Enganging the past of the city through the conservation of heritage building

Abstract

Built heritage is a physical representation of culture that provides a connection with the past and important for aesthetic and symbolic values for the city. The conservation of built heritage is a necessary not only to engage with the identity of but also to sustaining development in the city. However, heritage buildings are vulnerable to development and modernization. The paper examines a colonial building in Jakarta that has been converted into different functions through various levels of physical modifications. As a case study is Cut Meutia Mosque in Menteng, designed by a Dutch architect PAJ Moojen during the Dutch late colonial era. The building was initiated in 1912 as N.V. Bouwploeg, a Dutch architecture firm that developed the nearby residential area of New Gondangdia. The New Gondangdia, including Menteng as its central area, was developed according to modern garden city principles. During its lifetime, the building was used for different purposes such as a post office and a train company office. After Ali Sadikin's term as Governor of Jakarta, the building was converted into a mosque. The architecture of the building follows the Dutch Rationalist style but adapts to local climate such as a ventilation tower in the center of the building to regulate the temperature inside. Through historical and field research, this paper discusses the benefits and possible distortions of history manifest in the transformation of colonial buildings. Moreover, learning from the conservation of building heritage and urban area in the city may support the idea of livable memory of urban area and sustainable city.