As an urban tissue, Kota Tua not only represents an intermediate scale of building, but also an open space. While it has become a common perception that Indonesian people prefer not to walk or congregate outdoors, this may be as much a result of the poor state of outdoor public space within Jakarta as it is a cultural observation. The opportunity to transform Kota Tua’s public realm through the use of vegetation and open-air amenities could serve as a model for the improvement of collective spaces throughout the city. This combination of building conventions, materials, and composition has created a vernacular unique to Kota Tua that tells, in built form, the story of its urban development through independence in built form. It is a district frozen in time, but not for long. The destructive forces of the tropical climate and ample moisture from annual monsoons are a constant threat. In many cases, even a short period of neglect will lead to the complete structural failure of a building. Initially, the roof becomes susceptible to rot, and then without regular care and maintenance, the effects of the tropical climate allow vegetation to take root and, eventually, completely overtake the building. Conversely, in cases where build-
Above: The Tjipta Niaga building photographed prior to most of its roof and facade collapsing in 2014.
Following page: The building is now undergoing extensive renovation, although the problem of building decay and neglect is persistent in Kota Tua, as vegetation quickly overtakes abandoned properties in the tropical climate.
New Old City: A Third Model of Development for Jakarta
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and interest needed to transform the area into an economically and culturally vibrant district. Despite representing an eclectic mixture of cultural provenance and programmatic uses, the buildings within Kota Tua share a number of prominent design characteristics that relate to their thermal and cultural performance within a tropical climate before the advent of air conditioning and the ubiquity of automotive transportation. 2 In almost all cases, the incorporation of a connected colonnade or breezeway adjacent to the street creates a shaded public interface between interior and exterior spaces. Relatively high floor-to-ceiling heights are also common as a means to allow hot air to rise to roof vents and away from people. Furthermore, a wide array of fenestration strategies have been developed to contend with the blazing tropical sun while still facilitating the need for interior cross ventilation. Finally, while period building technologies and necessary capacities account for the prevalence of two and three story structures in Kota Tua, this scale could function as a useful mediator between the flat single-story development of the kampung and the multistory towers that comprise Jakarta’s skyline.