”
Isabelle Doucet ()

“Making a City: Urbanity, Vitality and

Urban Design”, Journal of Urban Design,
Montgomery, J.,

Boelens, L. Inaugural Lecture 13 January

2005, (www.urbanlimited.nl/uu/urbanltd.
nsf/12) [accessed 15 January 2009]

“Kampong provides identity for Jakarta”,

Anissa S. Febrina, (The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta, Thu, 11/02/2006)

“Old Town revitalization overlooks the

residents”, Anissa S. Febrina, (The Jakarta
Post , Jakarta, Wed, 06/06/2007)

“Small kampong serves as backbone to

Old Town area”, Anissa S. Febrina, (The
Jakarta Post , Jakarta, Wed, 06/07/2006)

22 Abdul Hakim Abdullah + Mohd Sahrul Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi Mara Urban Design Report 2009