Tuesday 17 July 2007

Sentosa Private Villas and Spa



PROJECT DATA
Project Name
Sentosa Private Villas and Spa
Location
Peti Tenget, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Expected Completion
September 2007
Site Area
13,000 m2
Gross Floor Area
10,500 m2
Number of Rooms
114
Storeys
One floor (villas), two floors (central facilities building)
Client/Owner
PT. Carlton Crest Bali
Architecture Firm
E.S.A International
Principal Architect
Putu Edy Semara B.Arch & Martin H.G.
Interior design
Stuart Membrey, Rob Sample
Main Contractor
PT. Tunas Jaya Sanur
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
PT. Tunas Jaya Sanur
Civil & Structural Engineer
PT. Adi Design
Images/Photos
Eugene Tan




Respect nature and the local culture—this was the guideline the architects followed when they worked on the Sentosa Private Villas and Spa in Bali.

The client’s brief was to design a resort with over 30 villa units and full central facilities—such as reception, gym, spa, restaurant, pool and bar—that exudes the charm of “Balinese living” in the tropics. The development was also to take into account Bali’s dry, humid climate and reflect the area’s rich culture as well as the simple, straightforward design of its indigenous dwellings.



Following that, the architects created a master plan inspired by a traditional Balinese village—villas built with natural local materials and intimately arranged with narrow alleys. Each villa unit is designed to be a self-contained oasis, with a typical Balinese compound that contains several pavilions serving different functions, a large swimming pool as well as a pool deck. Such an arrangement allows natural air and light to flow through the courtyard area; large sliding doors of the rooms that open up to the common space also enable the interior to enjoy better ventilation and daylight. The architects also ensured that the plan maximises the use of the land’s contour so as to minimise the need for landfill and disruption to the local topography. The main colour palette of the architecture follows the dominating colour tones of the natural elements in Bali: shades of grey, pale white and dark brown.

In line with maintaining an environmentally friendly approach, the architects created an energy-saving feature for the central facilities building: a massive ‘breeze block’ measuring 6 metres tall and 100 metres long. This special cladding allows natural light and ventilation into the building, thereby reducing energy costs.




Another objective that the client wanted to achieve for the resort was to turn the central facilities centre into a key destination that would attract other visitors from the fast-developing Peti Tenget region. However, one of the challenges the architects faced was the lack of natural beauty at the resort’s site compared to the rest of its neighbours nearer the coast; with little ‘given’ beauty, architects had to rely on man-made beauty to transform the resort into a tropical haven that would help draw in the crowd.




Through the use of organic materials, thatched roofs, intimate spatial design that imitates a traditional Balinese village, open compounds with plenty of space to allow free flow of air and light, landscaping and a natural colour scheme, the Sentosa Private Villas and Spa will become a sanctuary that reflects the look and feel of authentic Balinese dwellings. –Erwin Maulana/Candice Lim

© Copyright 2007 FuturArc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

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Grand Kemang Hotel



PROJECT DATA

Project Name
Grand Kemang Hotel
Location
Kemang Raya 2A, Jakarta, Indonesia
Status
70 per cent of total area completed
Expected Completion
End of 2007
Site Area
12,820 m2
Gross Floor Area
30,384 m2
Number of Rooms
200
Storeys
5
Client/Owner
PT. Kemang Jaya Raya
Architecture Firm
Joseph Hengky Associates in collaboration with PT. Pasifik Design Strategy
Principal Architect
Joseph Hengky
Main Contractor
PT. Cakrawala
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
PT. Jaya Teknik
Civil & Structural Engineer
PT. Cakrawala
Images/Photos
Joseph Hengky




When the time came for the five-storey Grand Kemang Hotel to undergo a revamp, the directive for the architectural team from Joseph Hengky Associates and PT. Pasifik Design Strategy was to give the building a clear and distinctive overhaul, not just a superficial makeover.

Following that, the architects came up with innovative design elements that not only added a new dimension to the hotel’s façade but also enhanced its current functions and increased the interaction between the building and the people. Additionally, the transformation also gave the hotel a more modern appearance, more in keeping with the urban district of Kemang.



