STUDIO INTRODUCTION

Ervine Lin and Kenya Endo

Course Overview | This studio-based module expands the skill level expected of our students by enlarging their mode of operation to the scale of the city. As the second installment of a four part masterlevel core studio, the students will visit the city of Jakarta, the current capital of Indonesia. There, they will be faced with the realities of an ever growing megalopolis stretched by both environmental as well as socioeconomic challenges. Students will be asked to explore how landscape architecture can potentially alleviate some of the issues to be uncovered over the course of the semester and to suggest socially acceptable, environmentally viable and technically innovative interventions using a landscape approach

Background I Concerns over water scarcity, climate change, and environmental health risks have prompted some Asian cities to invest in river rehabilitation and scholars in recent years have been demonstrating that a change in paradigm in river rehabilitation is possible, providing future scenarios that balance concerns over flooding, water quality, and ecology, with the realities of a rapidly growing megacity like Jakarta, the current capital of Indonesia (Vollmer et al., 2015).

By 2050, an additional 2.5 billion people, resulting in a total of 66 percent of the world’s population, is projected to reside in urban areas with a glaring majority of this increase concentrated in Asia and Africa (United Nations, 2014). This massive urban transition coincides with an unprecedented expansion of builtup land which has resulted in ramifications to the local-regional climate, pollution, water quality and availability, arable land as well as the livelihoods of people in the region (Schneider et al., 2015). Much of this growth occurs in the “mega-deltas cities” which have historically conglomerated people, resources and economic activities, a trend which increasingly places them at risk to environmental hazards (Seto, 2011) and has contributed to rivers and wetlands becoming one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world (Malmqvist and Rundle, 2002; Tockner and Stanford, 2002). One such city is the current capital of Indonesia, Jakarta.

Unfortunately, increasing urbanisation, commercial development and centuries of exploitation and neglect have transformed the rivers in Jakarta, such as the Ciliwung River, into one of the most polluted rivers in the world (E. Satriastanti, 2012). The concurrent anthropogenic factors such as buildup of garbage (Texier, 2008) and the rapid subsidence due to groundwater extraction (Chaussard et al., 2013) have also been attributed to the ever increasing seasonal floods in the city, the latest deadly flood happening in January 2020 (CNA, 2020). The issue of flooding is further exasperated when municipal infrastructure fails to keep pace with urban growth forcing lower-income communities settled along the downstream section of the river to rely on the polluted river for water, sanitation and even recreation (Vollmer and Grêt-Regamey, 2013).

In the past two decades, multiple studies of water management problems and engineering proposals to mitigate flooding have been brought up in Jakarta but none have been successfully implemented (Silver, 2014). One of these proposals is the long standing plan to “normalise” the river channel, a project led by the Ministry of Public Works which includes dredging, expansion and bank reinforcement works that would change both the topography and land use along the riparian corridor. The high cost of land acquisition, sensitivity of aggressive demolition and eviction policies, ironically coupled with the allowance for commercial entities to develop along riverbanks and other green spaces (Steinberg, 2007) have resulted in a fair amount of debate on the validity of the “normalization” process.

Unfortunately, “normalization” is still the strategy which currently has the most momentum and residents of who have been residing along some of the worst hit areas live under the constant threat of eviction and relocation to make way for these river improvement works (The Jakarta Post, 2015). Those who have already gone through it are now physically and psychologically segregated from the water systems that flow through the city. The studio’s starting point is thus exploring means in which landscape orientated solutions might provide an alternative to the alienating approach of “normalization”.

While rapid urbanization is often blamed for the environmental degradation and increasing hazards from natural disasters, the magnetic concentration of people, resources and economic activity in cities can also provide for an opportunity to create mitigation strategies that shift the city towards sustainability (Seto et al., 2010). This concentration of resources has allowed for river and wetland restorations to become an increasingly lucrative enterprise with billions of dollars being spent on restoration works (Nakamura et al., 2006) Seen no longer as merely a recreational or decorative exercise, the practice of river restoration can be viewed as an infrastructural investment in which a multitude of benefits can be obtained, inclusive of flood mitigation (Benedict and McMahon, 2006).

