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Malang failing to preserve architectural heritage: Expert
Many historic buildings in Malang are said to have been torn down and replaced with disparately styled new buildings.
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Ijen Boulevard was originally designed as an environmentally friendly housing plan. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)
Hundreds of buildings are classified as cultural heritage in the city of Malang, East Java.
However, many historic buildings were still being torn down and replaced with disparately styled new ones, Budi Fathoni, an architecture lecturer at the National Institute of Technology (ITN) in Malang, said on Sunday during a trip on the Malang City Tour (Macyto) double-decker bus. He said this was because of the community's lack of knowledge about cultural heritage.
Budi is a member of the Malang City Cultural Heritage Expert Team. Formed in 2016, the team of government representatives and academics works to protect and preserve buildings of high historical value in Malang.
Ijen Boulevard is an example of the areas where some buildings have been replaced with new architecture. It was originally designed by the Dutch colonial government as an environmentally friendly housing plan.
“That should have been the point of reference for developers and architects,” Budi said.
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Budi expressed his appreciation for state-owned department store PT Sarinah, which had agreed to the city administration's plan to redevelop the Sarinah building, as it had in the past served as the Societeit Concordia building.
Despite the architectural heritage crisis of the past 10 years, the Malang city regulation on cultural heritage was only issued this year. It demands the exact reconstruction of demolished colonial era buildings.
“We continue to acquaint people with the cultural heritage regulation to preserve the buildings," Budi said. (iru/kes)
