Travelling to Japan with Baby for Dummies - Part 1

Pada akhir tahun 2014, saya dan suami memutuskan untuk travelling ke Jepang yang direncenakan akan berangkat di awal musim semi tahun depannya, which is pada Maret 2015. Keputusan travelling ke luar negeri kai ini sedikit lebih membutuhkan banyak pertimbangan dibanding jalan-jalan biasanya karena (yessss..) kami sudah punya anak, masih bayi pula. Mengajak Jagad, anak kami, yang masih berusia 13 bulan saat itu ke dalam sebuah perjalanan yang memakan waktu kurang lebih 7 jam di udara dan akan menghadapi perubahan cuaca dari tropis ke negera empat musim sungguh mempengaruhi semua konten dalam itinerary, packing list, mau pun kriteria hotel. Kami memutuskan tiga kota populer, Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka, sebagai tujuan petualangan kami. Untuk detail itinerary-nya dapat dilihat di sini.

Packing list jelas penuh dengan baju hangat, mengingat pertengahan Maret masih merupakan peralihan dari musim dingin ke musim semi. Temperatur masih di sekitaran 5° - 11° C. Perlengkapan milik Jagad pun mendominasi 50% dari total barang bawaan kami. Sebut saja stroller, baby carrier, perlengkapan makan, popok sekali pakai (dari banyak blog yang saya baca, semua menyebutkan popok sekali pakai atau pospak sangat sulit dan mahal untuk ditemukan di Jepang. Harus ke toko khusus perlengkapan bayi atau apotek tertentu).

Safe and Sound with Happy Baby

Akhirnya waktu yang ditunggu pun datang. Kami sengaja memilih penerbangan malam agar Jagad bisa tertidur panjang tanpa merasakan bosan selama di pesawat. Dan benar saja, he slept all over the flight.. *happy ibu* Penerbangan kami terbilang lancar, hanya ada sedikit kendala ketika pesawat kami sedikit terlambat saat harus transit di Kuala Lumpur yang mengakibatkan bagasi kami tidak bisa terangkut saat itu juga bersama si empunya. Termasuklah Jagad’s holy stroller.. DEG!

Sesampai di Kansai Airport, kami langsung mengunakan kereta Osaka Express menuju Shin Osaka agar bisa langsung melaju ke Tokyo dengan shinkansen. Namun sebelumnya, kami telah lebih dulu menukarkan kupon JR Pass di kantor cabang perusahaan transportasi tersebut yang ada di area bandara

Kansai Airport and JR Office

Menikmati perjalanan Osaka – Tokyo by shinkansen sungguh sesuai dengan harapan. Interior modern yang bersih dan [relatif] mewah, toilet dengan berbagai tombol super canggih khas negara sakura, dress room terpisah (kyaaaa!!), kursi-kursi yang ergonomis, dan tidak lupa menyebutkan faktor ketepatan waktu berangkat dan sampai. Luar biasa. Bento yang kami beli di Stasiun Shin Osaka pun terasa berlipat-lipat enaknya. Selain itu, kami juga dapat menikmati Fujiyama dari jendela tempat duduk kami. Cobalah untuk meminta petugas, ketika Anda menukarkan JR Pass, untuk menempatkan tempat duduk kereta Anda di sisi Gunung Fuji. Mereka akan dengan senang hati membantu jika memang seat tersebut masih tersedia.

Fujiyama in Our Window

Dua jam yang tidak berasa itu pun mengantarkan kami pada tujuan pertama yang mendebarkan, TOKYOOOOOOO! Kota ultrapolitan yang tetap menjunjung tinggi budayanya.. Walaupun belum mandi dan sibuk mengurusi kebutuhan anak, wajah segar dan bahagia kami tidak bisa dikalahkan oleh temperatur udara di Stasiun Tokyo yang saat itu menunjukkan angka 5°C saja pakbapak-buibu.. Kami pun langsung menuju ke penginapan yang berlokasi tak jauh dari Stasiun Kanda.

