Indonesia Design - Defining Luxury
When Traditional Meets Modern
A colourful installation in the form of an infinity symbol could not be more attractive to the eyes of visitors. “Anata Rupa” was specially designed for the Bintaro Design District (BDD) with the Inclusivity theme. Not only does it include an excellent collaboration between architects Anneke Prasyanti and Dani Hermawan (Formologix Lab) with Viro, it also invites the public to interact and have fun with it.
The collaboration did not happen overnight. Anneke had noticed Viro’s materials since 2017 in an exhibition and thought it would work for her heritage and traditionalstyled architecture projects. In 2019, when BDD’S curator Hermawan Tanzil invited her to be one of the exhibitors, she immediately reached out to Viro. Long story short, meetings took place, which included Anneke, Viro’s teams of colour development and framework technology, and Dani, who has been collaborating with Viro in other projects. The Inclusivity theme sparked an idea of making something interactive, placed in a public space and can be used by anybody. Anneke brought her expertise in Indonesian traditional and heritage buildings to the table. The project is using colours that have meaning in some of the Indonesian traditional cultures – Batak, Dayak, Sumba and Bajo, while the weaving is made with a Lomboknese weaving technique, done by Viro’s weavers in Banten. They agreed on highlighting a bit of Indonesian traditions with this project. As for the roundish infinity shape, it was advised by Dani. He is very knowledgeable in creating and exploring complex geometry through computational design techniques. As a result, the form that created can be very attractive. Viro has been producing eco-faux environmentally friendly all-weather wicker material since 1985. Their products have
been used in international projects before they finally decided to penetrate the Indonesian market a few years ago. Being rooted in Indonesia, they have a commitment to support the preservation of Indonesian culture through their projects. So this goes in line very well with the “Anata Rupa” installation. However, Viro’s products mostly come in a brown or grey colour spectrum. So they needed some time to develop the colours requested by Anneke. In the allotted time, which was around a week, they managed to create new colours such as red, yellow, black, blue and white. And having products used mostly as roofs and walls, they now have to create much stronger frameworks. As a result, the installation has a weight capacity of up to 100 kg. Seeing how the visitors loved the installation, Kebun Ide, the restaurant where it was exhibited, offered for a longer duration of display. “Another collaboration involving the same team is brewing. Something for teenagers with positive vibes,” said Anneke, giving us a hint of her upcoming projects. Other than that, a few projects of traditional housing renovation and planning await her. “I want to apply more local wisdom in my projects because I’ve seen that resorts or homestays like this is what most tourists look for,” Anneke added. “Anata Rupa” is proof of how well traditional values can go hand in hand with modern technology. Besides creating an installation that’s fun for everyone, the process has also been nothing but inclusive from the get-go.