About Jengki

Written as part of a weekly article in the journalistic account "Biwastu" under the auspices of HMA Widyastana Architecture. Part of a collection of articles under the heading "About:" specifically discusses the history of architecture.

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Jengki, derived from the word Yankee, is used to name a style of architecture built independently from the knowledge of Indonesian builders. The use of the word Yankee itself may be based on many things. Starting from the influence of American culture or movies. The term jengki itself is used to refer to items that are strange and eccentric; if you look at its equivalent in the era at that time (the 1960s), then many types of goods also have the word jengki attached to them; jengki pants, jengki bicycles, and jengki furniture.

According to Prijotomo, jengki was coined by STM graduates who had been aanemer (building experts) in Dutch companies. At a time when Dutch companies had to leave Indonesia, the spirit of standing on one's own feet without relying on foreigners gave rise to a "rebellious" spirit, becoming the basis for changing the regularity of colonial building elements that were usually based on functionalism.

The jengki style, which mainly developed between 1950-1970, is also known as the bosses style. Because the majority of its users were Chinese people in business, Madurese tobacco entrepreneurs, and the elite at that time. Design elements of jengki include a 35-degree angled gable roof that is mainly displaced or the two planes of the roof do not meet, a sloping front wall decorated with pasted stone ornaments, the presence of roosters arranged linearly with a variety of squares or circles that also function as ventilation. Another characteristic is that the terrace is separate from the main house. The deck generally has a flat roof supported by columns of varying shapes. Also, despite its external form, the jengki has a unique and odd shape. The basic outline of the jengki remains a cube-like folk house in general.

Jengki itself, according to the Kami Arsitek Jengki community, hasseveral types: school jengki, colonial jengki and kampung jengki.

1. School jengki can be seen from its neat shape, which is familiar with the rules of composition, symmetry, balance, accentuation and other aesthetic theories.

2. Colonial jengki usually come from colonial houses that have been remodeled. Although it has applied jengki elements in its new construction, it still leaves the symmetrical impression of the previous colonial building.

3. Jengki kampung, on the other hand, looks relatively messy, whether it's the window frames or the stonework on the facades. This form seems to contribute to the character of a village that is not neatly organized but has its own story. These wild jengki were likely built in the early days of jengki, around the 1950s, when there were no graduates from the architecture department.