Cross-programming to reuse old buildings for new functions: The case of Omah Lawa in Surakarta

Abstract

Old buildings are a living testament of the past. Although reminiscent of colonial times, buildings from the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia contain a lot of knowledge of building art. One building in the city of Surakarta that is still considered beautiful is Omah Lawa. Unfortunately, the building has not been used for a long time, so it is inhabited by bats. This paper addresses the problem of finding a new function so that this building can be used optimally. First, the paper addresses the concept of conservation of buildings. Adaptive reuse is a conservation theory that allows changes in function in old buildings to adapt to current conditions. This case uses the design method of cross-programming which was introduced by Bernhard Tsumi. Old buildings used to have simple functions such as residences. Now, these buildings are no longer in the residential zone but in the zone of public buildings. As such, its former utilization is no longer permitted. This study used cross-programming to change the function of Omah Lawa in Surakarta into a gallery and a location to market art products. The internal layout was changed to host the new functions while making as few changes as possible to the building.