4.3. Strengthening Within: Modern Architecture
Modernist Architecture: Hatta’s Tribute to Sukarno, A Story of Jakarta’s Classical Era
Taufik Darmawan, 2000
The Old was a term for colonial buildings. Dutch architecture, and also Chinese, survived for hundreds of years. Floods, quakes, age and bombs even partly failed in wiping them off. Kota Tua remains a colonial-esque city. Small streets with low-rises shaped the old Jakarta. Besides Kota Tua, Gambir and Jatinegara also have the same architecture. Sukarno before hated this building, condemned it as sufferings of the past’. However, considering the far future, he opted to actually improve it as Districts. He thought that European cities like Hamburg preserved Medieval structures. Moreover, history is not something Sukarno’s may erase, as they themselves carved our future.
Pre-Colonial Trams, still be used even until 21st Century, with modifications surely.
The Old Architecture is mainly located mostly in Kota Tua, Gambir and Jatinegara. Although all of them includes modern styles, like Metro Stations, all of these city districts have trams. Bambang’s 1971 Law for Public Transportation allows trams to survive in these places. It would form a sort of loop around the area, especially Kota Tua where various museums are established. The other landmark this District has is its crowded transfer stations. Beos, Senen and Jatinegara Stations are expanded in such a way that Metro and Commuter Line with also tram tracks to transfer each other. In Gambir, the station is completely modified to become Jakarta’s Metro Hub.
Old train tracks of Jakarta, especially the one that crosses Gambir, was majorly disassembled, while new routes planned by the Jakarta Reconstruction Committee was drawn. The JRC was partly influenced by the American style of infrastructure, so we could see the Grid Patterns in Old and New.
The New Architecture is a brand-new design plotted by modernist architects. Broad buildings with wide broadways become their special characteristics. Also, large sidewalks and separate bike lanes become viral, although we can see bike lanes in Old Architecture. The most iconic of them all is majestic interchanges, like Semanggi Interchange and Kuningan Interchange, with Cloverleaf Junctions as their systems. This type of Architecture lingered in Jakarta History for the rest of the century, declined where Fungsionalism and Glass Architecture also modified New Architecture began in the 1980s.
American investors build many of Jakarta’s classical skyscrapers. It icons the Economic Boost happen in the nation for the next ten years, with Post-War Boom, Carter Plan and Arms Boom in Indonesia. Sadly, good news must end when at the start of the 1990s, an Oil Embargo happened.
Monas or Monument Nasional is a monument designed by Indonesian-American Architect Robert Simangunsong. 156 meters tall, the tower remained the tallest in Indonesian history until BNI 46 overthrew it in 1974, for 241 meters.
Bundaran HI, the 1970s. In the 1980s, the majority of these complexes is enhanced with large buildings and Metro Stations.
This new stage of Indonesia’s city architecture spread to other cities like Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung and Bogor. Outside of Java, this broad style of the building did not thrive as exponentially as cities in Java does.
Another special trait of this new plan is mostly the Highways. Highways, or Toll-ways in the Indonesian context, expand dramatically in this era. Especially after America gives her Wallace Plan, Java would construct its Trans-Highway starting from the 70s, starting with Jakarta Inner Ring Road as a start. The plan would be constructed in 1971, finished in 1999.
Note:
1964 is the start of Indonesia’s Modern Architecture Era. IOTL, Sukarno already boosted this type of design around the 1950s and began thriving in 1960. HI Roundabout, Sarinah, Semanggi Interchange, OTL DPR Building are examples.
IOTL, Modern Development were mainly linear, focusing on OTL Sudirman-Thamrin Road, and parts of OTL Gatot Subroto Road. ITTL, Modern Architecture revolves linear on Thamrin Road. Thamrin is almost like OTL. Menteng still exist ITTL, except the elite-esque housing is far bigger, covering everything until East Cikini Road, even goes South to Ciliwung Border near OTL Manggarai Station. Manggarai ITTL exists as a Metro Hub, Station becomes many stacks of Subway tracks.
But, in the South of the West Flood Canal, Modern Architecture follows a Grid Pattern from Dukuh Atas to Setiabudi, and OTL Prof. Dr Satrio becomes the border in the South. Everything in between is given to high rises similar to New York’s Midtown. The area was enormous, the whole zone was completely built only after the 21st Century. Furthermore, American investors were agitated about building a Green Belt as a border between Kebayoran and Jakarta-proper.
IOTL, Sukarno tried to make Kebayoran Baru molded into Jakarta. ITTL, Kebayoran Baru was still considered a separate city, even until the 2000s, although the relation of Jakarta-Kebajoran is similar to Bandung-Cimahi OTL.
OTL, Jakarta Inner Ring Road of the West Sector is from Cawang to Pluit. It passes Semanggi Interchange, Slipi. ITTL, JIRR passes even smaller rings. On the Western side, it goes on the outer side of the West Flood Canal, so ITTL, JIRR passes Dukuh Atas, Tanah Abang, and Tomang. So, the Flood Canal would be enclosed with train tracks like OTL and Toll Roads. The OTL JIIR, become ITTL Jakarta Outer Ring Road. ITTL, there is no road parallel to toll-like OTL. So, it would look like the Western part of OTL Jakarta Harbor Toll Road.
ITTL, there is no direct connection to Tanjung Priok for JIRR. JIRR in the North is denoted as part of Tran-Java Highway, from Merak to Banyuwangi.
