Saturday, 29th January 2011, Rampakasli and Ruang17 collaborated to organize a forum discussing architecture in the form of writing. Seeing the positive progression of Indonesian architects in writing books and journals in the form of project descriptions, reviews, design sharing and inspirations, critiques and theories, Diskusi Arsitektur Dalam Tulisan was designed to promote awareness and inspire young generation of architects (students and practitioners) to get involved in architectural writing. Achmad Tardiyana, a respected senior architect and academician who teaches at the Institut Teknologi Bandung and practices at Urbane Indonesia provided a resourceful presentation of the 20th century architects who actively write and contribute to the development of architectural knowledge, critiques and development. Discussing the works of prominent international writers such as Le Corbusier, Leon and Rob Krier, Aldo Rossi, Robert Venturi and Dennis Scott Brown, Herman Hertzberger, Bernard Tschumi, Peter Eisenman, Rem Koolhaas, Bjarke Ingels to South East Asian architects such as Adi Purnomo, Kevin Low and Yu Sing, Achmad Tardiyana opens up a new horizon of knowledge for the participants of the event on how important writing can contribute and have influence on architecture and the whole built environment. Achmad Tardiyana recently published {so.lil.o.quy}, a book showcasing his architectural works and thoughts.
Enzeline Fransiska Manurung, the young writing architect that just published her new book, 30 Inspirasi Desain Rumah Bertingkat shares her experience in writing and preparing materials for the design book. Currently a post-graduate student at the Institut Teknologi Bandung, Enzeline's presentation was intended to inspire young architects to venture into the world of writing, and provided participants with a clear overview on the processes of writing and publishing a book on architecture and design. The final presenter was Thoat Fauzi, representing his office, Genesis Studio, a group of visionary young and proactive architects that promotes good design as a social activism. His presentation discuss ten recent works by Genesis Studio that deals with and trying to respond to contemporary urban issues in Indonesia, such as the need of cheap and good housings, public spaces and sustainable designs. These inspiring and non-conventional thoughts on architecture that were applied in their designs will be soon published in the form of a book.
Rampakasli and Ruang17 would like to sincerely thank all participants, especially to Imelda Akmal, Yu Sing and Kumiko Homma that contributed to this forum, throwing thoughts, ideas, critiques and comment by actively discussing and debating on the highlighted issues brought up by the three presenters. We hope that this session can be continued and elevated to another level of discussion in promoting the culture of writing within architects and designers.
