ASF-ID - Riparian Frontiers - Confronting Informality Symposium by Architecture Sans Frontières Indonesia

COnFroNtINg INfoRmALitY symposium

ARCHITECTURE SANS FRONTIÈRES INDONESIA Architecture Sans Frontières Indonesia (ASF-ID) is a non-profit and participatory organization with commitment to social justice, culture, and environment working through architecture, construction, and urbanism. ASF-ID was founded on May 15th, 2015 in Bandung by community architects, apprentices and architecture teachers. ASF-ID is working in the fields of alternative construction technologies, bamboo architecture, participatory design and community planning. Financial capacity is obtained through members’ fee, donation, and services. During our first year, ASF-ID has been working with communities that are in needs of architects. Through our awareness, ASF-ID takes part in non-governmental public sector. (Website: http://asf.or.id)

RIPARIAN FRONTIERS: NEGOTIATING CONTESTED URBAN SPACE IN CILIWUNG AND CIKAPUNDUNG COMMUNITIES

We are constantly redefining architecture’s boundaries. The ancient question (re-)emerges; is architecture supposed to reach out to everyone, everywhere, with no exceptions at all? Global architecture discourse is now leaning to big cities urban realism; including informality issues and the existence of dense and dilapidated settlements. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the growth of participatory planning and design knowledge, as well as facilitation expertise. Indonesian cities are facing dire and latent urban growth. Its capital, Jakarta can be said as its one wildest meltdown among the other cities. But how much that wild stigma is true as bad? Informality is a reality. Informality holds potentials. We eyewitness that the urban informal are agile and able, contrary to being helpless and dull. If one is about to talk sustainability, it’s never a wrong step to look closely at informality. Informality is exciting. It usually has a more permeable sheath in interacting with its context, thus greater chances in upholding sustainable values. People know just the immediate resources to stay alive in limited condition, all the while giving back to their closest surrounding. Often the transactions occur outside the established system; their self-help ability is very strong. To look close at informality is to accept that informality and formality in an urban setting are typically fluid. They live side by side; soluble and insoluble. ASF-ID has the chances to meet people in that very setting, through planning, design, and construction perspectives. In two cities 180 km apart, our team walked in into different context and cases. During 2014-2016 the Jakarta urban informal is facing harder eviction efforts. They are not strange to the potential threat and stigmatization. Eviction after eviction, national-wide attentions speak voices with or against the urban informal in various settings. Yet in the grass-root level, oftentimes away from the spotlight, the urban informal are quick to get back up again. During post-calamity environments; with both mental and economic scars the urban informal shows their can-do ability. Bandung City may be of a slower pace than Jakarta, yet maintaining a connection with the metropolis Capital. One incident of eviction occurred during 2015 where a riverside settlement of 40 families was moved into vertical housing because they are deemed informal, despite having living there for decades. Later, their lands were converted by the national Public Works office into public park. The voices are also divided, with or against the eviction.

1. Kampung Tongkol, North Jakarta ANA

In Kampung Tongkol, North Jakarta, the point from which Jakarta had grown over centuries, ASF-ID has been facilitating Komunitas Anak Kali Ciliwung. The community has been organizing themselves during and after eviction. Sitting in the bank of Ciliwung river branch, one strip of houses is left in what once dense urban settlement. With the conscience that they can upgrade their own housing condition, a group of house-owners tore down their houses and rebuilt it back. Community architects, architectural teacher and students, and community organizers rolled up their sleeves to plan, design, and build with the urban informal. In February 2016, months of hard works resulted in a co-housing pilot project. The financing is supported by women’s saving group that is receiving revolving fund. One weekend, the neighbors grouped up as committee in the open house event.

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6˚ 7’ 43,9” S – 106˚ 48’ 48,9” E ER

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ASF-ID activities: 1. Co-housing design 2. Workshops: Bamboo preservation and bamboo roof structure construction 3. Leaflet Guide: 10 Characteristics of Tongkol Co-housing

Contested space; riverbanks are among 21st century urban frontiers where rules are being negotiated.

ELEVATION A MATERIAL

ENVIRONMENT CONTEXT

SOCIAL CONTEXT

Tongkol is a quiet neighborhood. Fruit trees lining along the river banks, while the back passage is shaded by mature angsana trees. However, north Jakarta is prone to flooding and care to immediate surroundings is, therefore, a necessity to reduce risks. Regarding this, the community regularly clean the river and organise neighborhood cleaning events.

The main structure of the house is made of reinforced concrete frames. With exception of the front facade, aerated autoclave blocks were used for wall infills. The blocks, locally called hebel, is the new vernacular for poor communities in Jakarta, owing to its quick assembly that requires small amount of mortar. The usage of bamboos also help in keeping the building light. The roof truss which shelters an attic is made of bamboo Gigantochloa verticillata. The bamboos were treated with borax and boric acid solution on site. This will protect the bamboo from pests and ensure permanent life of structure. Floors in second and third (attic) storey are made of recycled timber from the demolished houses.

