TRAFACON OFFICE BUILDING
by Lee Bee Luen

A building should not only respond to contemporary notions of aesthetics or its functional requirements, but also to its locality such as culture, society and climate. In the context of Jakarta, where the city is prone to frequent flooding, architects need to take this problem into consideration during the design process so that there is appropriate and responsible dialogue between the structures and the environment.

The Trafacon Office Building incorporates measures to combat the complex flooding problem in Jakarta, and aims to demonstrate that contemporary architecture can still be applied without sacrificing the basic principles of tropical architecture. Situated on the city's green area site in Jagakarsa, south of Jakarta, the building is the headquarters of Trafacon, a construction company. It houses the main office, advertising office, photography studio and supporting facilities.

The main concept is to create a seamless blend between the building and its surroundings. A paper-folding technique was used to come up with the spaces, resulting in a dynamic and unconventional form. The building surfaces are covered with green roofs. Apart from the host of advantages that green roofs offer, it is also a strategy to replace the green area of the site used by the building. Basic principles of overhangs, light and airwell are adopted and traditional sustainable features such as water-management systems as well as cross ventilation techniques are integrated into its contemporary architecture to achieve good environmental performance.

ENERGY
The same functions are grouped together to increase efficiency. Through careful zoning arrangements, human activity is minimised, thus decreasing heat emissions. Apart from the working zone, all the other zones rely on natural ventilation. Although air-conditioners are used in the working zone, the system is designed to perform at the optimal level, thus avoiding any unnecessary energy wastage. The large glass wall also helps to reduce the need for artificial lighting.

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