Left: Arrived in Tokyo with Shinkansen | Right: Kanda Neighborhood

TOKYO

Walaupun telah menyusun itinerary sedemikian rupa, travelling dengan mengajak si anak bayi sungguhlah bukan sesuatu yang bisa membantu kita untuk disiplin terhadap jadwal kunjung lokasi wisata. Improvisasi adalah kunciiiiih! Ingat kaaan sebelumnya saya sudah cerita tentang bagasi kami yang tertunda? Di situ lah improvisasi ini dibutuhkan. Semua baju hangat kami ada di koper! Dengan pakaian seadanya di waktu arrival benar-benar tidak sanggup membuat saya bertahan menghadapi temperatur udara yang rata-rata masih di sekitaran satu digit itu. Baju ganti Jagad pun hanya ada dua pasang yang jelas tidak mungkin bisa memenuhi kebutuhannya selama di Tokyo (Fyi, bagasi kami yang-tertunda-itu dikirimkan ke Kyoto, yang mana hanya bisa kami gunakan apapun di dalamnya hanya pada saat kami sudah tiba di empat hari kemudian. Termasuklah stroller Jagad. Untuk masalah terakhir yang disebutkan itu kami tertolong karena membawa baby carrier saat penerbangan). Jadilah tujuan hari pertama kami: SHOPPING! Belanja sandang musim dingin di sekitaran Stasiun Okachimachi.

Akihabara

Hari berikutnya kami menuju distrik terbesar di Tokyo, Akihabara. None both of us was an otaku, tapi ambiance yang kami rasakan di sana benar-benar membuat kami merasa jadi bagian dari mereka hehe. Alur sirkulasi di distrik canggih ini memang memudahkan pengunjung untuk mencapai tempat-tempat populer khas Generation X Akihabara. Sebut saja UDX Building, AKB48 Cafe, Gundam Cafe, dan Yodobashi Akiba, semua nya langsung terlihat begitu kami keluar dari pintu stasiun. Di sini tak hanya penggemar anime dan manga yang merasa berada di surga, penggila gadget dan elektronik pun dijamin bisa kalap hingga lupa diri dibuatnya. Khusus untuk elektronik dan gadget, superstore Yodobashi Akiba memang menawarkan harga yang relatif lebih murah dibandingkan tempat lainnya. Sebagai contoh, kami membeli boneka robot sederhana untuk Jagad di sana dan di hari kemudian menemukan boneka serupa namun dengan harga lebih mahal di Kiddy Land. Senangnyaaa... Oh iya, mengenai UDX Building yang merupakan pusat anime internasional itu, saya pribadi mendapatkan kesan yang mendalam. Kecanggihan desain bangunan ternyata berbanding lurusdengan fasilitasnya. Everything was well designed, even for handicap, preggie, elder, and kids! Saya sempat menumpang untuk mengganti popok anak di salah satu toiletnya. Dan berakhir ingin tidur siang di sana karena terdapat tempat duduk dengan penghangat. Kimochi..

Dari Akihabara kami menuju Kinshicho area. Tujuan utama kami sebenarnya adalah area di sekitaran Sumida, di mana rencana sore dan malam ini adalah mampir ke Asakusa Jinja dan Tokyo Skytree. Namun lagi-lagi karena masalah bagasi-yang-tertunda-itu, mampir belanja pakaian untuk Jagad adalah sebuah kewajiban. Kalau di Indonesia kita bisa membeli pospak dan makanan bayi dengan mudahnya di mini market atau warung tradisional, tidak demikian di Jepang. Benda-benda tersebut hanya dapat ditemukan di toko-toko khusus perlengkapan bayi seperti Akachan Honpo, Babies r Us/ Toys r Us/ Kids r Us, atau beberapa apotek yang berlisensi. Kinshicho adalah area terdekat dan berada di jalur itinerary kami yang dapat kami hampiri karena di sana lah terdapat salah satu toko bayi terbesar di Tokyo bernama Akachan Honpo.

