AN EXPRESSION OF CITY IDENTITY JAKARTA CULTURAL CENTER

• Main Author: Araniry Ahmad, Luthan
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/64778
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

City identity is a certain character that distinguishes a city from other cities. It is needed to form society’s sensitivity to their own city. In the more recent years, globalization has created a sense of uniformity in the building forms of every city. This causes urban people to feel strange in their own city. Unfortunately, architecture projects in Jakarta tend to imitate cities abroad and lose their identity. The identity of the city is formed from the social, economic, and cultural activities of the society. Betawi is the native culture of Jakarta which creates the city’s identity. However, globalization has caused the disappearance of Betawi culture. Cultural preservation efforts are needed to protect this culture as the identity of Jakarta. Jakarta’s public enthusiasm for cultural facilities is still not extensive enough. In order to increase the interest in visiting, these facilities need to offer a variety of functions. A cultural center with a gallery, auditorium, library, and commercial functions is needed to preserve and express the city’s identity. The challenge for architects in the era of globalization is to create works that still possess an identity. Critical regionalism is a theory that aims to preserve locality while following the flow of modernization. By applying this theory, architectural works are supposedly able to express identity. Jakarta Cultural Center is designed with a critical regionalism approach. There are three main concepts in the design, which are regional character, environmental character, and material character. Through these three main concepts, Jakarta Cultural Center can express the city’s identity.