Vietnam and My Little Note

Pic.1 Saigon river with developing city center as background

After arriving at Tan Son Nhat international airport, the panoramic view of Ho Chi Minh City is analogous to one of Indonesian’s city, in my opinion. While I am sitting in taxi on the way to our rented house, I see so many motor bikes pass through. They can even get on ride by three people in one motorcycle. It amazed me so much. Here, in Vietnam, it has only one license plate number at the back side of two wheel motorized vehicle. And old type of motorcycle such as Honda type c70 produced on 1970 still exists here as well.

Tags: city in vietnam, little note in vietnam, saigon, vietnam

Kain Kebaya : One of Indonesian National Costumes

Raden Ajeng Kartini, Indonesian National Heroine, with her husband wear kain kebaya and sarong batik

Indonesia has various kind of cultures, customs, folk language, and traditional costumes as well. One of the most popular of Indonesian national costumes is kebaya or kain kebaya for more correct. Kain kebaya is a long blouse worn by most of women in Java and Bali as traditional costume. The term of kebaya derived from the word “kaba” from Arab, middle east which means “clothing” then introduced to Indonesia via Portuguese around 16th century.

Tags: indonesian national costume, kabaya, kain kebaya, kebaya

インドネシア語を勉強している日本人のため。「インドネシア語を使ってみよう！」

外国語の勉強をすることがとってもおもしろいと思います。今回このブログはインドネシア語を勉強している日本人やインドネシアに旅行してるツーリストのために作られました。インドネシア語と日本語は発音がだいたい同じで、母音明瞭度も同じだと思います。

Tags: インドネシア語を勉強する日本人, bahasa indonesia for japanese, indonesiago wo benkyou suru nihonjin

Study on Investigation of System and Vocabulary between Javanese and Japanese Language

Javanese language is regional language used in mostly part of Java. Even each regional has different accent and various dialects, it is believed that it based from the same roof. The scope of study of Javanese language discussed in the paper refer to Javanese language spoken in east Java, Jogjakarta, and around Semarang.

Many people do not know that in general, Javanese and Japanese language are similar in degree of speech and some vocabularies. In Javanese, there are ngoko and krama, that used in daily language divided into many more types. Same as in Javanese, Japanese (in general) has similar 2 types degree of speech called futsu and keigo. We can assume that keigo in Japanese and krama in Javanese are similar in degree of speech, both of them are used in order to express a respectful to people who is older than the speaker. While, futsu and ngoko are similar used in either family talks or best friends community. In Japanese keigo is divided into 3 more types, there are : sonkeigo, kenjoogo, and teineigo.

Tags: degree of speech in javanese japanese, keigo, krama, ngoko, similarity javanese japanese, sonkeigo

Historic Buildings: Losing its facade

Before designing a building, an architect or master planner usually study about site analysis first, view orientation for instance. As designer, study of view orientation become the significant point while analysis is being planned. Which potential view can be explored, and which one is less to be explored. Beside view taken from pedestrians, view taken from motorized vehicle user is also highly significant. Then, what will be happened to the site when its traffic has been already changed? is there any relationship about site of view and traffic changing? for me yes. We can take an example case in downtown of Surabaya city located in Jembatan Merah area. Jembatan Merah has long journey of architecture history, and become a unique old city area.

Tags: building losing its facade, facade of historic building, nutspaarbank, surabaya, surabaya history building

Taman Ade Irma Suryani Nasution : After more than 100 years.

Not many people knew about Taman Ade Irma Suryani Nasution, one of the Surabaya’s city garden. Did you know that? Most of them called taman bambu runcing, because there’s a monument of bamboo spear in the center of the park as a vocal point. Tamam Ade Irma Suryani Nasution (AISN for short) are located in jalan Panglima Sudirman (also known as Embong district), central bussiness district in southern Surabaya. The existing of AISN was very significant to Surabaya not only as community or gathering space but also as pollutant filter caused by many motorized vehicle coming up to the unlimited amount.

AISN seen from the topview

 

Left: Old Map of Surabaya showed where the location was

 

Surabaya city development history told that after the government had actively built downtown area of Surabaya, government and developer decided to develop the eastern and southern part of Surabaya into dwelling houses. At that time the name of jalan Panglima Sudirman was Palmenlaan (the name Palmenlaan came from the words Palm and Laan. Laan means the wide street which in the left and right of the street are planted with lots of shady trees.). To attract customer’s and or buyer’s attention, developer designed a garden in the middle of the housing estate. It was prestigious and stylish living in front of  or near the garden at that time. Around 6 months, all of the facilities and residences had already built. Then they named this district with word Embong (Embong Gayam, Embong sawo, Embong ploso, ect). Not long after the housing estate of Embong district had been formally opened, in 1906 this district became a prestigious real estate of Surabaya and the southern border of the city.

Old view of the park

2006

 

Previously the basic form of the garden was divided into 4 parts which each part was in rectangular shape. Because of high mobility, population density, and government’s plan to widen the street, then the basic form of the each part had already changed into triangular shape. Now, in the center of the park is established a monument of bamboo’s spear as a central orientation and one of the dominant elements of the city. In shaping urban public space, dominant elements are used to give a sign of significant place. Dominant elements could be a tower, monument, cupola, ect.