Tokyo Skytree

Berbelanja di Akachan Honpo ternyata cukup menyita waktu. Bagaimana tidak, barang-barang keperluan bayi dengan kualitas dan design bagus dengan brand terkenal macam Aprica, Pigeon, Kewpie, dan Wakado harganya jauuuuuuh lebih murah dibandingkan dengan di negara asal kita. Akibatnya kami pun baru keluar dari toko tersebut pada malam hari. Molor lagi dari jadwal. Tujuan ke Asakusa Jinja jelas dicoret, Dalam perjalanan menuju Tokyo Skytree, kami melihat siluet menara tertinggi itu dari jauh. Menjulang tinggi dengan pencahayaan yang samar. Masuk ke dalamnya ternyata kami disambut semacam pusat pebelanjaan yang banyak menjual oleh-oleh setempat. Karena waktu yang kami miliki terbatas, acara melihat-lihat pusat perbelanjaan yang bernama Tokyo Solomachi itu pun harus dilupakan. Bergegas menuju ke atas dan dihadapkan dengan pemandangan Tokyo skyline. Sesaat saya merasa menjadi Sailor Moon yang mengawasi Tokyo dari Tokyo Tower tapi tersadarkan kembali karena beban berat gendongan si bocah di punggung ini.

Demikian lah hari pertama di Tokyo kami lalui. Salah satu kota impian untuk menetap nantinya. Cerita selanjutnya di Travelling to Japan with Baby for Dummies - Part 2 dan 3 akan segera diunggah dalam beberapa hari mendatang. Happy new year!

Greenship Movement in Indonesia Property

Rapid Rise of Green Buildings

Isu dan konteks yang merujuk pada desain hijau dan keberlanjutan sudah menjadi wacana di lingkungan arsitektur Indonesia sejak lebih dari tiga dekade yang lalu. Dunia profesional, lembaga nirlaba, hingga materi perkuliahan di berbagai institusi pendidikan pun santer mengusung tema ini. Begitu pula dengan pasar material bangunan yang berlomba-lomba menawarkan produk dengan label hijau guna mendukung pelaku perancang dan perencana properti menuju visi bersama. 

Eksistensi desain hijau telah dituntut untuk bukan lagi menjadi konsep khusus semata, melainkan menjelma menjadi suatu keharusan apa ada nya dari sebuah perancangan.

Hal ini tak lepas dari pengaruh gerakan-gerakan dunia yang terpicu oleh kondisi paska Perang Dunia 2, di mana bangunan-bangunan pengonsumsi sumber daya alam menjamur di kota-kota besar. Elemen pengondisian udara, baik itu pendingin mau pun penghangat ruang, marak menempel di setiap gedung. Saat itu energi memang terbilang sangat murah dibandingkan dengan insulasi ramah lingkungan, proses manufaktur material bangunan pun dengan mudah dilakukan oleh industri bahan kimia tanpa memikirkan efek jangka panjang dari produk mereka. Kondisi ini banyak menuai kritik di tahun 1960-an yang kemudian memunculkan apa yang kini dikenal sebagai gerakan low-tech architecture. Segala sesuatu nya kembali kepada kearifan lokal; material, teknis konstruksi, hingga bentuk gubahan massa ruang guna menurunkan konsumsi energi. Selain itu, krisis minyak yang terjadi di era 70-an ikut serta mendorong gerakan hemat energi di seluruh dunia. Disiplin ilmu rancang bangun semakin membaik di era dasawarsa berikutnya. Paham Green Thinking merebak populer hingga kebijakan politik. Pada masa ini lah insulasi ramah lingkungan dan solar collector diproduksi secara massal.

Tren desain hijau dan keberlanjutan di Indonesia sendiri membawa angin segar dalam teknis mau pun seni perancangan arsitektur lokal. Nilai budaya tradisional terangkat derajat nya hingga bergaung ke mancanegara. Sebut saja Kampung Improvement Programme yang memvisikan perbaikan kampung-kampung kota di Jakarta pada tahun 1969, Kali Code urban settlement oleh Y. B. Mangunwijaya di tahun 1985, dan proyek preservasi Mbaru Niang di Wae Rebo, yang diinisiasikan oleh arsitek muda Yori Antar, memenangkan Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013. Tak hanya itu, proyek dengan skala hunian tunggal pun semakin marak bersemangat mengaplikasikan material-material lokal yang ternyata mampu meningkatkan pendapatan pengrajin setempat.