One of the added features is a new terrace attached to the side of the hotel, which creates additional space for greater air flow around the structure, more greenery and al fresco seating for patrons of the new café. The green terrace was also an attempt to help reduce the overall building temperature. The architects had wanted to create more green areas around the hotel to combat the effect of heat on the structure but whatever available space was already utilised for parking.

Relocated to the right-hand side of the building and marked by a bold and black façade, the main entrance and lobby for regular hotel guests now occupy a more prominent position, which allows for greater accessibility and interactivity. A separate side entrance, tucked away from the main lobby,was designed to allow service apartment guests a more direct access to their apartments. Besides convenience, this new feature also allows hotel staff to give longer staying guests more personalised services.



Other design elements that helped make the Grand Kemang Hotel stand out include the huge curve that appears from the top of the side wing (used to hide the function rooms) and the illuminated glass box sticking out at the centre of the building (which is actually the end of the guest room corridor).

The architects had a tight budget, which was a major constraint that affected their original installation plan and choice of materials. So the alternative solution was to use more affordable materials to renovate major parts of the building and the pricier ones to add accents to certain areas. The use of materials was also affected by the age of the structure; most parts of the existing hotel were built over 30 years ago. Thus, more attention was given to the load capacity of the building, which resulted in the use of a combination of dry wall system (gypsum board with hollow metal frame) for installing internal parts and lightweight concrete blocks for external parts. –Erwin Maulana/Candice Lim



© Copyright 2007 FuturArc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

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Monday 16 July 2007

Restoring Java’s Big City



Local residents of a town in Java are at risk of losing their heritage, but the real challenge is in making them aware of the value of their loss


by Erwin Maulana and Prapti Widinugraheni

Regret and sorrow were etched on the face of Debashish Nayak, an urban heritage conservation advisor at the Ahmedabad Municipal Council in India, when he saw a joglo—a traditional Javanese house—being taken apart in Kampung Karang Duren village one day last February. He was concerned this would change Kotagede and he knew that if such practices continued, the people of Kotagede would soon lose a valuable piece of their heritage.

Similar emotions were felt by Prof. Dr. Ismail bin Omar from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Both were in Kotagede—a town literally meaning ‘big city’—as speakers at the 3rd International Symposium on Asian Heritage Post Disaster Mitigation and the 4th International Field School for Asian Heritage (IFSAH) on February 17-25, 2007.

Amongst the many World Heritage sites and cultural properties in and around Yogyakarta, Kotagede has been one of the most neglected and difficult to manage। This was a concern to members of the Centre for Heritage Conservation at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and the Jogja Heritage Society, who then decided to provide the IFSAH secretariat with information in the hope the IFSAH program could be structured around the theme of finding solutions to the complex issues pertaining Kotagede’s heritage properties and their restoration.



Coincidentally, the 4th IFSAH was preceded by the unfortunate event of the May 2006 earthquake, so the international symposium was also dedicated to discussing post-disaster mitigation of heritage entities. Apart from learning from the experiences of other countries and discussing urban planning/design strategies on this issue, the symposium sought strategies to formulate a post-earthquake master conservation plan for Kotagede Heritage District.

Mr. Nayak said establishing an understanding within the community was important in the conservation of locallyowned heritage; this should be carried out continually. He said Kotagede’s development could be geared towards the local community for economic, social and tourism purposes. Without conservation, the face of Kotagede as an ‘old city’—the centre of the old Islamic Mataram Kingdom—would change and become like any other city.

Located 10 kilometres southeast of Yogyakarta City, within Yogyakarta province, Kotagede is home to various jewellers and is renowned for its silversmith industry. The town was once the capital of the Islamic Kingdom of Mataram, which was founded in the 16th century by Panembahan Senopati. The town embodies the older Hindu-Buddhist tradition and Islam, which arrived more recently; this can be seen from the legacy of mosques and graveyards in the town and temples in the region.



