The Other side of Berlin

Berlin merupakan kota yang cantik. Di lihat dari mana saja, Berlin tetap sebuah kota yang penuh daya tarik dan pesona. Memang tidak salah jika Berlin termasuk dalam jajaran kota yang wajib dikunjungi jika kita berada di Eropa. Berlin juga termasuk ke dalam tiga kota yang paling diminati untuk berlibur dan berwisata.
Hari ini merupakan hari yang cerah di pertengahan musim semi, musim yang tidak mudah ditebak dengan pasti cuaca yang akan datang. Patut disyukuri bahwa kali ini cuaca mendukung untuk jalan-jalan. Matahari bersinar tanpa terhalang awan meskipun angin cukup kencang.

Berlin merupakan kota yang dilalui oleh sungai Spree. Sungai merupakan salah satu jalur transportasi yang efektif untuk menghubungkan Berlin dengan kota lain. Sebagian kota besar di Jerman terletak pada jalur aliran sungai. Begitu penting peran sungai dalam menghidupi sebuah kota, maka pemerintah selalu memperhatikan kondisi sungai yang ada. Sungai yang melintas memang tidak bening, tetapi dapat memberikan kesan bahwa aliran sungai sangat terawat tanpa ada limbah sampah di atasnya.

Perjalanan dimulai dari dermaga Märkisches Ufer pada jam 11. Kapal yang ditumpangi memang dirancang untuk menampung hingga 150 orang yang duduk di dek atas dengan kursi plastik berwarna biru. Di dek bawah, terdapat restauran tertutup kaca berkapasitas 100 orang. Jika di atas dek merasa kedinginan, menikmati perjalanan di dek bawah sekaligus mengisi perut adalah yang terbaik. Penumpang di dek atas dapat memesan makanan maupun minuman dari pelayan yang selalu hilir mudik menghampiri. Tidak perlu takut kelaparan selama berada di atas kapal selama tiga setengah jam ini.

Kapal menyusuri aliran sungai Spree ke arah timur hingga melintasi jembatan Oberbaum, jembatan legendaris yang pernah hancur akibat perang dunia. Kemudian memasuki kanal sungai menuju pusat kota Berlin. Kanal yang memiliki lebar sekitar 20 meter ini adalah anak sungai Spree yang juga menjadi sarana transportasi jaman dulu ke pusat pemukiman di Berlin. Pesiar keliling Berlin menggunakan kapal ini bertajuk Brückenfahrt alias jalan-jalan di kolong jembatan. Sekitar 65 jembatan dilalui sepanjang perjalanan berjarak hampir 25km ini.

Pemandangan wajah Berlin yang berbeda ditampilkan dari atas kapal. Suasana tenang dan teduh terlihat pada kiri dan kanan kanal. Taman bermain dan arena jogging tersebar di daerah pinggir kanal. Sebuah pemandangan yang jauh dari kesan ibukota yang ramai. Aliran sungai yang tenang dan dinaungi pohon-pohon rindang di sepanjang sisir kanal memberikan pemandangan yang nyaman di salah satu sisi Berlin. Informasi mengenai sejarah daerah dan bangunan yang dilalui, disertai iringan kicauan burung menambah pengetahuan tentang jati diri kota Berlin yang sudah berdiri sejak abad 12.

Daerah pemukiman yang dilalui oleh kanal selalu menjadikan kanal sebagai ‘foreground’ bangunan sehingga tampak jelas fasade bangunan di sepanjang kanal. Sangat berbeda sekali jika dibandingkan dengan suasana di negara berkembang yang menjadikan kanal, sungai atau aliran air lainnya sebagai ‘background’ alias ruang belakang yang pada kenyataannya sebagai tempat pembuangan. Lalu lalang kapal di atas kanal menambah hidup ruang kota yang ada. Berlari-lari sore atau sekedar duduk santai menikmati kicauan burung dapat dilakukan di sepanjang sisir kanal yang sudah ditata dengan baik.

