Thematic architecture: Commercially driven cultural imitation

Was Published in Jakarta Post on Sunday, August 12^th, 2007

If you happen to drive along Jakarta's inner city toll road, specifically the Sunter or Kemayoran stretch, you will definitely not miss this building.

Its pattern and colorful decoration, predominantly in red, blue and green, means the building cannot be ignored. You may also wonder why there are camel, elephant and horse figures sitting atop this building. Surprisingly, it is not a zoo in any shape or form.

The animal figures turn out to be part of the design concept of Artha Gading Mall. The theme of the mall is the journey of the Silk Road experience and it is supposed to create an illusion of being in another time and place.

The Silk Road itself is a series of interconnected ancient trade routes through different regions in the Asian continent that connected China with places in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean.

The route stretches over 8,000 kilometers on land and sea. Trade along the route was an essential part in the advancement of the great civilizations of China, Persia, India, Rome, Mesopotamia and Egypt. The mall's design objective is to recreate the places along the Silk Road.

The plan of this large shopping complex has a straightforward rectangular shape but, three-dimensionally, is composed of several shapes and elements of varying size.

This is a typical design principle for a building this size, because it generates an exterior appearance composed of several different buildings. However, the facade design (the building's outer skin) can be totally unconnected to the interior design.

The Silk Road design theme is applied in the interior of the mall, specifically for the atrium design. The building has seven interconnected atriums, each representing places along the Silk Road.

They have called these atriums Nusantara, Persia, India, China, Italy, Paris and Millennium. I do not understand the relevance of Millennium in Silk Road history, but it could be part of a design decision and the team may not have been able to think of a better name for it.

Nevertheless, the design runs to the extent of recreating decorative elements that reinforce the ambience of being in those cities.

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In the first atrium, Nusantara, you can find a replica of a candi (temple) made out of red brick coursing and a flying Gatot Kaca (a character in the Mahabharata epic legend).

The Persia atrium is decorated with an oval-shaped vault with a bluish Persian pattern, complete with a flying carpet. In the Indian atrium, the decoration is inspired by the decoration and ornamentation from the Taj Mahal mausoleum (burial chamber).

A Chinese, ornamented canopy with red columns fills the China atrium, while a hybrid of the leaning tower of Pisa and the Coliseum's row of arc vaults decorate the Italian atrium.

Although Paris was not part of the Silk Road route, you can find a statue of Venus along with other statues of gods and goddesses in the Parisian atrium.

Last but not least is the Millennium atrium; it is not really clear what the cultural reference was for creating this large atrium. I could only see lavish use of glass and stainless steel materials, and also bizarre curving metal ribs hovering above the atrium.

Architectural design is certainly closely related to cultural and historical settings. It also coincides with development of trades and craftsmanship.

The thematic design concept at Artha Gading Mall is merely superficial and its purpose is purely for creating illusions. There was no real appreciation of cultural and historical context.

Thematic design is not an entirely new concept. Originally implemented in designing theme parks like Disneyland or Dunia Fantasi, the concept was intended to make people happy by creating an alternate reality or fantasy of being in a dream world.

Other than theme parks, its application in Indonesia has been developed in the late 1990s for new housing projects.

With similar intentions of offering an imaginative lifestyle and place to live, there was Kota Wisata in Cibubur or Kota Bunga in Bogor.

In fact, the thematic scheme made a major contribution to the successful sale of housing units there, despite meeting with a bad reception from architects and cultural activists.

Adopting the concept of those schemes, the mall has tried to re-create that success.

The attraction of customers and an increase in sales have become the only things that drive the design, while functionality and elegance are sacrificed.

Culture is reproduced out of context. Superficial image generation is prioritized, abandoning the value of craftsmanship.

Nonetheless, designed by PT Airmas Asri, Artha Gading Mall provides a spacious and pleasant shopping environment.

The layout is straightforward and easy to navigate. I personally enjoyed the dining experience there.

Although you will not find goods related to the Silk Road theme, you can find almost all of the things you are likely to need on an everyday basis.

In my opinion, the thematic concept is not a necessity and the effect does not last long. Is that what modern architecture is all about?

In the end, people will visit the mall purely to shop there. However, one can only speculate as to whether there is a correlation between the selling of goods and the ornamentation of the mall.

All images are by Zenin Adrian