Girot acknowledges this noteworthy endeavor of landscape recovery but challenges practice and discipline to engage with the cultural and environmental dimensions of a site through a combination of physical experience, intuition and scientific research (Girot, 1999). As such, while the situation in Jakarta might appear bleak, the studio seeks to engage with the local populance while bringing to the table a landscape architectural agenda which explores the possibilities of reimagining the water systems in Jakarta such that they play not only an ecological, social and economic role but also one which has the possibility to mitigate environmental factors.

Site I The primary landing site will be a community within Kampung Kedaung Kali Angke in West Jakarta, located along the riverside of Kali Apuran, and close to Cengkareng Drain. Dense single-story housing blocks are surrounded by industrial area and several high-class gated communities, as well as undeveloped open fields (presumably owned by private developers). Due to the river expansion program back in 2014, several houses were evicted, creating new composition of spaces along the river—linear inspection road with spontaneous communal activities, faced by 2 separated neighboring communities. This eviction along the river is a common theme seen along many parts of Jakarta to make way for normalization of the rivers and canals.

The landing site serves as a snapshot for the studio to understand Jakarta’s community-level spatial organization, complexity of social structures, and challenges that a typical community faces toward sustainable living. Simultaneously, students are to investigate surrounding neighborhoods for contextual understanding, as well as to conduct city-scale analysis for identifying how our landing site interrelates with the dynamics of the Jakarta City as a whole.

Design Questions | During the course, students will be challenged to develop both spatially and socially compelling design interventions. The studio is designed to answer these questions by using Jakarta as a case study and Kampung Kedaung Kali Angke as a landing site to deploy and demonstrate each student’s design approach(es). Questions students should ask themselves can include but are in no way limited to the following:

• Considering the complexity of the site and the city, what will be the key parameters / priorities?

• Aside from simply pledging areas for green, how can we incentivize local stakeholders to be part of the drivers of your landscape proposal?

• How will students address informality in design, when environmental pressure as well as infra-

• Can landscape architects propose design prototypes that can infuse greater diversity and livability into the urban context?

Learning Objectives and Approaches | For a landscape intervention to be successful, designers need to understand the site in question—from its collective memory to its physical topography. Unfortunately a designer seldom (if ever) belongs to the place in which he or she is asked to operateing) which serve as a theoretical methodology in which to extract as much potential from the site in thus be tasked to perform the following:

1. To step outside their comfort zone into the complexities of metropolitan Jakarta to experience the ground conditions for themselves (landing)

2. Carefully unfold the intricate characteristics of the site through detailed analysis and experiential explorations (grounding)

3. Discover the potential areas in which landscape architecture can be leveraged on to alleviate the

4. Propose ways to restructure elements of the city into a series of resilient outcomes in the form of bespoke spatial and social frameworks (founding) complex and is only one of the many facets in which students can consider as their intended focus. A nonexhaustive list of potential topics* is suggested below:

• Urban hydrology including city-wide waterways and hydraulic infrastructures, collection of rainwater, ground water extraction, access to portable water, etc.

• Interaction with water (access, behavior, perception etc.), and how they shaped people’s lifestyle.

• Access to greenery (or lack thereof) within the city and the realities of park building in Jakarta.

• Solid waste management and sanitation and the possibilities of reinvigorating a positive human landscape interaction.

• Productive landscapes and their potential role in improving socio-economic divides.

Lastly, narrative development will be the overarching skills to be further developed. “Narratives intersect with sites, accumulate as layers of history, organize sequences and inhere in the very materials and processes of the landscape.” (Potteiger and Purinton, 1998) services) and experience (distinctive and memorable). These challenges are to be developed into opportunities to serve as the foundation of a logical narrative to outline the advantages and necessities of the proposed design.

Studio Structure I

to understand site context, with in-depth input sessions from local experts to identify problems and challenges. Students will be tasked to work in groups for the research phase, and as individuals for the design application phase, according to the requirements of each stage of the studio.

Research Phase

observation & measurements with advanced digital technology, interviews with residents, and collection of maps) to acquire relevant knowledge to serve as the basis of design vision and strategies for all students.