Berbagai bentuk jembatan meramaikan arsitektur di atas air. Semua jembatan yang dilalui merupakan jembatan dengan konstruksi beton maupun baja. Jembatan yang tertua yang dilewati berumur hampir seratus tahun. Beberapa jembatan merupakan hasil rekonstruksi jembatan asli yang rusak atau hancur akibat perang dunia. Tidak semua jembatan yang dilalui dalam perjalanan ini merupakan jembatan untuk kendaraan bermotor, jembatan khusus pejalan kaki dan sepeda pun ada. Terkadang dari atas jembatan terlihat beberapa orang yang sengaja berdiam diri menunggu kapal lewat.

Jembatan yang ada memiliki berbagai macam ketinggian. Di beberapa jembatan, penumpang kapal dapat menyentuh kolong jembatan bahkan ada yang diharuskan untuk duduk saat melewati jembatan. Sebuah jembatan di daerah Neukolln tergolong rendah untuk kapal sehingga memiliki pintu air yang dapat membuat permukaan air menjadi lebih turun saat kapal melintas di bawahnya. Sebuah perjalanan yang menarik ditinjau dari segala teknologi yang dipergunakan dalam memperlakukan aliran air.

Pada ujung timur rute yang ditempuh, anak sungai kembali bertemu dengan Induk sungai Spree yang rata-rata memiliki lebar 70 meter. Di daerah ini terdapat beberapa kapal yang dijadikan sebagai rumah apung pribadi atau rumah makan. Besar-kecilnya kapal tergantung kebutuhan sang pemakai. Beberapa solarsel tampak jelas terlihat untuk memenuhi kebutuhan listrik di rumah apung tersebut.

Satu setengah jam terakhir perjalanan ini adalah menyusuri sungai Spree yang melintas tepat di tengah kota. Pusat kota Berlin merupakan tujuan wisata bagi turis domestik maupun mancanegara. Di sana terdapat gedung parlemen Reichstag, tempat tinggal Presiden Jerman Schloss Belevue, tempat kerja Karselir, Berliner Dom, Nikolai viertel, dan berbagai arsitektur kota lainnya. Banyaknya kapal yang lalu-lalang di sungai Spree membuat sungai ini lebih hidup. Sebagian besar adalah kapal turis yang sedang menikmati keindahan pusat kota Berlin dari permukaan air.

--
Agust Danang Ismoyo
Lighting Designer

Read more...

Earth Architecture

In his book “Earth Architecture: From Ancient to Modern,” William Morgan (2008) talks about architecture buildings and landscapes shaped by earth as the primary material. As a result of his extensive research on architecture and environmental adaptation, Morgan believes that architecture should be an integral part of its surrounding. Understanding earth architecture in practice can establish a sustainable relationship between communities and their environments. Without using many technical terms, this compilation of more than fifty examples with nearly two hundred images volume is an interesting book of architecture. The cases discussed can guide architects and other professionals in the field to create designs as a holistic part of the environment.

Morgan broke down his book into nine chapters, each containing five to six helpful examples. He organized the books’ chapters based on his classification of how the shape of the earth architecture system was created. The examples ranged from the simple earthwork with basic functions like defense, ceremony and memorial to more complex architecture which includes relatively dense population, urban planning, and some significant institutional structures. Although there are some similar characteristics among two or more structure systems, the author classified the shape systems as Mounds, Shaped Hills, Earth Retained, Terraces, Platforms, Excavations, Modified Earth, Water Retained, and The Cities. Each chapter starts with a short introduction followed by the case studies that pertain to topics covered. The numerous examples Morgan gave range from a 4200 BC settlement in Negev to a contemporary arts pavilion in California and from simple artificial hillto large scale engineering projects. From these examples we can understand what technique and technologies people used at each time and how they managed human energy to build them.

Since thousand years ago humans had tried to use earth as their primary material and thought how to reshape it in to new configurations. They built the architecture or earthworks with various motivation like identify territories, defense and protection, or because of transport efficiency in the making of the projects. In the further use, they found out that earth material can be utilized to get its potential effects such as insulation and thermal mass to respond to severe weather. Humans started to develop it and explore its possibility to use in dwellings. In such system like Excavation structure where removal material from the earth is needed, the underground settlers can have protection from the heat of the day, the chill at night, and even from the harsh of desert storm.