Keseriusan Indonesia untuk menjalankan sustainable design ini dikukuhkan dengan berdiri nya sebuah lembaga nirlaba bernama Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI) di tahun 2009. GBCI sendiri merupakan anggota dari World Green Building, yang berpusat di Kanada. Beberapa gedung ternama di ibukota sudah mendapatkan sertifikasi hijau dari lembaga tersebut, sebut saja Gedung Menteri Pekerjaan Umum dan Gedung Sampoerna Strategic. Label hijau yang dikeluarkan oleh GBCI ini disambut baik oleh pelaku properti nasional, hal ini terlihat dari banyaknya gedung-gedung yang antre dalam daftar tunggu sertifikasi.

Peran serta pemerintah pun tampak semakin giat mendukung upaya ini. Meski belum ada peraturan dengan skala nasional, rupa nya penetapan regulasi hijau telah berkembang di tingkatan pemerintah daerah. Dimulai dengan DKI Jakarta yang telah memberlakukan Perda Nomor 7 tahun 2010, disebutkan bahwa yang dimaksud dengan green building adalah bangunan gedung yang bertanggung jawab terhadap lingkungan dan sumber daya yang efisien dari sejak perencanaan, pelaksanaan konstruksi, pemanfaatan, pemeliharaan, sampai dekonstruksi. Kemudian disambung dengan Pergub 38 tahun 2012, di mana pengaturan green building dibuat lebih spesifik. Salah satu ayat nya menyebutkan bahwa “penyelenggaraan bangunan gedung meliputi bangunan gedung baru dan bangunan gedung eksisting”. Gedung eksisting yang dimaksud adalah bangunan gedung yang pada saat Pergub 38/2012 ini ditetapkan sedang dalam tahap pelaksanaan konstruksi dan atau sudah dalam tahap pemanfaatan. Beberapa hal juga dibahas sebagai tolak ukur dalam penentuan hijau tidaknya sebuah bangunan. Untuk kriteria gedung baru, efisiensi energi dan air menjadi syarat mendapatkan poin penuh. Begitu pula dengan kualitas udara dalam lingkungan, cara pengelolaan lahan dan limbah, serta pelaksanaan kegiatan konstruksi. Sedangkan bagi gedung eksiting, isu konservasi lebih dititik beratkan bagi efisiensi energi dan air. Perihal manajemen operasional dan pemeliharaan pun turut menjadi bahan pertimbangan. Hal-hal tersebut ini lah yang kemudian dibakukan menjadi syarat teknis bangunan di kawasan DKI Jakarta. Di tahun 2015, Pemerintah Kota Bandung pun mulai mencanangkan regulasi hukum bangunan yang menyaratkan sertifikasi hijau sebagai modal utama untuk maju mendapatkan IMB.

Dalam perjalanannya, label green building pada sebuah bangunan terbukti mampu meningkatkan nilai ekonomis tidak hanya dalam hal konservasi energi. Hotel, resort, atau pun kantor sewa dengan tarif melambung yang bersertifikat hijau akan dengan mudah diterima oleh pasar. Hal ini baik untuk merangsang kesadaran investasi jangka panjang dari sebuah konsep hijau. Namun di lain sisi tetap saja keberadaan pihak tak bertanggung jawab yang memanfaatkan momentum “marketing hijau” ini harus dipertanyakan. Merebak nya sertifikasi dan penghargaan dalam green and sustainable building ini sangat menggiurkan bagi pihak mana pun yang memandang hal ini sebagai alat pemasaran modern.

