Bandung Society for Heritage Conservation -a Case Study Illustrating the Involvement of an NGO for Heritage Management in

Guy WUtcher, BSc, Dip TRP, MCD. MRTPI

Frances B. Affandy

IntroducdOD throughout the ccntury oThis growth was helpcd by the vast, fertile This papcr prcsents a casc study of thc which surround the city and which grew Bcndung Socicty for Hcritagc tca, coffcc, and quinine. ln fact, Conscrvation and sccks to cxaminc thc byOthe bcginning of World War Il rolc of a Non-Govcmmcntal Bandung supplied 90% of the global Organization for Hcritagc Managcmcnt quinine requircmento The cool climate in Indoncsia. It cxamincs how thc also attracted visitors wanting to cscapc organization was sct-up and how it the oppressive hcat of . opcratcs, thc Itypc of activitics it has bccn involvcd in ~md thc main issucs and problcms it faccs. It was at the bcginning of the 2Oth Century, however, that city growth Hcritagc Socicties arc an cstablishcd rcally expanded. ln 1917 the Dutch phcnomcnon in thc west but in thc Asian Colonial government announccd plans to contcxt, at lcast at lndonesia, thcy arc relocate the capital from Jakarta (then much morc reccnt arrivaIs on thc sccnc. known as Batavia) and this sparkcd a Thc papcr ~ks to draw on thc building boom in Bandung which lasted cxpcricnccs to datc in Bandung and from until the end of the colonial pcriod in thcsc cxtracts somc kcy lcssons for 1940. It is having such a proportion of its succcssful No0 involvcmcnt in this buildings constructed within such a short dynamic and rapidly cnvolving ficld. pcriod, and ail laid out in accordancc with strict masterplanning, which Reflecting the sphere of activities in incorporates spacious parks, gardens and which the Society has bccn most active avenues, that givcs Bandung its the papcr deals mainly with issues remarkable coherencc as a city. surrounding the conservation of the built environment. The architecture, in contrast to most other cities in lndonesia (with perhaps The Qty of BaDdUDg the exception of Madan in North Sumatera). is that of the Modern Bandung is the: capitol of the West Movement. Some of the most avante- region and is located at a height of 700m on the Priangan Plateau, approximately guarde styles of the day are represented. 200 km South East of Jakarta. With a These styles show adaptions to the tropical climate and in some cases have population approaching 2 million it is lndonesia's third largest city. lt is also been influenced by the indigenous architecture and culture. This blend of the home of the Sundanese, a people who Eastern and Western influences has have a language and culture distinct given rise to a unique 'indishe' from that of the Javanese. architecture. ln the early 19th Century it was little more than a village, but with the advent Vast area5 in the north of the city of the trans-Java post road in the 1830'5 remained 1arge1y unchangcd until the and later in 1880 the coming of the 1970'5 and 'BOs. As Indoncsia'5 wcalth railway, it experienced 5teady growth incrcase5 there i5 pressure to rcdeve1op Bandung Society for Heritage Conservation 187

with morc intensive building types. "enabling" way, acting as a catalyst for Thcse new buildings scldom make things to happen. It secs conservation as reference to the city's historic built an active process and takes a fabric, with a rcsult that certain arcas arc "management of change" rather than a Dow taking on :1 dccidedly dislocatcd "preservationist" approach. fccl. Many plant cd avenucs and Finally both the "private sector" and l landscaping schcmcs have bccn lost duc "economic" are both specifically to road-widenil1g. Many building mentioned. Since it is the private sector dccisions arc taken outside of Bandung which is making so many of the and the architect.s and devclopcrs oftcn come from ouside of Indoncsia. In important decisions affecting the city's historic fabric, and given the legislative tandem with this inappropriatc impotence or lack of commitment to rcdevclopmcnt, th ere are also arcas wherc new invcstment has Dot bcen tackle the problem, it is obviously a prime target. Also this is a reflection of forthcoming and building conditions arc the fact that the Society emerged from deteriorating. within the hotel industry , one of the most Tbe BaDd8I Society for Heritage rapidly expanding sectors in Indonesia and one which has a vested interest in COMeI'Y8doa (BaDdUDg P.yugabu Pel~tariaa Bada:y.) maintaining historic areas for their tourism potential. In the Asian context, Aims where the legislative situation is It was against th~s background of rapid sometimes weak or unclear, it is not changc that, in 1987. a group of always sufficient to lobby Government conccmcd indivJidua1s foundcd thc and expect it to arbitrate in accordance Bandung Socicty for Hcritagc with clearly-stated policy guidelines. ConscrvaûoD. It should bc strcsscd, Often the Society tries to persuade and howcvcr. that thc Socicty.s iDtcrcsts arc cajole the private sector directly. This not limitcd to thc city.s historic buildings point is returned to in more detiallater . but a1so includc its cnvironmcnt and culturc. Its aims arc statcd: Structure and Funding -To dcvclop and promotc Bandung.s The Society is a registered "Lernbaga uniquc idcnûty and imagc. Swadaya Masyarakat" (NGO) and has a cornmit tee of ten people, which rneets -To fostcr an cnvironmcnt in which Sundancsc art and cultural tradiûons rnonthly, and a rnernbership of over 200. can bc coDSCrvcdarjd dcvclopcd. Anybody can join and it is not necessary to paya rnernbership fee. Ail that is -To incrcasc awarcncss among both thc asked is that a rnernber rnust rnake a privatc and public scctors of thc pledge to contribute tirne and/or talent importancc and ,economic potcntia1 of and/or treasure. The rnernbership for rn thc city.s historic arcas and urban asks what activities rnernbers are cnvironmcnt. prepared to belp with and what special It is pcrhaps unrealistic to placc too talents they rnight share. By keeping much cmphasis on thc importancc of financial contributions voluntary rnany thcsc statcd aims as in its day to day students have been encouraged to join. activiûcs thc Socicty is prcparcd to Funding cornes largely frorn voluntary bccomc involvcd in almost any typc of donations and frorn rnoney received for projcct it fccls can bc uscful. A1so to do carrying out specific studies or so would almost ccrtainly ovcr- consultancies. A lack of routine funding cmphasizc thc Socicty.s ability to is a constant problern and rnakes long- influcncc outsidc cvcnts. ter rn strategic planning difficult. There Analysis of thesc aims does. howcvcr. is a voluntary labour pool of arnong the give some clucs to the it mernbers, but this is a facility whicb is holds. For instance thcy are very much sometirnes bard to access, especially framed in the positive and it is fair to say when trying to organize tirne-consurning that the Socicty likes to work in an activities wbich last over a long period. 188 Cu/tura/ Tourism

The Society is fortunate that its A monthly mailing to approximately chairman is also the President and owner 250 people costs about $ 25,00 of a local hotel chain and has donated permanent office space as well as By way of providing a regular activity, supplying lecture rooms and facilities at a program of monthly lectures was no cost. The fact that he is also a highly initiated and bas continued eversince. respected local buinessman, and was Ouest speakers are invited to talk on a once the cit)"'s largest taxpayer, has also wide variety oftopics which fall broadly, proved invaluable. Indonesian society is although not exclusively, within the very status conscious and a respected spher:e of heritage conservation. This 'name' at the bot tom of a let ter can open program bas bad several benefits. First it many doors that would otherwise remain bas provided a regular forum for closed; for example to arrange a meeting members to meet and where society news with the Mayor to talk about a particular and requests for information can be problem. announced. Also the meetings are Initial ActiTiIties advertised in the local daily newspaper and are open to non-members and in this Initially a small group of people way new members have gradually been interested in Heritage Conservation attracted. The speakers themselves may gathered together and held several also become members or at least will be meetings. After sometime it became made aware of the Society's existence clear that unless there was some sort of and mention it to colleagues. Oradually, concrete action the early enthusiasm over time, the lecture program bas would wane and the group would die a established a very extensive network of swift death. Eventually it was decided contacts. that holding an exhibition would be the best way to launch the Society, promote At one point these meetings, as weIl as its aims, and at tract new members. including special programs, also dealt The exhibition cost approximately with "housekeeping" matters. As $2,50000and 'this was raised only through membership grew however local businesses with the ethic that it "housekeeping" was transferred to would not be proper to solicit funds from special monthly board meetings. It is outside the community without first very important for the survival of our having demonstrated local interest and organization that board members commitment. The title of the exhibition regularly attend. When it bas appeared was Bandung's Nature.Art.Architecture that somebody bas become uninterested, and Environment. Its scope was for whatever reason, they have been deliberately set very wide to embrace all quickly replaced by somebody who is the Society's interests and also to at tract able to make a regular commit ment. people from as many fields as possible. The Mayor of Bandung and Governor of At the outset, as it is now, a good were asked to write forewords relationship with a local newspaper is for the exhibition guide. This not only crucial not only for publishing events, gave the exhibition greater status but but in Bandung for quite som~time a brought its existence to the attention of regular weekly slot appeared discussing government. local heritage issues in an attempt to Even after the exhibition, however, it "share the culture" and relate stories was a challenge to ensure that the new about the city. organization did not then lie dormant, a mere list of names, as is the case with Subsequent Developments many bodies in lndonesia. In order to The lecture program and other keep in conta,ct with members, a monthly awareness raising and educational newsletter, '~Warta Pelestarian" was activities, such as the running of an started. This is a very simple architectural photography course, have photocopied bulletin which is produced remained the mainstay of the Society's very cheaply, activities. Bandung Society for Heritage Conservation 189

However, as ti me passedopportunities recruited and a valuable contact in the presented themselves for acting in a City Planning Depanment obtained. more direct manner, for example, by giving technical advice on the renovation ln 1992 the Society acquired its first of certain historic buildings such as the full-time staff member, counesy of 1939 Hotel Savo:yHomann and the 1935 V.S.O. (Voluntary Service Overseas), Bank Pembangunan Daerah (Denis the U.K.-based volunteer sending Building). The Society was also asked by agency. the Mayor's office to suggest a suitable The legislative stiuation as Regards streetlighting scheme for the historic Building Conservation and the Potential Brage area, where the Society bad for NGO input previously carricd out its own urban environmental and economic The work of the Society to date, revitalisation studies. therefore, in terms of specific initiatives over and above those related to consciousnessraising, have relied mainly Soinetimes buildings are left empty on private initiatives and the investments and deteriorating because they are of certain individuals and organizations. surplus to the current requirements of their pu1bic sector owners. Unlike in the While these efforts are positive and West there is no statutory ob~igation for constructive, they are unable to such bodies to maximize the retum on guarantee careful and coordinated their capital assets. ln the case of the management of the historical city as a 1895 Martadinata Building, which bad whole. This is a task which lies firmly in been left unused by its owners the state the bands of the City Govemment. pharmaceutical company, the Society was able to find an interested tenant and Unfortunately conteroporary a rent was negotiated which reflected the lndonesian planning and design renovation costs. Thus the building was concentrates very rouch on functional divisions and there is a coroplete brought back to productive use to the benefit of alI concemed. No money was ignorance of the contribution of urban suggested or received by the Society for history (Widodo 1992). lt is a1so that this initiative. roany equate "old" with "bad" and "new" with "good". Conservation is often viewed as being non-coropatible Networking with other organizations with econoroic developroent. has proved a very fruitful way of futhering the Society's aims. One way of ln theory , legislation exists to protect overcoming the problems of lack of alI buildings over fifty years old. This funding and staff is to work together with legislation and the designation of organizations which do have these. buildings as "monuments" was, untillast Examples have included working with year, based on the Dutch instigated the Goet4e Institute and French Monument Ordinance of 1931. This was Cultural Centre ta bring an architect replaced with a new act in 1992 which in from France and one from Germany to many respects is very similar and has oversee a consen'ation workshop for many of the same shortcomings. local architectural students and young professionals. On another occasion the The execution of the legislation is the Society was asked to recommend two responsibility of the Ministry of candidates to atte:l1d a USIS (United Education and Culture, each of States Information Services) sponsored lndonesia's 27 having its own heritage management study tour to the agency. However, the legislation United States. One name put forward contains very little guidance on how the was that ofa Society member, but to fill protection is to be applied in practice. the other place the Mayor's Office was There are, for example, very few links approached to suggest a suitable between Education and Cultural candidate from am,ongst its staff. As a Departments (regionally -based) and resuJt an active new member was the Urban Planners (locally-based). 190 Cultura/ Tourism

