On Monday (23/10), a cooperation agreement was signed between the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI) and TiMe Amsterdam. The agreement was signed by Professor of Architecture at FTUI, Prof. Kemas Ridwan Kurniawan, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., together with the founders of TiMe Amsterdam, Petra Timmer and Max Meijer, and Joost Dankers from Utrecht University, at the Auditorium Building K Room 301 FTUI. The purpose of the cooperation between FTUI and TiMe Amsterdam is to organise education, research, and community service between FTUI Architecture and TiMe Amsterdam.
Prof Kemas in his speech said, “It is a historic day for the cooperation between FTUI and TiMe Amsterdam. Hopefully this cooperation can provide mutual benefits for the fulfilment of common ideals for the benefit of education, research, and community service,” he said.
On a separate occasion, the Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU said, “Architecture has an important role in understanding the history and culture of a region, and modern colonial architecture is an interesting aspect in Indonesia’s architectural journey. The cooperation with TiMe Amsterdam is an important step in connecting the academic and professional worlds in the field of architecture. I believe that this collaboration will provide great benefits in the development of knowledge and understanding of modern colonial architecture, while strengthening FTUI’s position as a centre of excellence in architectural education and research in Indonesia.”
The event continued with a public lecture featuring speakers Petra Timmer and Joost Dankers from Utrecht University. This public lecture was part of seARCH (Public Lecture Series on Architecture) volume 6, organised by the Department of Architecture FTUI. This sixth public lecture series explored 20th Century Modern Colonial Architecture in Indonesia, which was attended by students of the History and Theory of Architecture class at the Department of Architecture FTUI.
Petra Timmer opened the public lecture session with an explanation of the history of 20th Century Modern Colonial Architecture in Indonesia, “In the early 20th century, buildings in Indonesia, then still known as the Dutch East Indies, were mostly built in the European Neo Renaissance style popularised by Pierre Cuypers. This was continued by Eduard Cuypers who designed several grand offices for De Javasche Bank. Furthermore, another prominent architect, Berlage, designed two buildings in the Dutch style for the Algemen insurance company in Surabaya and a building in Batavia. There was also Cosman Citroen who designed Lawang Sewu with a striking European look,” he explains.
Then, he added that “Dutch architectural styles were also applied in the Dutch East Indies by applying the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid, De Stiijl, and Amsterdamse School styles, most of which survived and can be observed in designs for offices, churches, public buildings and villas in the colonial period.”
The public lecture continued with the second speaker, Max Meijer “In the early 20th century, settlements were heavily influenced by modernist styles such as art-deco expressed in European buildings, high roof houses with Javanese ridge details and many air vents characterised the style of houses in the early 20th century,” he said.
Prof Kemas responded to the 6th series of public lectures of the Department of Architecture, “Hopefully, this public lecture can provide students with a broader understanding of the historical overview of colonial architecture in Indonesia and make students appreciate cultural heritage buildings as one of Indonesia’s architectural heritages.”
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Public Communication Bureau
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia