FuturArc Exchange and Exhibitions (FEX) | 4Q 2023

Many architects follow the flow, while some changemakers dare to go against the grain of what is conventional. In Indonesia’s construction industry, thorough adoption of Green and sustainable design strategies is an ongoing process—and the platform of FEX serves to highlight and provide an avenue for knowledge-sharing amongst architects, designers and construction industry professionals who share this vision.

Each FEX session has been supported by various chapters of the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI), which means that registered architects who attend the event will receive credit points that add towards their professional advancement. If you are interested to be invited to a FEX event in your city, email the team at [email protected] with your details.

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Date 13 October 2023
Audience Bandung, West Java
Venue West Point Hotel
Technology reviews Epson Indonesia; Titanium Lamina Granite
Exhibitor Roda Bangun Mandiri
Supported by IAI Jawa Barat

This session began with a presentation from Dinda Mundakir, FuturArc’s Content Editor to introduce the ongoing Green design competition for architects and students, FuturArc Prize (FAP) 2024. This cycle’s theme is Architecture for Life After … prompting for architectural design proposals for Climate Destruction and/or Endings scenarios. Since it launched in September 2023, over 200 teams from around the world have registered, ahead of the cycle’s end on 9 February 2024 (to read the full brief and registration steps, visit www.futurarc.com/fap2024).

Following the FAP presentation, the team had lively conversations with interested attendees about how climate change and rapid development have impacted Bandung, with long-term residents sharing their home adjustments, applied design strategies as well as their future plans in adapting to hotter weather and denser environment. Those who registered for FAP at the event received Ecopuncture and the latest FuturArc magazines, as well as complimentary 1-year subscription to FuturArc’s digital copies accessible via the app.

After networking at the dinner buffet, attendees gathered to watch the first presentation from Gosha Muhammad of ōd architecture studio. Gosha shared a vision of an ‘utopic’ future where humanity has managed to proliferate clean energy and become self-sufficient in household-level agriculture, thanks to technological advancements. He mentioned that to build towards a Greener future, regenerative design is an important principle, which he applies in the studio’s projects. An example is the design for Itenas Eco Campus with green corridors that retain biodiversity throughout the complex, and buildings are topped with photovoltaic panels on raised ‘safari roofs’ to generate electricity for operations while allowing for improved cross ventilation.

The next presentation by Arief Isrefidianto of AI-CTLA Studio showed various collaborations with international clients, such as the riverside urban regeneration of The Ouseburn in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom that was done with disigNE UK and the local council. The team conceptualised new ‘magnets’ of activity at the northern and southern areas, connecting them along the waterway with pocket parks, as well as commercial and cultural functions. The audience were interested to learn how such strategies and models of participation could also be applied to rejuvenate local waterside communities.

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Date 29 September 2023
Audience Balikpapan, East Kalimantan
Venue Swiss-Belhotel
Technology review Avian Brands
Supported by IAI Balikpapan

Reza Nurtjahja of Urbane Indonesia presented the firm’s completed and upcoming large-scale projects all over the country. In the seaside town of Makassar in South Sulawesi, the office designed Nipah Park to be a mall that provides respite from the hot weather. At its centre is a large waterfall surrounded by open-air corridors, and it uses perforated panels as planters for the indoor and outdoor façades.

Well-versed in local know-how, Balikpapan-based Agung Kusuma Wijaya of Indico shared several of the firm’s healthcare facility projects, including a Puskesmas (municipal public health centre) and an army hospital. They have also worked on the detailed engineering design to support facilities in the Balikpapan Botanical Garden, including an orchid greenhouse and a Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plant) showcase park.

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Date 22 September 2023
Audience Pekanbaru, Riau
Venue Swiss-Belhotel
Technology review Avian Brands
Supported by IAI Riau

Gregorius Agie Aditama of Aboday defined the concept of identity in architecture as a synthesis between ideas plus the form of the entity. The office attempts to design in a manner that is relevant to each project without imposing a specific architectural style. Their recently completed project, Indoor Multifunction Stadium, also known by its new name the Indonesia Arena, is envisioned as a ‘woven basket’ to represent the rich craftsmanship of the archipelago. Angled fins on the façade allow for natural ventilation along the circulation corridors.

With a repertoire of residential projects, the duo of Morian Saspriatnadi and Gun Faisal of Studio Aruca shared their experience in approaching and ‘collaborating’ with their clients. They cited the late architect Eko Prawoto, who informed their principle: “A house is an immensely important building, it shouldn’t be undertaken only by the architect … I would place myself as a discussion partner.” The studio tested numerous design options to communicate different architectural solutions to their clients, a process exemplified in House for Delly that explored pitched, angled and flat deck roofs with a variety of wooden façade screens.

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Date 15 September 2023
Audience Surabaya, East Java
Venue Wyndham
Technology review TOA Paint Indonesia
Exhibitor Roda Bangun Mandiri
Supported by IAI Jawa Timur

Material exploration is something that Irwan Lubis of Bumi Design (BD) Studio enjoys to undertake with like-minded clients. Shoot, a club and bar in Medan, has been designed with steel that is left to naturally corrode with time. After three years of its completion, the architect was pleased to show how the steel has achieved a striking red patina.

To offer a compact housing solution for young families, the project called The Twins split a narrow plot of land into two even narrower homes—without sacrificing healthy housing principles. Carolus Bagas of Monostudio explained how the 4.5-metre-wide homes have been oriented along an inner terrace as a ‘chimney’ for daylight and ventilation.

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Date 1 September 2023
Audience Medan, North Sumatera
Venue LePolonia Hotel & Convention
Technology review Epson Indonesia
Supported by IAI Sumatera Utara

The Quranic Ocean View is designed to be a seaside mosque and Islamic education centre (pesantren) located atop a cliff on Parangtritis beach, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. Agung Rudianto of Deamaya Studio explained how the team explored site potentials and grading to maximise views towards the water, aiming to emphasise the spiritual aspect.

Tony of MAT Architect follows the philosophy where architecture must take into account three balancing aspects: man, Nature and God. The ‘triangular’ conception is also applied as inspiration in his designs, such as for Vihara Sailendra, a Buddhist monastery in Medan where the main temple and its supporting functions are arranged in a triangular progression.

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Date 25 August 2023
Audience Balikpapan, East Kalimantan
Venue Swiss-Belhotel
Technology reviews Armstrong Flooring; Jayaboard
Supported by IAI Balikpapan

“Our journey and story are all about learning,” said Ikhsan Hamiru of MIV Architects, in opening his presentation. He emphasised the importance of travelling as a learning tool for architects, sharing snippets of architectural curiosities and encounters with wild animals during his travels, as well as learnings from visiting Indonesian senior architects’ offices. The studio’s projects like DC Residence and Dierra Café & Resto placed an emphasis on the roof form, elevating it above the spaces in order to encourage good ventilation whilst framing the surrounding scenery.

Stephanus Theo of Videshiiya Studio shared how the firm’s name and philosophy was derived from the Sanskrit word videshi, meaning alien or unfamiliar. They believe that in a world where overconsumption is the norm, applying principles of minimal intervention and waste reduction are necessary to ‘move the needle’ towards regeneration. Having researched on permaculture as a sustainable approach for settlements, he shared master plans and design exercises to regenerate a rural landform, applying techniques such as chinampa that allow crops to be grown in shallow bodies of water.

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Date 3 August 2023
Audience Medan, North Sumatera
Venue LePolonia Hotel & Convention
Technology reviews Datra; Sun Power Ceramics
Supported by IAI Sumatera Utara

This session began with a presentation by Yosi Dadu of Atelieryoda Architect, a firm with offices in Jakarta and Medan. He shared case studies of designing in various cities, including the Grand Picasso Hotel in Central Jakarta, a F&B hub in Banda Aceh and a landed house in Saint Helier’s Avenue, Singapore.

Arief Isrefidianto of AI-CTLA Studio distils the essence of each project into their “grand challenge”, for example Sekolah Lembah, a boarding school in the lush valleys of Karanganyar, Central Java is conceptualised to provide an “academic holiday” for its users. Hence, the design is staggered to follow the sloped land—taking into consideration the flow of stormwater, with green spaces for water retention where needed—and equipped with a variety of educational and activity spaces.

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Read more stories from FuturArc 4Q 2023: Water!

Don’t miss out on our ongoing competition—submit your entries for FuturArc Prize 2024: Architecture for Life After … now!