Colonial architecture of Indonesia
The colonial architecture of Indonesia refers to the buildings that were created across Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period, during that time, this region was known as the Dutch East Indies. These types of colonial era structures are more prevalent in Java and Sumatra, as those islands were considered more economically significant during the Dutch imperial period.[1] As a result of this, there is a large number of well preserved colonial era buildings that are still densely concentrated within Indonesian cities in Java and Sumatra to this day.
In the rest of the archipelago, there is also a sizeable amount of old Dutch East India Company (VOC) era forts and warehouses that were built during the Dutch colonial period of Indonesia, particularly around the Maluku Islands and Sulawesi, though these tend to be more scattered about and in less dense concentrations compared to those found on Java and Sumatra.
The three styles of colonial architecture in Indonesia are:
- Old Indies Style
- Indies Empire style
- New Indies Style
Early architecture: replicating the mother country
Upon arriving in the East Indies, the Dutch's architecture were mainly derived from knowledge and workmanship of the home country. On most cases masonry were favored for much of their construction. Previously timber and its by-products had been almost exclusively used in the Indies, with the exception of some major religious and palace architecture. During the early period of colonization the Dutch colonies were mainly ruled by the VOC, who were mainly concerned with functionality of its construction rather than making structure as prestigious display.[2]
One of the first major Dutch settlements was Batavia (later Jakarta) which in the 17th and 18th centuries was a fortified brick and masonry city built on a low lying terrain.[3] The Dutch settlements in the 17th century were generally intra-muros, within walled defences to protect them from attack by other European trade rivals and native revolt. The fort was both a military base and a center of commerce and administration.[4] The city was laid out into a grid with blocks that are divided by canals, complete with a Town Hall and Churches, just like any Dutch city would have been at the time. The houses within Batavia are described as being "fairly tall with a narrow façade and plastered walls inset with crossbar windows provided with rattan wickerwork for ventilation". And as in the Netherlands they were mainly terraced houses with small courtyard.[2] Similar behavior of town planning and architecture can be noted in the development of the VOC port of Semarang in the 18th century.[5]
For almost two centuries, the colonists did little to adapt their European architectural habits to the tropical climate.
Chinese Influence
Both VOC and later Dutch government encourage Chinese immigration to their colonies in the East Indies, these Chinese were brought as laborers and many of them ended up as a contractors during the early development of Batavia. In fact at the early 18th century Batavia had been described as a "Chinese city", and they had dominated the trade and economic sector of many VOC outposts around the East Indies. Many of the main colonial cities have large number of Chinese shophouses, which incorporated elements of the Chinese, Dutch and as well as Indigenous, particularly in the ventilation system. Unfortunately many example of these Chinese dwellings have been largely demolished in favor of cheap modern small offices. Parts of Surabaya, Medan, Tangerang and Semarang still has few examples around the Chinatown area. The most eminent example is
Early adaptation to the local environment
Although row houses, canals and enclosed solid walls were first thought as protection against tropical diseases coming from tropical air, years later the Dutch learnt to adapt their architectural style with local building features (long eaves,
19th Century
At the end of the 19th century, great changes were happening across much of colonial Indonesia, particularly Java. The VOC had gone into bankruptcy and its possession were acquired by the Crown of the Netherlands. Economic reform were started by the French-pro Governor General
In the late 19th century the taste for architecture in Europe have begun shifting to
Twentieth century
At the turn of the 20th century there was further significant changes in the colony. The Dutch by this period had managed to control most of the present-day Indonesian border. The Dutch had also implemented the
However, by the 1920s, the architectural taste have begun to shift in favor of
Various Dutch architects also made the Indies their architectural and engineering playground. This resulted to the introduction of architecture styles such as
The attempt of conforming with the local architecture had already begun since the early VOC period as appeared in the
The outer islands
There are plenty of colonial architecture and infrastructure that remain functional beyond Java. The island of Sumatra in particular benefited from its abundance of oil and tin, in comparison to Java's mostly plantation based economy.[
In Makassar, which once was considered the gateway for Eastern province, has several fine colonial era buildings. The best surviving example of colonial buildings is Fort Rotterdam, followed by the old Cityhall, Court of Justice and Harmonie Society building that now function as an art gallery. Large scale demolition of colonial era old town took place in Makassar as a result of its harbor expansion.
Colonial rule was never as extensive on the island of Bali as it was on Java— it was only in 1906, for example, that the Dutch gained full control of the island—and consequently the island only has a limited stock of colonial architecture. Singaraja, the island's former colonial capital and port, has a number of art-deco kantor style homes, tree-lined streets and dilapidated warehouses. The hill town of Munduk, a town amongst plantations established by the Dutch, is Bali's only other significant group of colonial architecture; a number of mini mansions in the Balinese-Dutch style still survive.[18]
There are numerous forts built by European powers across the archipelago, but the highest concentration are located around the
In independent Indonesia
The lack of development due to the
Examples
Below are list of articles featuring Dutch colonial architecture across Indonesia.
- Bandung
- Bogor
- Architecture of Bogor
- Cirebon
- Jakarta
- Makassar
- Colonial architecture in Makassar
- Medan
- Colonial architecture in Medan
- Padang
- Colonial era architecture in Padang
- Semarang
- Surabaya
- Colonial architecture of Surabaya
See also
- Dutch colonial architecture
- Architecture of Indonesia
- Colonial architecture in Southeast Asia
- List of church buildings in Indonesia
- Rumah adat
- Landhuis
- Indies Empire style
- New Indies Style
- Malay houses
- Sino-Portuguese architecture
- Bahay kubo
- Bahay na bato
References
- ^ "Dutch Empire / Indonesia | Colonial Architecture Project".
- ^ a b http://www.pac-nl.org/downloads/colonialarchitectureinindonesia.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b Tjahjono 1998, pp. 105.
- ^ Pratiwo. (2005). The City Planning of Semarang 1900–1970. In F. Colombijn, M. Barwegen, P. Basundoro & J. A. Khusyairi (Eds.), Old City, New City: The History of the Indonesian City Before and After Independence. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Ombak.
- ^ ISBN 0-500-34132-X
- ^ W. Wangsadinata and T.K. Djajasudarma (1995). "Architectural Design Consideration for Modern Buildings in Indonesia" (PDF). INDOBEX Conf. on Building Construction Technology for the Future: Construction Technology for Highrises & Intelligence Buildings. Jakarta. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ a b Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 72–77.
- ^ Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 102–103.
- ^ Bambang Irawan (31 May 2014). "Berlage on Aperdi/Algemeene Building in Surabaya". Ayorek.org. Translated by Emily Wallace. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Amsterdam Elsewhere | Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ Vickers (2005), pp 23–25
- ^ "Bandung Heritage Building Architecture". Archived from the original on 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 102–105.
- ^ "Designing colonial cities: the making of modern town planning in the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia 1905-1950" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ^ Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 104–105.
- ^ "Medan Het Parijs van Sumatra » Balai Pelestarian Nilai Budaya Aceh". Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- ISBN 981-4068-25-X.
- ^ Schoppert & Damais 1997, p. 105.
Works cited
- Tjahjono, Gunawan, ed. (1998). Architecture. Indonesian Heritage. Vol. 6. Singapore: Archipelago Press. ISBN 9813018305.
- Schoppert, P.; Damais, S. (1997). Java Style. Paris: Didier Millet. ISBN 9625932321.