Architects call for more green buildings

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The time has arrived for Indonesia's big cities, including Jakarta, to start applying "green building" designs to help reduce energy consumption and thus save the earth, a forum heard Tuesday.

One of the speakers at the international forum, architect Ridwan Kamil, said energy-saving designs were urgent for the densely populated capital, which has little space for green areas.

The designs capture sunlight as it travels through a transparent roof that illuminates the building's interior, while natural wind blows through architectural airways to provide ventilation.

A developer can significantly cut spending on power, from US$1,000 per kilowatts-hour to $300 per kilowatts-hour, when applying the concept, according to Poul E. Kristensen, a managing director of Malaysia's IEN Consultants, also a speaker at the forum.

Ridwan said the simplest way for existing buildings, particularly high-rises, to apply at least a portion of the concept was by greening their roofs.

"It's not impossible to have a big tree grow on top of a building here like those in Japan, the country I know of that has imposed the green-roof policy," he said.

"On the other hand, energy-saving factors can only be implemented when they have been included in the buildings' initial design."

The application of such a green-roof, he said, would lead to an immediate drop of one to two degrees Celsius in ambient temperature inside the building.

Indonesian Architect Association president Budi A. Sukada said the capital must immediately respond to the world's call for green buildings.

However, he said he worried the capital was not ready for this "modern" concept.

"Our architects are not prepared for the green building concept because we've never been taught it in our schools," he said.

Ridwan said the hardest part in implementing the concept was to convince developers that their green buildings would sell out in the market.

"On top of that, the administration should also be committed to the world's demand by enforcing a green-roof policy," he said.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said the capital, which has no green buildings, was not yet prepared but must adopt the concept "immediately".

"What we need to do first is to shape the people's perception that this concept is mandatory to save the environment, and this will take a lot of time," he said at City Hall.

"We may also encourage developers to construct 'green' buildings by giving incentives on land and building taxes, but our taxation system is yet supportive."