For this initial research phase, students will be grouped into 3 focal scales for their respective site investigation tasks. Refer below for the potential site survey inventory:

1. City scale—Infrastructural network (water, transport), land-use, urban density, history, demography etc.

2. Neighborhood scale—Digital mapping and measurements, typological studies, etc.

3. Site scale—Interview surveys, detail observations on materials and site furnishing, sectional studies etc.

The knowledge / geo-data / maps collected during the site visit must be traceable or be based onvidual design developments at the later stage.

Design Development Phase

The last 7 weeks will be left to focus on design application, which will culminate in a convincing small group projects after discussing with tutors through the course of the semester.

Recommended Readings I nacular: Politics, Semiotics and Representation, Cham: Springer International Publishing,13–30. tion and urban image’, Space and Polity, 23, 265–282.

‘Adianto et al. - 2014 - The Informal Area Management in Slum Settlement.pdf’ (n.d.).

Adianto, J., Okabe, A. & Ellisa, E. (2014) ‘The Informal Area Management in Slum Settlement’:, 18. Apip, Sagala, S.A.H. & Luo, P. (2015) ‘Overview of Jakarta Water-Related Environmental Challenges’.

Betteridge, B. & Webber, S. (2019) ‘Everyday resilience, reworking, and resistance in North Jakarta’s kampungs:’, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space.

Bott, L.-M., Ankel, L. & Braun, B. (2019) ‘Adaptive neighborhoods: The interrelation of urban form, social capital, and responses to coastal hazards in Jakarta’, Geoforum, 106, 202–213.

Chaussard, E., Amelung, F., Abidin, H. & Hong, S.-H. (2013) ‘Sinking cities in Indonesia: ALOS PALSAR detects rapid subsidence due to groundwater and gas extraction’, Remote Sensing of Environment, 128, 150–161.

Girot, C. (1999) ‘Chapter 3: Four Trace Concepts in Landscape Architecture’, in Corner, J. (ed.) Recovering landscape: essays in contemporary landscape architecture, New York: PrincetonArchitectural Press, 58–67.

Guinness, P. (2019) ‘Managing Risk in Uncertain Times’, Ethnos, 0, 1–12.

Hellman, J. (2018) ‘How to Prove You are Not a Squatter: Appropriating Space and Marking Presence in Jakarta’, in Cabannes, Y., Douglass, M., and Padawangi, R. (eds) Cities in Asia by and for the People, Amsterdam University Press, 41–68.

‘Jakarta Waterscape: From Structuring Water to 21st Century Hybrid Nature? by arysari - issuu’ (n.d.). Available at: https://issuu.com/arysay/docs/nakhara (accessed January 2020).

Lin, E., Shaad, K. & Girot, C. (2016) ‘Developing river rehabilitation scenarios by integrating landscape and hydrodynamic modeling for the Ciliwung River in Jakarta, Indonesia’, Sustainable Cities and Society, 20, 180–198. - ing Cities’, The State of Environmental Migration 2015 – A review of 2014, 18.

Ninsalam, Y. & Rekittke, J. (2016) ‘Landscape architectural foot soldier operations’, Sustainable Cities and Society, 20, 158–167.

The lock-in of infrastructural solutions’, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 37, 1102–1125.

Potteiger, M., Purinton, J. (2002) ‘Landscape Narratives’, Theory in Landscape Architecture, edited

Prescott, M.F. & Ninsalam, Y. (2016) ‘The synthesis of environmental and socio-cultural information in the ecological design of urban riverine landscapes’, Sustainable Cities and Society, 20, 222–236.

Rekittke, J., Paar, P., Lin, E. & Ninsalam, Y. (2013) ‘Digital reconnaissance’, Journal of Landscape Architecture, 8, 74– 81.

The studio started off with the orientation of studio “Adaptive Jakarta” by tutors, followed by an introduction to the entire semester’s schedule.

For the initial research phase, students were grouped into 3 focal scales; ‘City scale’, ‘Neighborhood scale’, and ‘Site scale’, for their respective site investigation tasks.