A Dutch Architect’s Guide to

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Indonesia’s Old Buildings

WHAT'S HAPPENING | 11 July 2017

Prominent Dutch architect Cor Passchier is currently holding a photo exhibition showcasing pictures of
colonial buildings in Indonesia, with the support of Dutch cultural center Erasmus Huis. The exhibition
runs through 16 July.

Taking place in Gedung Tjipta Niaga, in the Kota Tua (Old Town) area, without 

entrance fees, the exhibition featured dozens of pictures of colonial buildings in

Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan and Makassar, taken from his book
“Building in Indonesia, 1600–1960”. The 250-page book, which took more than
 one year to nish, was launched at the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta last year. In it,
Passchier discussed the in uence of Dutch colonisation on Indonesian
architecture.

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“I tried to present a clear story based on the photos, as photos are

representatives of the story,” Passchier told NOW! Jakarta at the exhibition
opening in May.

“When working as a curator at a museum in Amsterdam for an exhibition about

forts in Indonesia, a publisher asked me to write a book. But I was too lazy,
thinking it would be so much work! They wanted me to write a book about
architecture in Java. And I said, ‘I’d do architecture in all of Indonesia. Why only
Java, why not Sumatera or Sulawesi?’”


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With that goal in mind, he set off to work.

“So I made a comprehensive book, sort of like an umbrella so people can get
some architectural and historical structure in the story, some coherence. They
can better understand, I hope, about buildings in Indonesia. In the beginning, you
had benteng [fortress] and gudang [warehouse] to store the goods. Later when
you have more a modern society, you will need kantor [of ce]. That means you
get more types of buildings. Both buildings and the architecture are re ections of,
always, the development in time.”


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In his book, Passchier made a thorough observation about architecture in towns

big and small – from Tretes in East Java to Semarang in Central Java and
Berastagi in North Sumatera – but focused on ve provincial capitals. He found
Jakarta to be unique due to its role as centre of the country’s government,
Surabaya as home to free-spirited people, Bandung as a younger city compared
with Jakarta and Surabaya, Makassar as a city with totally different looks and
history, and Medan, as sort of a city reminiscent of the Wild Wild West.


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In writing the book, the 72-year-old architect, also an honorary member of Ikatan
Arsitek Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Architects) spent two months traveling
throughout Indonesia to do research and shoot pictures through a perspective he
calls “the past in the present”.

Readers of the book will also nd notes from Passchier about residents of slum
areas and other city dwellers who are in dire need of quality housing.


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A proponent of public-private partnerships, Passchier believes such means of

funding is required to solve the problem of limited availability of public funds in
the infrastructure sector. Through PPP, Indonesia’s classic heritage buildings can
be properly maintained and remain in a good condition, ideally to be utilised as
public spaces – think museums, of ces, hotels, restaurants and more.


 “The government and the private sector have to work together hand-in-hand to
succeed. In terms of modern buildings, private investment has proven to be really
successful, such as in Kuningan and Sudirman, but here in Kota Tua, it’s very
dif cult due to water problems and the fact that half of the real old buildings
were built on wooden structures. Due to the uctuating water level here, the
upper parts of the wooden structures have rotten, which resulted in spontaneous
(/)demolition just like what happened [to the Samudera Indonesia building] on Jalan
Kali Besar in West Jakarta in 2008,” Passchier said.

The book “Building in Indonesia, 1600–1960” is available in English and Dutch

and can be purchased online or at bookstores.
 www.pac-nl.org (http://www.pac-nl.org)
info@pac-nl.org (mailto:info@pac-nl.org)

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