Why did people not recognize AISN park? When we passed through the jalan Panglima Sudirman, we could not feel the existing of the park because each parts of the park were separated with a wide street, so there is no intimacy and unity for each other parks. Some people knew about the park, some people did not know that AISN was the prestigious park in early 1900s, some people did not know anything about AISN because there was no intimacy space among the parks. And, What’s about you, reader?

 

Reference

Ir.Handinoto, Perkembangan Kota dan Arsitektur Kolonial Belanda di  Kota Surabaya 1870-1940,

http://maps.google.com/surabaya (accessed in 2006)

AISN’s present Photograph (taken in January 22, 2006)

Memories of Old Urban Square of Surabaya

Do you know where Surabaya’s urban square or town square is? What are you thinking about the words “Surabaya’s town square”? Nowadays, the words town square is often used in the paradigm of shopping mall and department store, such as Surabaya’s town square, also the name of one of shopping mall in Surabaya and they said the mall has a concept design of town square. Is it truly town square? Where is the truly town square of Surabaya?

Indonesia has a long history of Alun-alun (bahasa Indonesia of town square). Alun-alun itself has already included in book of Negara Kertagama, hundred years ago. Long time a go, people believed that before they cultivated the land they had to make a worship to Goddess of land (dewi tanah) by making a wide sacred field in rectangular shape, here the story was beginning. In Kingdom Era, alun-alun was used to train soldiers, prize contests, royal word space, commercial space, and entertainment. Till now alun-alun is utilized as urban facilities such gathering space, society socialization, music concert, culture event, and so on. Alun-alun of Surabaya’s nowadays is Taman Surya, located in front of Surabaya’s Municipality Office, eastern section of Surabaya. But do people know where the location of old Alun-alun of Surabaya is?

 

urban development of Surabaya

Long before the city expanded to eastern section; center of activity of the city was located in surrounding Jembatan Merah (now this area is known as Old city of Surabaya). Around 1800s, a proposal was submitted to government to make green the urban space of Surabaya. The government approved and designed a city garden which was started from the corner of boeboetanweg (jalan bubutan) to regenstraat (jalan kebon rojo). The wide shady a city garden was surrounded by four streets, there were regenstraat (now jalan kebon rojo; according to the source reference there were a regent’s house in front of the alun-alun; but I do not know where it was the exact location), halteweg (the street has being closed), boeboetanweg (jalan bubutan), and passar besarweg or called aloen-aloenstraat as well (now jalan pahlawan). It also said that Mosque of Kemayoran was in the town square area before it moved to jalan Indrapura (present existing).

location named Tugu Pahlawan in early 1900s

Always located in the center of activity of the city, the surrounding buildings of alun-alun have an important role to the city such as civic building, governments, official’s residence, and worship buildings. According to book of Soerabaia tempo doeloe which describe Surabaya in around 1910, in the northern alun-alun were a regent’s residence. While the corner of northwest alun-alun was drama and performing arts building called komedie. Mosque of Kemayoran also could be seen from the northwest alun-alun (the mosque already moved in jalan indrapura). Western alun-alun was a trade and commercial area, pasar turi. Along with the development of Surabaya, In order to appreciating and remembering the former heroes  who had struggled to defend an independence of Republic of Indonesia, the government of Surabaya designed and built a monument of Tugu Pahlawan, and city garden beside the Alun-alun. By the year of 1990s the government added a museum into the complex of monument Tugu Pahlawan. And how is the alun-alun today? In around 1960s, in the location of alun-alun was built a building of Bank of Indonesia and old alun-alun was going to the vanishing point. There is no remaining of historic evidence of old alun-alun that we could observe. They only leave over the stories, memories, and nostalgias.

 

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun-alun.htm

http://maps.google.com/surabaya.htm

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Peta_soerabaja_1897.jpg

Widodo, Dukut Imam. 2002. Soerabaia Tempo Doeloe chapter 2.

Map of Surabaya 1940, scanned from Soerabaja 1900-1950, Asia Maior

White and Black Post card photos of Aloen-aloen, courtesy of Priambodo Prayitno http://djawatempodoeloe.com

Wayang, Let’s Save Our Heritage

Wayang, Indonesian Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

 Wayang is the Indonesian original cultural heritage which was admitted and designated by Unesco, United Nations as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Wayang or the shadow puppet theatre has various kind, there are Wayang kulit, Wayang wong, Wayang golek, Wayang klithik, Wayang beber, and Wayang wahyu. But I think the most popular one is Wayang kulit which spread around Jogjakarta, Central Java, East Java, and Bali. The performance of Wayang is always accompanied by gamelan, traditional music instrumental.