Terlalu mudah nya mendapatkan sertifikat green building di Amerika Serikat menimbulkan banyak protes. Dalam kurun waktu dua belas tahun semenjak tahun 2000, sudah ada lebih dari 15000 bangunan yang mendapatkan sertifikat green building berdasarkan Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), sebuah program sertifikasi green building yang dikeluarkan oleh U.S. Green Building Council. Salah satu skandal sertifikasi green building oleh LEED yang paling banyak menuai kritik adalah The Palazzo Hotel and Casino (PHC) di Las Vegas. Kompleks bangunan mewah yang terbangun pada tahun 2008 ini terdiri dari 50 lantai, memiliki banyak feature canggih seperti indoor waterfall, smoke-filled gaming area, tujuh air mancur dekoratif, dan guest suites dengan tiga televisi dan power-controlled curtains di masing-masing kamar. Dengan tapak bangunan ultra besar untuk zaman itu, PHC malah dianobatkan sebagai bangunan ramah lingkungan di saat peresmian nya. Penunjukan ini menganugerahkan pemiliknya, Las Vegas Sands Corp, keringanan pajak senilai US$ 27.000.000 selama 10 tahun berdasarkan hukum di negara bagian Nevada. Banyak pihak yang berkecimpung dalam preservasi energi dan sustainable design menyayangkan keputusan ini, sempat dimuat di beberapa media massa Amerika seperti USA Today dan The New York Times. Meskipun terdapat pemenuhan untuk beberapa kategori hijau di bangunan tersebut, seperti ada nya rak sepeda di garasi, informasi penggantian handuk pada room cards, dan desain lansekap yang sesuai dengan peraturan hukum setempat di mana penggunaan rumput dilarang, usaha PHC dinilai terlalu kecil jika dibandingkan dengan konsumsi energi dalam operasional bangunan tersebut. Pemberian sertifikat hijau kepada PHC mendorong perlu nya revisi besar-besaran terhadap LEED agar penilaian green building tidak hanya sekedar common practice. Sontak LEED pun dicap sebagai langkah murah meriah untuk membantu pemilik properti mendapatkan keringanan pajak dan kemudahan ijin bangun. Kasus marketing hijau lainnya terkuak ketika Federal Trade Commision (FTC), sebuah lembaga independen perlindungan konsumen Amerika, mengeluarkan informasi bahwa salah satu lembaga sertifikasi green building bernama Tested Green terbukti sebagai lembaga palsu di tahun 2011.

Bisnis berbasis marketing hijau memang cukup sulit untuk dinilai secara praktis namun mudah menjadi lahan gembur, terutama bagi pasar properti yang sedang tumbuh seperti Indonesia. Peran pengawasan yang independen dan berintegritas diharapkan mampu menghilangkan kekhawatiran serupa. Semua kepentingan pada sebuah visi desain hijau pada akhir nya harus lah bermanfaat untuk kelestarian lingkungan hidup.

Cita-cita untuk mewujudkan lingkungan hidup terencana yang berkelanjutan adalah sebuah pekerjaan besar. Butuh banyak pihak dengan pengetahuan dan kesadaran untuk berkolaborasi di dalamnya. Efisiensi energi dengan bantuan insulasi ramah lingkungan harus nya sudah tak dipahami sebagai investasi jangka panjang belaka, melainkan sebuah sistem yang dipahami dapat membantu menghemat konsumsi energi terbatas. Transformasi pasar properti pun dengan marketing hijau di dalam nya harus dapat diikuti dengan perlindungan konsumen yang mumpuni sehingga keberadaan badan sertifikasi green building dapat membantu meningkatkan daya saing properti Indonesia dengan penuh integritas. Bagaimanapun optimisme menunjukkan bahwa properti Indonesia kini sedang dalam gradasi warna nya menuju hijau.

*ditulis pada tanggal 23 September 2015

Ruralization, Can We?

Insect Men

In this last couple of rainy weeks I have been through a tough time as a pedestrian in Jakarta. I did not face a wandering madman or Godzilla though, but I felt so much less important in this city life chain. I was almost hit by a motor biker who stupidly passed my precious pedestrian walk. And it was getting more insane when he yelled out at me because he (unbelievable) thought that I was stand in his way. But Thank God there was still good people with common sense who admonished him (with yelling out too, of course >:p). Here cars and motorbikes are in the top of city life chain. They have all the roads as well as the pedestrian sidewalk if there is traffic jam. Ironic and very unfair. People got crazy at that time and even the road could feel the intensity. That madness was actually encouraged by traffic jam. I just wondered is there any correlation between people - emotion - roads - city - traffic jam... It is must be the famous-number-issue again! Yes, people number. Population. The higher population, the more limited the land. In my case, I was almost lost my land; my precious pedestrian walk.. (read it in Gollum's accent).

Regarding to The Urban Age Project by London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society, world population living in the cities is increasing significantly where 10% in 1900, 53% in 2010, and predicted 75% in 2050. Moreover it has been reported that 2% of the earth's surface is occupied by cities but at the same time 53% of world's population lives in that 2% surface. Can you imagine it?