There are hardly any fonnal or legal being prefaced with alI the usual caveats, possibilities to initiate a structural such as that it was not meant to be static strategy for rehabilitation/revitalisation or definitive, the list was 'also drawn up of the urban environment of preservation and presented as part of an overalI or the worthwhile architectural heritage. strategy which included recommendations for "Historic Area " ln practice the only legal control is the designations and controls. At the time of building-permit procedure which is a writing this paper, no news has been technical procedure and it is not really received as to whether or not the City problematic to demolish a wrothwhile Administration wilI be pressing ahead building if there is the intention to do so with any conservation work. (Passchier 1992). Building permits are granted separately from location permits The very fact, however, that the which fall within the domain of spatial Society is consulted by Government at planning. Internai coordination between ail is quite an achievement as the these two departments appears weak. As legislative system tends to be very a general point there is a lack of clearly- paternalistic and public participation in stated policy in the urban development the planning process is virtually unheard field and it is difficult for a member of of. Nor is it completely clear to the the public to know exactly on what Society how it has achieved this status, criteria individual development other than by having kept up a decisions are based. continually high prorùe locally. In the West heritage organizations generally It does appear, however, that the regard themselves as pressure groups. In Town Planners are now starting to at Indonesia, though, politics ar.: usually least ask questions about historic seen as being "consensual" rather than conservation, even if they have not "confrontational" and the Society has formally recognised it as part of their not regarded itself as a pressure group plans. ln 1992 the Society was asked to within the Western meaning of the term, provide a list of buildings which it felt prefering instead to try and be seen as a should be protected. There was some cooperating body occupying a debate as to whether or not a list should supportive role. be produced, bearing in mind that once a list is in place any building not included Lobbying Activities: The Singer Building would be fair game for demolition. Given the lack of time to prepare the survey Recently, however. the Society has there were bound to be significant found itself opposing the Mayor's Office over proposais to allow the demolition of omissions. Also, large areas of Bandung the 1935 Singer Building. The building draw their importance from the fact that there are high concentrations of by F. w. Brinkman. one of the best- known architects of the period. is located buildings which are on their own at a pivotai position in the city centre and insignificant but, when grouped exhibits many characteristics typical to together, constitute environments of the the Bandung architecture of the time. highest quality. The motive for demolition was"th:lt the Eventually it was decided to submit a owners of the new high rise Bandung list, which contained over 600 buildings. Business Centre, which is adjacent, The reasons for doing so were to be seen consider that the modest two-storey to be cooper:!ting with government and structure unduly blocks the view of their also because it was said a list was needed building. to include conservation work as a project in the next departmental budget which The Society was fighting a rearguard was about to be prepared at the time. AIl action from the stan since the Mayor government is financed on a project basis bad already signed a demolition permit and there is scarce scope for carrying out after the owners bad gone straight to him at any routine or extra work otuside of and by-passed the requisite planning these design:!ted projects. As weIl as departments. The Society arranged Bandung Society for Heritage Conservation 191

