Preserving Historical Buildings: Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Preserving Historical Buildings: Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
By Barrie December 23rd, 2006 No Comments
Personally, I consider Bandung to be one of the most interesting cities in Indonesia. But it does have a problem with not looking after its heritage and that is important if you want to attract tourists. With the advent of the new international airport, tourists are bound to flock to this great city.

Julia Krisna reports from Bandung about how ordinance, hopefully, will help restore some of the finest historical buildings in the city.

Ordinance hoped to help preserve historic buildings in Bandung
Julia Krisna, Contributor, Bandung

From the outside, the Lyceum building in the Dago Christian Senior High School (SMAK Dago) at Jalan Juanda (Dago) No. 193, Bandung, looks imposing, but upon taking a closer look you will find that the building, erected in 1910, is in a poor state of repair.

The 400-square-meter building no longer has a roof, and smells rank and fetid.

The platform and the wooden seats that you can still find there are testament to what used to happen in this building many years ago.

The Lyceum building was once the center of religious activities for the SMAK Dago students. When it was built in the 1930s, it was hailed as having the best acoustic features in Southeast Asia.

Unfortunately, the building has been neglected owing over its ownership involving the West Java Christian Secondary School Educational Foundation and a number of other parties.

Besides the Lyceum, there are many other neglected historic buildings in Bandung municipality, such as the former De Vries shop on Jalan Asia Africa, the former PT Panca Niaga Building at Simpang Lima and a shopping compound on Jalan Tamblong.

These buildings are now empty and neglected, although according to a study by Bandung Heritage, they are some of a group of 153 old and historic buildings that need to be preserved.

The Bandung municipal council has voiced concern about the neglected state of a number of historic buildings.

Lia Noer Hambali, a council members, has called for a municipal ordinance to protect historic buildings. “I’m afraid that without a specific ordinance, the number of buildings that are part of Bandung’s cultural heritage will decline in number,” she said.

She added that the municipal council had allocated Rp 75 million from the 2005 budget to the local tourism agency for the conducting of a study on the city’s historic buildings.

The director of the municipal tourism agency, M. Askary Wiratmaja, said that the draft municipal bylaw on the protection of historic buildings would be finalized later this year.

The bylaw was aimed at making Bandung, which is rich in art-deco buildings, a center for heritage-related tourism.

“Hopefully, the preservation of our old buildings will attract foreign tourists, particularly those from Europe, to come to Bandung,” he said.

According to the local tourism agency, a total of 1.6 million tourists have visited Bandung so far this year, which is far below the set target of 2.19 million tourists.

Bandung Heritage chairperson, Harastoeti DH, who is also head of a team assigned to study the local legislation on historic buildings in Bandung municipality, said that in reality Bandung was home to thousands of old buildings.

“However, we have set 7 criteria for a building to be classified as an old building that needs to be protected,” she said.

To qualify as an old building that needs to be preserved, it must not only have historic, esthetic, scientific, socio-cultural and economic value, but must also be over 50 years old and have a particular distinction.

Generally, a local ordinance on historic building provides for the protection of old and historic buildings. However, in determining the number of old and historic buildings that would be protected, Harastoetie said, a decision of the mayor would be required.

However, she warned, the conservation of old and historic buildings could prove to be difficult due to a lack of understanding on the part of the public.

“The public must be given a proper understanding of the significance of conserving cultural heritage buildings,” she said, adding that the efforts to educate the public in this regard had to start at the sub-district level.

“The government should show its awareness in this regard and set an example for the public. The government must be in the forefront of the efforts to conserve buildings,” she added.

The position of old and historic buildings, she explained, presented something of a dilemma.

“The public, on the one hand, are not allowed to demolish old buildings but, on the other hand, the government fails to extend assistance for the maintenance of these buildings,” she explained.

“That’s why it should come as no surprise that many old buildings are left vacant and neglected. The public must be given incentives for the conservation of heritage buildings.

“The government, for example, could give tax exemptions or provide financial assistance for the repair of these buildings,” she said.

The conservation of old buildings could also be undertaken by way of transforming the function of the buildings. “But care must be taken to ensure that the structure and shape of the building remains intact,” she warned.

Julia Krisna