From the chapter of Modified Earth, we know how people in Djenne, Mali built their Great Mosque using mud-brick as its primary material or the successful story of sod block for early settlement in Great Plains of North America and the Altiplano of South America where they used this material in daily life. This material is well known for its benefit to provide heat during the winter and coolness in the summer, well protected against storm, relatively fireproof, resistant to insect, and very economical to build. I am very interested in conducting further research on Modified Earth sections, particularly in understanding and making comparisons amongst any modification of earth as material that the author has mentioned in his books. I feel this Modified Earth section is very important for us as architects to learn because it provides ideas in creating and transforming more new environmental friendly material. I believe that every project has its own problem but at the same time have the local creative solutions to answer that challenges. By using local materials that are easy to build and maintain, it will need less special skills for construction and in the long run it will reduce the projects’ budget significantly.

Despite of all the potential benefit that we can get from the earth as building material, this book also criticize examples of construction that which is not environmental friendly and destroying ecological stability. In Earth Retained chapter, Morgan criticizes the Expressway Project, one of major roadway constructions in United States that usually disregard the needs of communities and their surroundings. In this case, he suggests the authorities to give more consideration to alternate light rail or waterway system for mass transportation which he believes would give less negative impacts to environment.

According to Morgan, Earth Architecture is more relevant for recent situation when sustainability design and environmental friendly awareness become huge consideration principles regarding global warming phenomena as a major threat for the future of our planet. He mentions two examples in his last chapter where those principles are applied in urban level. Urban Nucleus project in California and Dam Town Proposal for Kentucky are two stories how architects in collaboration with urban planners propose a holistic approach to establish communities that rely on sustainable balance between human beings and their environment by creating a compact residential compounds complete with public services and facilities that are in walking distance for the residents. This simple idea is very effective to minimize roads and utilities, control air pollution, and conserve energy while still preserving the sites’ natural beauty as well.

I believe that Sustainability Design is our future. Conservation of natural resources, renewable energy alternatives, passive solar potential, or any related topics that similar to those will be a mandatory requirement in architecture. The answer for those situations may lay in our past local wisdom, technologies, and culture of Earth Architecture. By reading this book, our perspective on architecture and its relation to environment surrounding should gradually change from detachable piece of architecture to more blended creations to their surroundings. I would recommend this inspiring book to anyone interested in architecture and ecology and I also suggest this sustainable design principles should become the starting point for architect, planners, or other designers before they put their ideas on the paper.

Cahyo Wilis Candrawan
Reviewer

Read more...

Top 5 UI Resouce Center

1st Prize Winner : 02- Crystal of Knowledge (DCM)
Runner Up : 30- Temple of Knowledge (Yori Antar)
3rd Prize Winner : 18 - Green Carpet Interconnection (Deyna Irvan)
4th Place : 25- The Trace of Knowledge (Aboday)
5th Place : 31- Solid Void (Yose Ferdian)

Read more...

Studentpolis: UI's new Resource Center

"New libraries don't reinvent or even modernize the traditional institution, they merely package it in a new way..." (OMA, Rem Koolhaas)

The package may refer to the method of retrieving information that evolves along with the technology. The old concept of library has turned into a resource center where many new possible ways of retrieving/ gathering information occur, not just from conventional book readings but collective and interactive discussion as well.

The fact that whole library can be stored in a single microchip or a handheld device has put our new conception of a resource center, a new way of interpreting flexibility and expandability despite the need of real books. Thus, these collections may be contained in a more effective ways, while the need of public activity center is accommodated. This is in fact what the site needs, to become new lively student center that provides many possibilities of receiving information.

University of Indonesia (UI) as part of the academic and scientific community is moving towards World class University. It integrates its faculties into 3 major science namely Medical Science, Social and Humanity Science, and Engineering Science. It aims at academic excellence as an improvement of academic quality, research, and entrepreneurship as its vessel towards good management and university independent income as well.

