Architecture expression: Synthesized architectural expressions in Mayor’s office building of Kupang City

Abstract

Efforts to display the expression of the functions and local identities of buildings are merely copying ornamental variations of vernacular architectural elements. As a result, the relation among function-formmeaning remain unseen. This study aims to explain the application of the concept of synthesized architectural expressions on government owned buildings. Based on the research objectives, the Mayor's office building of Kupang City was chosen as the object of this case study. The initial step of this research is to elaborate the theory of archetypal anatomy and the relation of architectural function-meaning-functions. Furthermore, the observation unit is redrawn in three dimensions and analyzed based on ordering principle of balance and orientation. The analysis shows that the interpretation of the appearance of Mayor's office building of Kupang City displays monumental, formal, local expressions and represents democratic ideologies. Interpretation of synthesized expressions occurs in the dominant aspects of local architecture in the elements of the roof, walls and entrance columns. The results of this study confirm that the concept of synthesized expression plays an important role in the midst of change pressure and for the sustainability of architecture nowadays.

The Symbolic Regionalism on The Architectural Expression Design of Kupang Town-Hall

“…This study included one of these themes which is the determination of the relationship between ethnic and modern architectures using the architectural design of the Kupang Town Hall inaugurated in 1996 to coincide with the anniversary of the Kupang City as the research object (Lake et al, 2020). An interesting aspect of the Town Hall design is its architectural expression as indicated by the roof from Timor, Flores, and Sumba ethnic groups in one building which makes it an important attribute.…”

“…Figure 1: Three-dimensional Image View (above) and Front View (below) of Kupang Town Hall. Source: (Lake et al, 2020) The roof structure of the Town Hall is in a linear order but has a hierarchy through the use of the floor height. The lowermost roof was also observed to be arranged based on circular geometry even though the plan is rectangular and the second and third roofs above are built using the rectangular geometry.…”

“…Modern expressions and local symbols are the main impressions of the Kupang Town Hall design and the architectural elements are uniquely related to the roof shape. Three ethnic roof images including the lopo building from Timor, Sa'o from Flores, and the tower from Sumba (Lake et al, 2020) were used in the hall in an attempt to represent the form, meaning, and value of ethnic architecture. This effort is considered natural due to the fact that the roof is one of the most prominent features of ethnic architecture in Indonesia.…”

“…Figure 3: Roof images of the Sa'o Keda (above) and Sa'o Keda from Wologai village (below); Source: above (Lake et al, 2020) and below (Ch. Lake, 2016) In line with the aspect of meaning, the Sa'o building represents the tribe in the traditional village (Ch.…”

“…Figure 4: Roof image of Sumba's house tower (above) and the Rato's house tower from Galu Bakul village, Central Sumba (below). Source: above (Lake et al, 2020) and below (Purbadi, 2018) The aspect of the highest roof shape showed the Kupang Town Hall looks like a tall tower and its roof was observed to be geometrically symmetrical and based on a rectangular plan geometry which is the basis for the plan formation in the Sumba tradition. This plan is used in creating a residential layout which emphasizes the living room and extends to other four winds which are the vestibule, backroom, left room, and right room.…”