In 2012 Jakarta, where the area is 662 km2, has been lived by 9,6 millions of people. It means that in every 1 m2 there would be 14 people inside it. I would never imagined 2050 when Jakarta has to support 25 people in each 1 m2! We have to stop urbanization! But H.O.W? These people need money, these people love the updated modern life, these people is the breadwinner for their family who live in the country. City is like a bunch of lights, and the people inside it is the insects who fly, crawl, and jump around that big bulb. But not all the insects love light bulb, right? There is still a few who prefer leaf, grass, even a weathered wood. We need to learn how to make the leaf, the grass, and the weathered wood looks attractive as the bulb, even should more attractive since the bulb is artificial thing and could explode anytime. Pretty hard and nearly impossible, eh? Yes, I couldn't agree more.

Chronosphere

Chronosphere in Time Portal

In the end of 2012 and early 2013 I spent my off days in my boyfriend hometown, Solo. I met a whole family members and was having fun with them in crazy delicious authentic local food such as Garang Asem Mbah Tarmo, Bubur Lemu Bu Prapti, Ayam Sungkono, Soto Gading, Nasi Liwet Yu Sani, Bestik Sumber, and err.. I have to stop to name it for my own good tummy sake. I also had chance to visit Yogyakarta Hadiningrat in a while and picked some lovely stuff from Mirota Batik. But after all it was not like an usual New Year vacation because on that festive time we had priority agenda that is preparing for the new house of his family (whom technically will be my own family too :p).

The new house has been finished 80% from its completion. The structure has firmly constructed, strongly nailed in every joint, the entire wall has been well painted, floor and ceiling has been finished, and also the installation of door window has been done. The look of this new house reminded me of their former house because some parts of the former house were brought into the new one such as window, door, and their classic javanese furniture which created similar ambiance of their house that I ever known before. However his family and him are still missing their former house.

With 26 years of life experience (where first 3 years I have no idea about what I was doing, 2 years was craving for astor chocolate, 2 years was considering to be a teacher for Elementary Islamic Study (!!!), and the rest was blubbing around friends’ sharing diary, any kind of messenger, Friendster, BlogSpot, Skype, Facebook, and twitter), most of human is not a big fan of change. Well it is not fully negative characteristic; it is a natural scheme of our most precious mind system that called memory. I can remember how many toys I had when I see my childhood bedroom, I can remember how angry my mother was when I see a scratched glass top table in our living room, and always giggling every time I see The Moffats pin-up that still plugged on my teenage cupboard. Well some spatial things really can reveal and bring our memory out, and at the same time it explains why we always eager to keep our spatial property like house, school, park, and etc. That is why we never accept every time our house, school, park, traditional market is replaced with shopping mall, apartment towers, or super block. Nowadays human memory is the only technology for us to access the past time while spatial things/ spaces are the tools to accommodate it. After writing this post, I decided to stop waiting for chronosphere. I can access the past every time I want to, and I hope it works for my boyfriend and his family too. Happy New Year, live long and prosper for all of us :)

Architects, Are You Proud?

Will Work for Love Campaign

There are many chances for me to re-think about the existence of being an architect today. Some people say it is a glamor job where your business is around developed technology and fancy life style, but some others say it is a miserable job which requires your 24 hours and wholehearted but never has slightest chance to increase your bank account. No more people say that architect's job is a master work of public needs, they believe only the rich could hire an architect. It is getting creepier when I saw a situation where owner architects met bureaucrats and they could change some policies in order to get what they called win-win solution, first party could maintain their money and second party could get extra money. Responsibility of people needs and place development has been replaced by interest of some certain parties. So let say the shallowest conclusion of those all is architecture is not for the savior. It could not save people's life nor his own life. Eat that, Andin!

I had almost lost my faith on this profession when I found some of my idealistic architect friends said that big project is not for real architect's job. It is pure business. They said when your creativity and vision of utopian future cannot be applied on your design just because you follow order from the owner yet you are no longer an architect, you are just a drafter. Creating open public space or developing traditional market is judged as the more responsible architectural work. Once again, it is not about the money but it is about working for love they affirmed. But what about self's welfare? How do you live your family? Does money always sound that bad?

