2019 Travelling Studio Indonesia: Global Discourses On Informal Urbanism
In late 2019 Dr Amanda Achmadi and Dr Sidh Sintusingha led a multidisciplinary group of 16 Melbourne School of Design students in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. Their travels were for the ‘Indonesia Travelling Studio’ with two weeks of field observation and joint studio work with the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) and University of Stuttgart.
The collaboration between three geographically distinct institutions’ exposes students to cross-cultural and global discourses on informal urbanism and their translations in design engagement. This exposure will assist our students in understanding and responding to informal urbanism as a global phenomenon.
The studio facilitates synergies between research, teaching and practice in the fields of architecture, urban design and landscape architecture with students asked to speculate on the notion of the ‘in-between’ city and respond to the contrasting urban conditions of Indonesian cities where formal and informal developments have long co-existed.
Beginning in Bandung, the group were hosted by a team of academics from ITB’s School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, a collaborative and strategic partner of the Melbourne School of Design. Students undertook daily site observations and workshops to analyse large sections of the city's fabric, specifically along the Cikapundung River where a mix of urban environments exist on each other doorsteps.
Students developed and presented site analysis and preliminary design ideas to a panel of ITB, UoM and Stuttgart academics and leading Indonesian community-based architects and urbanists. It was a particular privilege to have MSD alum Dr Budi Faisal provide feedback and constructive criticism as the lead academic of ITB’s academic and student team.
As part of the joint studio program, Dr Achmadi presented a keynote lecture looking into the image economy of urban renewal movements, design activism, and kampung evictions along major urban riverscapes in Jakarta and Bandung.
More information can be found on the ‘Travelling Studios’ page, under ‘Past Travelling Studios’.