Kota Lama, Semarang

The Kota Lama revives. In the harbor town Semarang on Java lies an old VOC fortress, the "Kota Lama." By soil decrease of annually 7 cm, high rainfall and high water this part of the city has long been too wet for development. Therefore, there is a lot of heritage, often strongly neglected remained preserved. Now Indonesia is preparing reclamation, arise unique opportunities for revitalizing this cultural heritage. In close cooperation with Oen Semarang Foundation and the Board of Old Town Management, a spatial vision is developed as a prelude to the sustainable revitalization of Kota Lama. The origin of Semarang begins in 1695 with the establishment of a fort by the VOC. There in 1714 the colonial fortress was built next to the Kota Lama. The fort was demolished and the surrounding lands have given way to urbanization. The Kota Lama is located on the edge of the area with central functions and has the potential to develop into a beating heart with nightlife, culture and history for the people of Semarang. In the vision, the various cultural and historical time layers are being made visible in a new way. Fort and fortress get more independent pertaining to the city, by the construction of an open park area with an entrance plaza between the main entrance of the station and the Kota Lama. The greening of the center provides a welcome cooling relaxation in the petrified city. A new city wall planted with colorful Eucalyptus trees marks the original fortress wall. This rampart provides extra protection against water in extreme conditions. There is great attention for upgrading the quality of the public space in Kota Lama. Therefore it is proposed, that the current busy road running straight through the heart of the center is to lead elsewhere. The disappearance of the traffic pressure makes way for a friendly arrangement. The idea is to make the historical intersecting axes, differentiate with planted trees. The other streets are within a more urban character. Here profiles are proposed without separate sidewalks, the streets are paved with baked bricks. The vision provides in the strengthening of the building structure, so that clear public spaces are created with contiguous buildings. The approach of the build structure consists of renovating everything valuable and with sufficient quality and the redevelopment of unsightly buildings. The vision gives a special significance to dilapidated historical buildings. These buildings can be developed into attractive places with culture program. Due to the ongoing flooding, Kota Lama is one of the few VOC fortresses which still remained. There is a unique opportunity to give new live into this part of Indonesian history. The integral concept is therefore proposed for obtaining the UNESCO status.

 1. Previous traffic situation     2. New traffic situation: no ongoing traffic inside

location: Semarang, Indonesia

year of design: 2013

in collaboration with: architecten van Mourik

advisers: Hylkema Consultants, Witteveen + Bos, BPK2L

client: OEN Foundation, city of Semarang