For me money is not a life. It is only a tool, like internet or the smart phone in your hand. What they are doing is good for them and I have something good for me too. Being an architect who involves in commercial project could be an opportunity to influence investor parties with conceptual idea which could bring the best physical and environmental development. With convincing the owner to use some potteries from Pleret instead of import it from China, or revealing banana paper that produced in small industry from Singaraja Bali to be used in our resort projects, or "just" warning the owner to not against government rules. There are so many kind of ways to give advantage to the public. Then why should we judge some architects for how big or small project they chose? It is not about scale, judge them by what project they are in. Well then again I am still proud to call my self as an architect, even architecture cannot save the world; yes it still can set a good example.

"If you are good at something, never do it for free" - Joker

*And are you really sure that I never make an open public space outside my main job? :p

Miss Greedy

This situation happened when I was watching The Closing Ceremony of London Olympic 2012 on last August. My obsession of UK is undeniable, either its culture, places, music, end even the sport; I love it, so when it came an event which had so many British musicians (included Blur!!) inside it and held in the-very-british-city London I woke up happily on 02:00 am just to watch the closing ceremony via my only one tv. One little problem started when I realized that there was no Blur performance in that event, and it was confirmed that Blur performance is officially part of London Olympic Closing Ceremony B  U  T it is not gonna be held in Olympic Stadium and it is not gonna be broadcasted by any kind of tv channel in this universe! I was almost die when finally enlightened by one of tweet on my timeline which informed me that Blur will gonna hit the air by BT London Live Radio. Thank God.

With the successful online live radio performance, I muted the tv so I still could watch the glamor ceremony. While I enjoyed those unsynchronized audio-visual event, my phone alarm was ringing wildly with the notes on its screen written as: "sahur" (moslem early breakfast before fasting). So I ended up with my eyes into the tv, my ears stayed with the online radio, while my mouth was busy chewing the breakfast. It was a marvelous busy solo night, young fellas..

Illustration by Klas Fahlen

Well I always proud of my self for having a special super power what I called get-everything-at-the-same-time. So many success stories that I could not write down here about dealing with my wishes. But now on, being me is so anxious. I lost my super power. There are so many thoughts which dance abruptly on my head. It is about I want that, I want this, well honestly I want them all. Unfortunately each of the thoughts is pulling me into the opposite directions. The greediness has been driving me nuts.

Wouldn't it be fine becoming a greedy one if we do not harm anybody, right? I won't take the universe anyway. But at this time I knew I doubt it. Even my own brain has felt the pain every time I am dreaming some of the thought. However I am still working on it and wishing my super power back. Just like Little Richard ever said, greed has taken the whole universe and nobody is worried about their soul. So yes, I should not care about the soul because I am a (good) greedy. Get evertthing at the same time. Inhale... Exhale...

10 for Pontianak

In this recent three weeks I spent my time to.... READ! Alhamdulillah, finally my tiny brain and these lazy eyes realized how joyful that activity is. Well I have got 2 books in a row, one is The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (which I bought in 2010!!) and another one is a book that related to architecture and urban design thingy; Eyes of The Skin - Architecture and the Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa. Well unfortunately in this post I won't write any review for those books, the announcement above is for my excuse of blogging laziness only. Seems Legit.

Kapuas Bridge

But the good news appeared while I was searching for that excuse; I miss my hometown! I miss Pontianak, the place where I was born, where I grew up 'till 18 years old, where I always go home when it is Eid Fitri, where my family are waiting for me to come home. My mind flew about 750 kilometers away from here and was wondering what are people doing right there? Are they enjoying the Friday night with some fellas in some cafes just like many Jakartans do? Are some of them sitting on the simple bench of the most favorite noodle house in town named Apollo? Or they're just gathering around tv at home with their family like what I'm craving for right now? AND I decided to agree with my second and third thought; it must be Apollo or TV! (sorry Mega Mall, for my future hometown culture good sake, I insisted to delete you from my own thought. Dear Pontianak people, please understand me :D).