Wayang, the oldest indigenous storytelling in Indonesia was created about hundreds a go. It is assumed that Wayang existed long before Hinduism came to Indonesia, but there is no evidence to prove it. When the Hinduism came to Indonesia and adopted slowly the local belief system called Animism and Dynamism. By using classical stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana, they used Wayang to spread their religion. It also happened when Islam began spreading in Indonesia, by adopting and adapting, moslem used Wayang to spread Islam. In Islam, display of God in human form is prohibitted, therefore to keep performing the theatre, Moslem leaders converted wayang golek in wayang purwa which made by leather and displayed only the shadow instead, here is the birth of Wayang kulit. Wayang nowadays is not belong to one of religion, Wayang is a Indonesian cultural heritage and belong to Indonesian people.

The term of Wayang, “Bayang” come from Old Javanese language  which means “shadows”, actually the meaning is not only about shadow, but also “the spirit”. Wayang performing theatre usually starts the show at 8 p.m until the early morning (around 4 a.m), played by the only one Dalang ( person who played the Wayang) and one assistance of Dalang. Wayang itself has a hundreds characters, so the Dalang have to remember each character’s voices and attitudes.

What could I do for Wayang? I had a great opportunity to introduce Wayang, Javanese traditional puppet theatre in farewell party of Short-term training Architecture and Arts program in Osaka, Japan. I brought two Wayangs which are called Arjuna and Srikandi (There is different spelling of those characters’s name in Indonesia and among Hinduism countries such as Nepal, India) came from classical story Mahabharata. Arjuna is physically powerful, strong, robust, has a high-desirability, and has many wifes. Srikandi, one of Arjuna’s wifes is a strong and powerful woman, beautiful, and skillful. By introducing Wayang to the global community as Indonesian Cultural Heritage, I wish Wayang could attract International attention and show proudly to the world that Indonesia has masterpiece of heritage, Wayang. Let us save our heritage!

 

  Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayang.htm  

Wayang Kulit, picture is taken from http://128.32.250.47:8080/folkartandlit/2007/04/27 .htm

Graduation Work, Research Design Project

 

conservation design project for graduation work

model of design project

When the land cost is getting higher and higher in old city of Surabaya, people should think deeply about re-using the existing building. Yet, some owners of old historic building choose to renovate totally into the new design. Actually by adapting, reusing the existing old building and doing some conservation processes, those buildings are potential to be old city tourism.

Considering the condition of the old building, quality of architecture, and current purpose, I chose BPN building which built in 1811 located on Tunjungan, the downtown of Surabaya city. By giving new utility as Museum and Gallery and renovate partly in interior, it will increase the quality of architecture of the building. Different from other museum in Indonesia, Surabaya Museum of History explains about history of Surabaya city development. By adaptive reusing the old building into the new utility as historical museum, the visitor can feel an atmosphere of the past on the present situation.

 This research project is based on two main concept designs, there are: “Create a dialogue between the old and the new one” means that the old building could adapt with the new utility and new function.  I added new buildings behind the old building in order to keep balance between past and present, no contradiction. The second concept is “Respect to the Old” means that all of activity starts from the old building as respectful expression.

 

 

Surabaya’s Old buildings, where are they now?

Saat orang-orang membicarakan perkembangan kota Surabaya melalui rencana-rencana pembangunan gedung pencakar langit, perancangan kompleks superblok, apakah mereka masih ingat akan bangunan-bangunan tua dan sejarah kota Surabaya? Sejarah bagi saya bukanlah hanya sebatas masa lalu, tapi sebuah waktu yang menyisakan sebuah kenangan, nostalgia, romantik, dan menggambarkan sebuah perjalanan arsitektur.

Bangunan-bangunan lama di kota Surabaya sekarang seperti hanya sebuah gedung kosong tanpa fungsi. Pemerintah memang telah melakukan kegiatan pelestarian, tapi beberapa masih merupakan sekedar pelestarian yang berarti pengawetan, melestarikan dan menjadikannya museum-museum kota. Sebenarnya yang lebih penting adalah menggiatkan kembali aktivitas yang ada dalam bangunan (revitalisasi), dan menggunakan kembali bangunan lama dengan fungsi baru (adaptive-reuse).

Adakah manfaat dari semua kegiatan di atas? Jawabannya adalah pasti ada. Pelestarian dengan menggiatkan kembali aktivitas akan membangkitkan kembali nilai arsitektur bangunan. Masyarakat akhir-akhir ini juga gemar akan kafe-kafe, galeri, dan atau butik yang dulunya merupakan bekas bangunan lama. Mungkin menurut mereka, ini menyimpan sebuah nilai tersendiri dan beberapa orang malah beranggapan ini sebuah romantisme. Saat bangunan tua dimanfaatkan kembali menjadi fasilitas umum, masyarakat akan tertarik dengan nilai sejarah, keunikan arsitektur, dan nilai nostalgia yang dimiliki bangunan tersebut.

Sebenarnya tidak hanya itu, pelestarian sebuah peninggalan kota melalui kegiatan konservasi yang dinamis akan memberikan dampak positif bagi kota yang bersangkutan, yaitu nilai sosial dan ekonomi masyarakat. Coba kita tengok negara-negara maju, lewat pelestarian kota lama, mereka dapat menarik jutaan wisatawan. Akankah kota kita dapat menjadi seperti itu? Jawabnya, pasti bisa.