The townspeople of Kotagede are known to be hard workers. The original inhabitants of Kotagede were artists, creating woodcraft and silver and gold jewellery. Most of them came from the Hindu Kingdom of Majapahit in East Java and Bali and were commissioned by the Islamic Mataram Kingdom to fulfil its artistic needs. Kotagede’s past glory can still be witnessed today, such as in the houses belonging to the Kalang people. Woodcarvings engraved in the frameworks of buildings owned by the Kalang show touches of past luxury.

In the 1700s, the Kalang community became very rich because of their work as traders and manufacturers of silver handicrafts; the architecture of their luxury houses followed the Javanese Hindu tradition. In the following period—around the 1800s till the 1900s—Javanese joglo houses (uniquely Javanese architecture) appeared; these had Arabian ornaments and a prayer room attached. An important change happened around the 1920s to 1930s, when the Kalang community—monopolised by the Dutch colonial government—handled pawnshops and diamond and opium trade. During this period, the Kalang built luxury houses with Baroque European architecture. Examples of this can be found today in Kemasan Street.

Local houses in Kotagede are arranged in the typical village style known as the kampung alun-alun (town square village). These houses are built close together, pushing one another into the crowded streets, which then become more like paths because roofs and buildings overlap.These villages are inhabited by traditional silversmiths whose creations lend credence to Kotagede’s image as a hub for silver handicraft.



Prof. Omar from UTM saw similarities between the problems faced by Kotagede and several sites in Malaysia. Even before the earthquake there were many issues faced by joglo houses in Kotagede; these included, among others, instances whereby houses were the object of inheritance distributions; or were empty or vacated by their occupants. He said it was a shame when locals solved the problem by selling the joglo to people living outside the area because the houses end up being the ‘lost heritage’ of Kotagede.

He was also unable to see any regulations from the regional government that could help rescue Kotagede’s heritage. To make matters worse, Kotagede is geographically divided between two different regencies, so there is the possibility of differing, if not conflicting policies between the two. Mr. Omar, who is an agrarian, said he also saw that many joglo houses did not have land certificates; in fact, there were those whose data were lost and went unrecorded by the government land agency.

An alternative solution to Kotagede’s various problems has been the formation of a local body—consisting of representatives from the government, community groups, academia and other relevant parties—tasked with creating a guideline on the management of joglo houses and providing these guidelines to local owners. This gives owners an idea of the value of their heritage and assists them with maintenance.



The coordinator of the Organisation for Heritage Management in Kotagede, M. Natsier, said around 20 percent of pendapa (traditional gazebos) or joglo in Kotagede had recently been sold off by their original owners. This was because joglo or pendapa owners lacked funds to repair the residences which were seriously damaged in last year’s earthquake. Ironically, the government has not carried out the concrete steps needed to save the cultural asset—and it has been up to foreign organisations and overseas assistance to come to the rescue. Mr.Natsier said he recorded more than 20 heritage-listed joglo as having been sold by their owner to outsiders.

Mr. Natsier said the number of joglo houses in Kotagede was recorded at around 170 in 1985 and 150 in 2005. During the earthquake, 25 joglo collapsed while others were heavily damaged; these required immediate restoration so as not to allow ownership to change hands or physical locations altered. Ironically, the market price of a joglo is much lower than its historical value. “Rather than spend hundreds of millions of rupiah on restoration, owners prefer to sell a pendapa for several million rupiah,” said Mr. Natsier. Most of the time, owners sell the joglo for inheritance money.

Yukio Nishimura, a professor of urban engineering from the University of Tokyo, said the redevelopment of Kotagede should have a positive impact on the town’s local community. Planning of the region could be adapted to the requirements and needs of tourism, for example, but it should continue to firmly take into account the micro layout of the region, so changes to buildings or land functions that violate building regulations and feasibility studies do not occur.

The task is not one that can be accomplished overnight, Program Coordinator of the Jogja Heritage Society, Dr. Laretna T. Adhisakti, estimated the time needed to accomplish this feat at more than 20 years.



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