Even though Pontianak is a big developing city with strong identity of its culture, it is not a city with many local urban entertainment. The youngster, like most typical big cities, they love to mingle in the modern sacred place named shopping mall. Fyi after closing Gadjah Mada Mall, this city where lived by 565.856 people has (thank God) "only" three malls; Ayani Mega Mall, Matahari Mall, and (yes I have to count it) Ramayana Mall. The most favorite mall is Ayani Mega Mall; the newest, largest, coolest tenants, and best location. Well the local attraction is not Pontianak's Favorite -at this time.

Despite it all, it reminds me to discuss about the real local urban attractiveness of Pontianak. Based on one article in PPS (Project for Public Space) website, there are some powerful magnetic spots spread all around the city. These powerful spots are places with special connection between people and place, they could be a place to sit, a play ground to enjoy, art to touch, music to hear, food to eat, history to experience, and people to meet. We could find at least 10 places as described before, 10 places that could attract people to come and stay, that's why they called it as The Power of Ten.

I have listed my 10 best urban spots that always make me optimist and proud of Pontianak to become one of the most emerging city in Indonesia, here they are:

Alun-Alun Kapuas

This unique plaza is directly located beside Kapuas River. Some areas are even part of the river, like stepping, floating gazebo, and wooden path walk. There are many potential area that could be imagined with good waterfront development. Indeed this city has a strong connection with The Kapuas River, the longest river of Indonesia.

Riverside Cafes: Serasan, Pak Uweh, etc.

The existence of Kapuas River evoked all riverside potential attraction in food and beverage business that has been developing. This riverside also could be very attractive when it was Malam Takbiran (the night before Eid Fitri), where Mayor of the city with the local people are celebrating the night with "meriam karbit" (traditional cannon made from bengkirai wood).

Museum of West Kalimantan

Their collections about Dayak tribe, Melayu Culture, and Tiong Hwa acculturation would give you some special experiences. The most interesting of this museum is the fact that they have outdoor exhibition area with the same scale model! Even as the local from there, I would love to schedule my time to revisit it again and again.

Local Coffee Shops as long as Jalan Gadjah Mada

This actually is the new phenomenon of the urban lifestyle since 5 years ago. In the earlier there was only Tiong Hwa people who mingle on this area, but recently it became the largest night sitting area to enjoy some tubruk coffees, football big match, or just hanging out with friends.

Taman Budaya (Pontianak Cultural Center)

This building has just been renovated for its extended outdoor area. Dance practicing, theater, and food retails are the best activities that could be enjoyed in your shiny noon.

Rumah Panjang Betang

For the best impression about Dayak tribe could be found in this location. Architecture of traditional house with amazing wood carving everywhere and Dayak's music that played by some people who are practicing for their upcoming performance would hypnotize you into your exotic thought. If you are lucky, you would watch traditional ceremony around that area. On the other part of this area, there were teens playing skateboard.

Aloevera Center

Located near the boundary of Pontianak and its suburb, this agro-tourism is the largest aloevera producer in Indonesia. This business has been one of the biggest supply for local income. Try the cold aloevera juice to make you stay cool! :p

   

Tugu Khatulistiwa (Monument of Equator)

Pontianak has well known for its super shiny day (and heat weather indeed) because it is located in 0° 02' 24" N – 0° 01' 37" S and 109° 16' 25" – 109° 23' 04" E. There are some local festivals that always be held on 21-23 March and 21-23 September when the equinox happens in maximum position. The monument is designed by Frederich Silaban, the same architect who designed Monument National in Jakarta.

Keraton Kadariah

This is the biggest palace in Pontianak. Designed and constructed with Melayu traditional architecture in the main building and mosque but combined with some kind of Java traditional architecture in its plaza. Near the location of this palace there are high density residential, tradional market, and again... Kapuas River! This palace has became "the old city plaza" where the new one is located in the opposite site of the river, Alun-Alun Kapuas.

Souvenir Shops in Jalan Pattimura

Everybody loves shopping. This area consists of some shops that display unique goods from traditional culture of every tribe in West Kalimantan. Mandau (Dayak sword), stone necklace, root bangle, and so many beautiful things that could remind you to always back to Pontianak.

So what is your list?