Like a country, the University of Indonesia contains many islands, cities, and regions. They are represented by the faculties, councils, labs, student center, and their beautiful natural resources that offer conserved green area, lakes and valleys. As a developing City or Polis (as in ancient Greek terminology), UI central area has included several important facilities such as Administration Center (PAU), Research and Social Commitment Directorate (DRPM), Student Service Center (PPM), Multi Function Room (Balairung) and Information and Communication Technology Center (ICT). Yet a lively city would need its complete social experience, as Polis would need its assembly area or market (also known as Agora) where everyone meets and socialize. Such Polis stands on the live and pulsing network; a network of commercial lines, city government, religion, as well as academic network and natural resources.

Therefore, the need for social activity space in the campus, both academic (formal) and non-academic (informal) activities are considered essential. A Polis would depend on its stake holders along with their activities, and a Polis would depend on its Community and Society to live. The new central library as part of the this Student Polis would then functions as assembly area, where the interaction between multiple networks happen, as a place that holds both academic activity and social expression of its users. In order to do so, the central library is placed on the horizontal intersections between many possible courses of activities in the UI central, not vertically as it tends to have lesser chance of interacting. The linear pattern of the Polis will create nodes for people to meet, gather, and socialize, as information would spread easily on such events. Thus, the new assembly point becomes the Resource Center, where meeting, discussion, or simply having fun become the new way of retrieving information, despite the need of actual books that we still provide in a contained area.

One of the main issue regarding the location was how to promote the site into a destination point, where it has been a more passive or 'backstage' area from student activity. This is where we planned to put the axis together, from each activity point from each faculty and student center, thus creating net paths in which people may pass and meet along the way. The axis emerge not as its metaphorical simbolism, but rather function as actual paths and therefore, nodes.

The formal expression of mass placements, ring roads, and axis are combined with the dynamic expression of student activity, under one giant canopy that represents its tropical forest context. The green campus UI needs to contribute more to the global environmental issues, as the new resource center emerges with green design that put larger consideration to natural light and ventilation, the energy consumption, and choosing sustainable materials. The eco-friendly design issue is not a new concept to offer, but rather be an everyday simple action of respecting mother nature.

The designed siteplan is placed on almost similar level to the ground surface, as to provide more open plazas and possible events to occur. These large plazas are sheltered by one giant canopy, yet still maintain their large openings to allow natural sunlight and cross ventilation. Although look big, the enclosed structure actually only occupies merely 3500 m2 (resource center) and 1000 m2 (for each lecture hall and student business activity center), or less than 20% of total ground area. This enclosed structure only covers books collection and special function rooms, while other communal or public functions are planned to occur in the surrounding plaza or terraces.
The water catchment systems will be performed by direct vertical drainage from open/green roof via pipe steel structures downward to the absorption tank and water reservoir. The reservoir may provide local use, such as daily irrigation or plant/grass maintenance; while the absorption tank helps keeping the site to hold its water catchment capacity to a more effective way.

Part of the building facing north west with openings are designed to have louvers on the facades, and additional lines of trees to provide more shadow and shelter during the brightest daylight. Most of the building structures are located beneath a green span surface that helps shelter and filter the needed natural light inside.


The structure materials mainly use steel pipes and concrete to achieve tight construction schedule. The existing Fasilkom building (planned for future ICT) will only be refurbished on its facades, as to create more solid look as one of the tallest building inside the main ring of the StudentPolis. As for the landscape, where big old trees are kept existed on its original locations, while the smaller and newer plants are to be adjusted according to the landscape design (grid and random type of plant groups).

Eventhough we only got into the top 10 Finalist, we felt confident to the statement of resource center we had offered, since none of the top 5 have done so. The new resource center should integrate its collections to the use of technology (ICT) to promote friendlier interface to public/student, thus the new building architecture would prioritize on how the public should interact, meet, and socialize. Creating a resource center is not merely building an iconic structure or new look, but rather offering new ways of people interact and 'learn'. Imagine how would your 'new library' would be if we still perceive its functions as what Singaporeans does a decade earlier?

Read more...

Season's greetings

Read more...