April_1967 — Page 22

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West German embassy

ous, with rounded corners, it appears to be wrapped around the structure it encloses. It is in fact separated from the structure behind by an air gap of some 30in. and the wall be- hind is filled in merely with wooden panels. These are presumably pro- tected from adverse effects of rain and sun by the screen in front.

Beside this building is another new one similar in size and character, also housing a government department. It has a screen of sunbreakers too, but in this case the pattern is bigger and more open, and the screen is tied

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Telecommunications building

more closely visually and struc- turally to the mass of the building. In overall appearance it is very much what one expects of buildings in tro- pical countries, and a tidy and ac- ceptable design. There is a strong horizontal feeling in the facade which is further accentuated by the line of the roof.

At the end of the road on which all these buildings stand is one which is rather more formal, traditional even, in appearance; and this is ap propriate for a principal building of the National Bank of Indonesia. The

Samudra Beach Hotel built by Taisei Construction of Japan

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walls are plastered and painted an off- white, and there is a large roof of dark tiles. The roof is of a standard pitched form, yet it evokes the tradi- tional roofs of Indonesian buildings without copying them, at the same time being quite suitable for a modern design. Here again there is a grid of sunbreakers appropriate to the climate. Not an exciting building. but a formal one which fits well into the Indonesian context.

Nearby are two buildings, similar in design, for telecommunications. These have front elevations in which the windows are deeply recessed be- hind the vertical and horizontal lines of the structure, and blank end walls faced with light-coloured stone.

These are only a selection of new buildings in Indonesia. There are many others for example the new

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television studios in Djakarta and hotels outside but the construction industry has as yet had few chances to produce notable buildings.

One might question whether what has been produced so far is really appropriate to the country; what is needed is buildings that are not grand monuments but make best use of the resources, and designs that are sympathetic to the special character of Indonesia. Designers will have to try to produce buildings that will play their part in making the new Indone- sia: and the building materials and construction industries must seek to improve themselves to provide a good service. But any progress depends of course on the larger economic situa- tion.

Far East Architect & Builder April, 1967