Project finance made possible through collective loan available from Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) a renown NGO in Indonesia’s urban poverty sector. A loan amounted equivalent to EUR 1000 made available for the seven households. The Indonesian chapter of Architecture Sans Frontieres (ASF-ID) contibuted with design and technical facilitation. Architects of ASF-ID help to prepare the design with drawings and a scale model. The latter were instrumental in communicating bamboo truss design. Bamboo preservation worshop and construction workshop held to ensure practical knowledge transfer.

ELEVATION B

8 x 265 = 210

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GROUND PLAN

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confronting-informality-bk@tudelft.nl www.confrontinginformality.wordpress.com

COnFroNtINg INfoRmALitY symposium

2. Pasirluyu, Bandung, West Java

PUN CIKA

Bandung, a member of UNESCO creative city forum, is known as culinary spot, fashion center, and weekend fiestas for Jakarta upper-middle class dwellers. The city center was designed by the Dutch colonial, earning the title as Paris van Java. In some of its urban pockets, urban kampungs had existed since immemorial. The southern part of the city was not built by the colonial. The south was also known in the pre-Independence revolution history as people resistance center. Pasirluyu urban kampung in modern setting is located nearby the streets named with Bandung youth heroes names. The kampung sits in the banks of Cikapundung, famed river flowing from upper north to southern Bandung. ASF-ID faced the characteristic that formality and informality constitute urban realism. Pasirluyu faced changes over decades into dense urban 6˚ 56’ 18,9” S – 107˚ 37’ 11,9” E settlement. The construction of the inner city ring road crossing over the kampung changed its face quite drastically. The road, now busy and accident-infested, has row of commercials on its sides; residing on what was plot of houses in the 1990s. MERAH DELIMA G DUN R

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ASF-ID activities in Pasirluyu: 1. Collective history mapping 2. Brainstorming and spatial mapping 3. Mapping with kids

Children usually have interesting poin of view in mapping their environment; Measuring workshop in Merah Delima community, Cikapundung River.

Merah Delima

Pasirluyu: RW 02 & RW 03

Our working communities are located in the Southern Bandung, along the Cikapundung River. There are two big clusters (Neighborhood Unit) RW 02 and RW 03 of Pasirluyu Subdisctrict. One smaller cluster of community is an informal one across the river. Bordering in the south and east are middle class housing complex.

Beyond the area of Pasirluyu, still in the riverbanks of Cikapundung river, some informal settlers had been living since 1970s. There is an informal settlements enclave of 14 households in a small government land surrounded by housing complex.

Pasirluyu is a kelurahan (administration under sub-district) in Regol subdistrict, Bandung. There are 9 RWs under Pasirluyu but just two RWs that have been worked with ASF-ID. RW 02 and RW 03 were used to be one region, until some of its plots were acquitted for city road RW 02 unit consists of five RTs. This is one of the RW in the area that is divided by the BKR road. On the southern side of BKR road, RT 05 is located. They have their own self-managed community activities such as Monthly Child Care (supported by the sub-district office), Youth group, etc. That is why ASF-ID considered RT 05 to be their own specific community

ENVIRONMENT CONTEXT

RW 03 is a big community unit. There are 9 RTs. Two of the RTs are located along the Cikapundung river bank. Because of the size and characteristic of this unit, we aim to do a slightly different approach. We communicate mainly Neighborhood mapping with the chiefs of community units to arrange mapping meetings. with women of RT 05 RW 02

Some of them work collectively collective environment house 3d modeling history as recyclable waste collector mapping measuring workshop mapping from the district as well as from the river flow of Cikapundung. They collect, clean, trim, and separate the plastic from metal etc. The parents do not have much free time due to working almost the whole day. Thus, we were starting to approach the community not only through the parents but also through the children.

Output: Kampung historical timeline

neighborhood mapping forum group discussion collective history mapping

History mapping with people of RT 05 RW 02

dream community workshop

3. Nangkasuni, Bandung, West Java

Women are often excluded from planning decision; Community mapping workshop at Cikapundung riverbank.

Kampung Nangkasuni, in the banks of Cikapundung river in central Bandung, is also an urban realism which is constituted by formality and informality combined. ASF-ID in cooperation with Community Service division of Parahyangan University Architecture Student Association facilitated the urban dwellers in doing a set of planning workshop such as mappings, discussion groups, and community works. GANG NANGKASUNI

ENVIRONMENT CONTEXT

suPpORteD bY

Nangkasuni is indeed name of small street between Pajajaran Road and Wastukencana Road in Central Bandung and name of kampong in there. A lot of informal house was built in Cikapundung River banks, but this kampong has been existed since 1955. Even, in this dense community, we can still find some public space. The process has given all parties involved new perspectives and understanding. ASF-ID and Parahyangan University architecture students had collaborated in approaching and facilitating a community. The community started to voice their concerns and dreams about their living environment in the urban context.

interview

environment mapping

collective history mapping

dream community workshop

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ASF-ID activities in Nangkasuni: 1. Collective history mapping 2. Brainstorming and spatial mapping 3. Community works to build community open space

Mapping of collective memory and settlement's history to assert claims on tenure rights.

confronting-informality-bk@tudelft.nl www.confrontinginformality.wordpress.com