Exhibition, talks
Initiated by Sally Below, Moritz Henning, and Eduard Kögel
Curatorial team: Avianti Armand, Sally Below, Moritz Henning, Eduard Kögel, Setiadi Sopandi
2024
In the late 1950s, several young Indonesians went to study in West Germany, including architecture students. Most of them attended the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), while others studied at the technical universities in Hanover and Aachen. After completing their studies, the majority returned to their native Indonesia and quickly became key figures during this dynamic period of the country’s history. Around a third of the graduates remained in Europe, where they embarked on successful architectural careers in Germany and Switzerland.
Drawing from the diploma theses of the Berlin graduates, archived at the TU Berlin Architecture Museum, Dipl.-Ing. Arsitek: An Indonesian-German Architectural History provides insight into this little-known aspect of German-Indonesian relations, for the first time in Germany.
An exhibition, that is based on our exhibition Dipl.-Ing. Arsitek. German-trained Indonesian Architects from the 1960s held in Jakarta in 2022, documents the lives and work of eight of these architects. Three accompanying talks will expand on the exhibition and connect it to broader contemporary discourses.
Dipl.-Ing. Arsitek: An Indonesian-German Architectural History aims not only to reconnect these architects and their works with the place where they completed their training, but also to highlight that their significant contributions to international architectural development remain underacknowledged in global, and particularly Western, discourse. This raises important questions: How can previously overlooked and marginalized architects be incorporated into global discussions? How might this reshape the role of architecture in society, both in Germany and Indonesia? What new discourses could emerge in both regions? And how does public debate influence the appreciation and treatment of their built work in its original context?
Launched in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the city partnership between Jakarta and Berlin, this project exemplifies mutual cultural appreciation and highlights the positive impact that can be achieved through academic and cultural exchange.
Location:
Technische Universität Berlin
Istitute of Architecture
Forum
Straße des 17. Juni 152
10623 Berlin
21 November 2024 to 18 December 2024
View the full programme here.