Taufik Darmawan, 2000
The Old was a term for colonial buildings. Dutch architecture, and also Chinese, survived for hundreds of years. Floods, quakes, age and bombs even partly failed in wiping them off. Kota Tua remains a colonial-esque city. Small streets with low-rises shaped the old Jakarta. Besides Kota Tua, Gambir and Jatinegara also have the same architecture. Sukarno before hated this building, condemned it as sufferings of the past’. However, considering the far future, he opted to actually improve it as Districts. He thought that European cities like Hamburg preserved Medieval structures. Moreover, history is not something Sukarno’s may erase, as they themselves carved our future.
Pre-Colonial Trams, still be used even until 21st Century, with modifications surely.
The Old Architecture is mainly located mostly in Kota Tua, Gambir and Jatinegara. Although all of them includes modern styles, like Metro Stations, all of these city districts have trams. Bambang’s 1971 Law for Public Transportation allows trams to survive in these places. It would form a sort of loop around the area, especially Kota Tua where various museums are established. The other landmark this District has is its crowded transfer stations. Beos, Senen and Jatinegara Stations are expanded in such a way that Metro and Commuter Line with also tram tracks to transfer each other. In Gambir, the station is completely modified to become Jakarta’s Metro Hub.
Old train tracks of Jakarta, especially the one that crosses Gambir, was majorly disassembled, while new routes planned by the Jakarta Reconstruction Committee was drawn. The JRC was partly influenced by the American style of infrastructure, so we could see the Grid Patterns in Old and New.
The New Architecture is a brand-new design plotted by modernist architects. Broad buildings with wide broadways become their special characteristics. Also, large sidewalks and separate bike lanes become viral, although we can see bike lanes in Old Architecture. The most iconic of them all is majestic interchanges, like Semanggi Interchange and Kuningan Interchange, with Cloverleaf Junctions as their systems. This type of Architecture lingered in Jakarta History for the rest of the century, declined where Fungsionalism and Glass Architecture also modified New Architecture began in the 1980s.
American investors build many of Jakarta’s classical skyscrapers. It icons the Economic Boost happen in the nation for the next ten years, with Post-War Boom, Carter Plan and Arms Boom in Indonesia. Sadly, good news must end when at the start of the 1990s, an Oil Embargo happened.
Monas or Monument Nasional is a monument designed by Indonesian-American Architect Robert Simangunsong. 156 meters tall, the tower remained the tallest in Indonesian history until BNI 46 overthrew it in 1974, for 241 meters.
Bundaran HI, the 1970s. In the 1980s, the majority of these complexes is enhanced with large buildings and Metro Stations.
This new stage of Indonesia’s city architecture spread to other cities like Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung and Bogor. Outside of Java, this broad style of the building did not thrive as exponentially as cities in Java does.
Another special trait of this new plan is mostly the Highways. Highways, or Toll-ways in the Indonesian context, expand dramatically in this era. Especially after America gives her Wallace Plan, Java would construct its Trans-Highway starting from the 70s, starting with Jakarta Inner Ring Road as a start. The plan would be constructed in 1971, finished in 1999.
Note:
1964 is the start of Indonesia’s Modern Architecture Era. IOTL, Sukarno already boosted this type of design around the 1950s and began thriving in 1960. HI Roundabout, Sarinah, Semanggi Interchange, OTL DPR Building are examples.
IOTL, Modern Development were mainly linear, focusing on OTL Sudirman-Thamrin Road, and parts of OTL Gatot Subroto Road. ITTL, Modern Architecture revolves linear on Thamrin Road. Thamrin is almost like OTL. Menteng still exist ITTL, except the elite-esque housing is far bigger, covering everything until East Cikini Road, even goes South to Ciliwung Border near OTL Manggarai Station. Manggarai ITTL exists as a Metro Hub, Station becomes many stacks of Subway tracks.
But, in the South of the West Flood Canal, Modern Architecture follows a Grid Pattern from Dukuh Atas to Setiabudi, and OTL Prof. Dr Satrio becomes the border in the South. Everything in between is given to high rises similar to New York’s Midtown. The area was enormous, the whole zone was completely built only after the 21st Century. Furthermore, American investors were agitated about building a Green Belt as a border between Kebayoran and Jakarta-proper.
IOTL, Sukarno tried to make Kebayoran Baru molded into Jakarta. ITTL, Kebayoran Baru was still considered a separate city, even until the 2000s, although the relation of Jakarta-Kebajoran is similar to Bandung-Cimahi OTL.
OTL, Jakarta Inner Ring Road of the West Sector is from Cawang to Pluit. It passes Semanggi Interchange, Slipi. ITTL, JIRR passes even smaller rings. On the Western side, it goes on the outer side of the West Flood Canal, so ITTL, JIRR passes Dukuh Atas, Tanah Abang, and Tomang. So, the Flood Canal would be enclosed with train tracks like OTL and Toll Roads. The OTL JIIR, become ITTL Jakarta Outer Ring Road. ITTL, there is no road parallel to toll-like OTL. So, it would look like the Western part of OTL Jakarta Harbor Toll Road.
ITTL, there is no direct connection to Tanjung Priok for JIRR. JIRR in the North is denoted as part of Tran-Java Highway, from Merak to Banyuwangi.
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