meetings w1th both the owners, who are ln January /February 1992 a National Jakarta -based, and the Mayor's office. Conference on Heritage Conservation An article was p!aced in the press and was held in and in severalletters were written, including November 1992 the First National one to the Minister of the Environment. Dialogue on the Preservation of Historic A meeting of a Town Council Sub- Buildings and Environments was Commit tee was called to discuss the marked by a visit of a delegation from issue. the U.S. who attended meetings in Eventually, it !leemed, the case had Jakarta, Bandung, , been won and the building saved and Yogyakarta. Although no formai although, in the absence of an open national coordination between the decision-making process it was not clear different heritage groups has yet to who precisely bad made this decision, on evolve, informai links and the sharing what basis it was made and which avenue of information bas a1ready been great I y of lobbying bad proved most effective. increased by these events. It is hoped this This situation creates difficulties process will continue and a synergistic because when lobbying it is difficult to relationship will develop between the decide where efforts should be individual groups. concentrated. The Bandung Society itself bas seen The post-script, however, is that its first sub-group. The Society recently the roof of the building bas of Western Java. forrned under its mysteriously collapsed and the owners auspices and this a sign that the have filed for a demolition order on the organization is starting to mature grounds that the building is unsafe. Dirty institutionally. There are plans to initate tricks by developers are a truly a Heritage Award Scheme in the city, a international phenomenon. project which it is hoped could Several generallessons can be dra\\'D eventually become national. It is also from this case. Before making a stand on aimed to broaden activities to focus on Bandung's wider urban enviranment and a particular building and taking on an nat just its buildings. , adversarial rather than consensus-bascd stance with government the merits of doing so have to be weighed against Conclusions future relationships. Indonesian In Indonesia, and in roany other parts of Government is very hierarchical and top. Asia, Naos in the heritage sector are a down in its working, therefore, the ralatively recent phenoroenon. Despite lobbying of people in the highest ranks is being poorly funded and under- likely to have the greatest effect. As resourced it has been shown that such many channels as possible should be bodies can do rouch to proroote the ideals tried. ln particular if financial decisions of Heritage Conservation, particularly are being made elesewhere in the by networking with other organizations. country it may be useful to calI on allies there to help the campaign. Intervention in the development process has to take account of the unique The Future social and political mechanisms that exist. This is a new field for NGOs in Since the Bandung Society for Heritage Indonesia although it is clear there is a Conservation was formed, the first role to be played in providing specialist organization of its kind in the country, advice and support to Govemment. The Heritage Conservation bas certainly effectiveness of such groups in an gained a higher profile nationally. ln ad versarial role is only just beginning to 1989 the Yayasan Pelestari Budaya be explored. Bangsa (Indonesian National Heritage Trust) was formed. More recently Unique opportunities exist for the severallocal groups have started up in conservation of historic towns and cities other cities such as Yogyakarta and in Asia (and Oceania). ln the West the Semarang. conservation ethic was only introduced

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late in the development cycle, ar ter il REFERENCES was realized that many di$astrous Passchicr. Cor (1992) "Thc Cultural mistakes had been made. Newly- Environmcnt Projcct Bandung/Wcst Java. Indoncsia.fl A papcr prcscntcd at thc 2nd developing nations have access to a body Intcrnational DOCOMOMO Confcrcncc. of heritage management knowledge Dcssau. Gcrmany. Scptcmbcr 1992. right at the beginning of their Widodo, Johanncs ( 1992), " Architccturc in development cycles and organizations thc City: Currcnt Dcvclopmcnts in thc such as NGOs car play a role in pushing Indonisian Contcxt." Ncwslcttcr of thc for this knowledg:. to be utilized as soon Institutc of Asian Architccturc (Japan), July as possible. 1992.