Hello everyone, how are you? I hope you are all right. Not long ago, I took part in a Walking Tour on the Jacatraweg Route. This route visits a building called the Kimia Farma Building. This building is one of the visiting places for an organization called Freemenson. I once told you about this. I will not tell you about this organization. I will discuss the architectural design of this building.
I will discuss just a little about the building of this organization. In several stories that I got, this building was also a place of offerings. Organizationally, the freemason organization is illegal. In that sense, the organization never mentions the funds used. Never made budget reports to the Dutch government.
However, Freemason operates in the social and educational fields. In addition, this organization only accepts members with Dutch nationality. However, as the organization developed, in several photos the organization accepted indigenous people as members. One of the famous figures are Raden Saleh and Randen Said.
This building was built in 1761 with an idea from Jacob Cornelis Matthieu. This person is one of the important people in the organization. Then, in 1848 the building was converted into a very grand building. In several buildings in Jakarta, there are several buildings similar to this building, namely the GPIB Immanuel Building. I once told you about this building.
At the front, there are 5 columns in the Doric style and this is a characteristic of the Indische Empire architectural style. Architecture in this style developed during the Dutch East Indies government. Initially, it imitated European architecture in the mid-18th century which was marked by the arrival of Deendels. Daendels came from France, which at that time had Neoclassical architecture.
Daendels came in and changed several buildings to the Empire Style style with French patterns. Until then, the building style was known as the Indische Empire Style. In Indonesia, of course, it is adjusted to the climate, weather, technology, and existing building materials. Likewise this building.
In 1917, this building housed the first pharmaceutical company in the East Indies. Since Indonesia's independence, this building has been the building of a pharmaceutical company called Kimia Farma. At the front, this building looks very luxurious and elegant. In general, buildings with this architectural style are not multi-story.
This building also seems very monumental and the yard is very wide. Supporting buildings are connected by gates, symmetrical floor plans, and front porches. Tall pillars of Greek origin connect the central corridor. The front of the building is symmetrical. The building's facade elements reinforce the Indische Empire Style. That's my story about this building, see you in the next story.
About Author
Nurdiani Latifah
My name is Nurdiani Latifah. I currently live in Jakarta – Indonesia, after 25 years I live in Bandung. I am a media staff at an NGO in Indonesia. I have worked in this institution for almost 2 years on issues of women and peace. I had been a journalist in Bandung for 3 years.
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