Opening presentation from Prof. Martyn Hook |
The Danes Art Veranda became the venue for Architects Under Big 3’s Symposium on the topic of the future of Ubud. The subject has been tackled head on many times before in the past, but this year, Students from RMIT University and Udayana University have taken it upon themselves to try and understand how future developments of this once idyllic village of Ubud will unfold.
The Symposium began with a short introduction from Charles Dewanto, the leader of the Future Ubud workshop , explaining the purpose of the symposium and encouraging the participating students to absorb as much as they can and interact with the speaker.
Following on from Charles was a presentation from Professor Martyn Hook, who began with a break down of RMIT’s principles. Using these analysis and design principles, Martyn Hook broke down various projects from around the globe that could fundamentally help carve a path to a better Future for Ubud.
(Left to right) The Speaker : Made Wijaya, Budiman Hendropurnomo, Agung Arya, Ketut Yuliarsa, Sugi Lanus |
From an
individual who repurposes space, the next guest speaker was Agung Arya, a user
of space. As a Ubundian, he presented a series of images and stories about the
unfortunate transformation of the village, while expressing himself on matters
such as tourists, over and underdevelopment, and transportation.
Ketut Yuliarsa,
a well known musician and writer both in Indonesia and Australia, artfully
described the transformation of Ubud in a poem through the eyes of a local
farmer. The reading encapsulated the local state of mind, questioning the
future and rejecting the present state.
Budiman
Hendropurnomo presented the works of Denton Corker Marshall, which range from
large scale Jakarta commercial buildings while also explaining their projects
in Bali. The project that tied in with the theme of Ubud was their project for
Maya resort and spa.
Guest speaker
Made Wijaya took the audience on a condensed but much needed journey through
the past. Stressing that ancient and traditional architecture must be
referenced in today’s designs, he humorously showed negative examples to help
identify what he thinks one should not do.
The final guest
speaker was Sugi Lanus, a manuscript expert and culture enthusiast. He made a
clear statement that here in Indonesia, Money can get what you want, which is a
negative aspect for development that allows people with terrible ideas to
implement them. He finished by enforcing the fact that Ubud and Bali is a place
for rituals and no ‘aliens’ should deny their wish to remain that way.
The speaker with Popo Danes, Prof.Martyn Hook and Charles Dewanto |
Thank you again Popo Danes and team especially Weedy for ensuring the event runs smoothly. The symposium was a great lecture series that talks about Bali and Ubud from cultural, historical, and even its future developments.
ReplyDeleteLast month we have concluded our studio at RMIT and we had a good feedback from the students and some RMIT staff here in Melbourne. Now we are in the process of sharing my students' projects maybe early february in Bali and hopefully this can be a fruitful discussion... Future Ubud Round 2
Charles