Arata Isozaki of Japan wins Pritzker architecture prize

Yahoo – AFP, March 5, 2019

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been named the 2019 Pritzker Architecture
Prize winner (AFP Photo/Giuseppe CACACE)

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered architecture's highest honor, for a lifetime of work that found global resonance while mining local traditions.

The 87-year-old's over 100 built works range from the Palau Saint Jordi, built in Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympics, to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, his first international commission.

His hometown of Otai, Japan is a showcase of his early work, including a medical hall and annex, and a prefectural library.

"Isozaki is a pioneer in understanding that the need for architecture is both global and local -- that those two forces are part of a single challenge," the chair of the jury, US Justice Stephen Breyer, said as the prize was announced Tuesday.

The Allianz tower (R) designed by Japanese Arata Isozaki and Andrea Maffei in 

western Milan stands next to the city's Generali tower (AFP Photo/MIGUEL MEDINA)

"For many years, he has been trying to make certain that areas of the world that have long traditions in architecture are not limited to that tradition, but help spread those traditions while simultaneously learning from the rest of the world," he said.

Isozaki is the 46th Pritzker laureate and the eighth Japanese architect to receive the honor. Winners receive a bronze medallion and $100,000.

European toilets a mystery to many refugees

Refugees often find European toilets mystifying. Pictograms and instructions in Arabic don't always have the desired effect - but help is on the way in the form of a novel kind of toilet for all.

Deutsche Welle, 17 February 2016

The influx of more than 1 million refugees last year is German society's "rendezvous with globalization," according to Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

It's undoubtedly a rendezvous of different cultures. And in the rush to provide housing, cots, clothing, food, language training and health care for the thousands of newcomers, no one thought to explain Western-style flush toilets.

The mayor of Hardheim, a small town in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, raised the issue in October - and was ridiculed for thinking it necessary to admonish the town's asylum-seekers not to relieve themselves in gardens, parks, behind hedges and behind bushes.

European sanitation norms

The difficult and often tense situation in overcrowded emergency refugee shelters, tents and gyms isn't made easier by different toilet standards and rituals.

Squat toilets are traditional in many parts of the Muslim world. Baffled by ordinary Western-style flush toilets, refugees nationwide have squatted on toilet rims or the floor of the bathroom when nature called; others have relieved themselves in the shower stalls, leaving behind human excrement on the floors.

It's not a central problem, says Manfred Nowak of Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO), a social welfare organization in Berlin that currently looks after 4,000 refugees in six initial reception facilities in the capital. But it does exist, he told DW, adding that the severity of the problem depended on where the refugees were from.

Many refugees find themselves confronted with outside portable toilets

Many migrants will have never seen toilet paper before, and even if they have, water-free wiping is widely thought to be an unsanitary way of cleaning oneself. Sit-down flush toilets are a mystery despite the pictogram instructions that have meanwhile been put up.

Co-existence of cultures

A remedy is in the works, however: Sanitary specialists at the Global Fliegenschmidt toilet manufacturers in Coswig in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt have come up with a portable "multicultural toilet."

It's been on the market for just a few days, company head Peter Fliegenschmidt told DW. His company has sold squat toilet units for years, he said, but in the wake of the refugee crisis in Germany, the challenge was to come up with a combined Western-style/squat toilet. He has already received queries from organizations that run refugee shelters.

His firm specializes in portable toilets, which are currently in high demand for use in emergency refugee shelters. "Generally, about 60 percent of our toilets are found on construction sites, and about 30 percent are used at special events like fairs and concerts," he said. Equipping refugee shelters is a new development that's bound to be "temporary," he said, adding that he saw a market for the new portable squat toilet abroad and at construction sites, which often employ foreigners.

Fliegenschmidt's design is actually surprisingly simple. It's a regular Western-style toilet bowl with a sizeable squatting platform to the left and the right.

Different body hygiene standards

Toilet routines differ, and Islamic culture has detailed toilet etiquette.

Islamic countries traditionally use water to wash. The myreligionislam.com website lists 20 rules and practices "to be followed when answering the call of nature." One rule stipulates using fingers to clean oneself, and "if there are still traces," washing them with water. Cleaning the private parts "with stones and similar materials" is regarded as an "acceptable substitute for cleaning them with water."

Other rules forbid talking, singing, smoking or reading the paper while on the toilet. People are also advised to enter the bathroom left foot first, while exiting with the right.

New look for old markets: Clean, shiny -- and empty

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 11/20/2008 10:33 AM 

 

NEW FACE: The stalls are clean and well-organized in Mede market, South Jakarta, thanks to a renovation project several years ago. (JP/Nani Afrida)

Suryat had been waiting for customers at his tempe (soybean cake) stall at Cipete market in South Jakarta since 6:00 a.m.

 

"Only a few customers have come to buy my tempe today, I wonder where the others are," he said over the weekend.

 

Weekends are normally peak times for market vendors, but not for those at Cipete. Suryat said the market had seen fewer buyers since it was renovated three years ago.

 

"Of course, many people still come here, but the number is getting smaller day by day. Perhaps they prefer to go to the supermarkets near here," he said.

 

The middle-aged man has spent almost his entire life as a tempe seller at Cipete. He says he cannot imagine doing anything else.

 

"I've been here since the market was still small and dirty before the government decided to temporarily close it down for renovation. Now we have a proper clean market to work in," he added.

 

Cipete market has tile floors and every seller is allocated a table on which to display their merchandise.

 

However, much to the puzzlement of the traders there, the renovation has not lured more customers, rather the opposite.

 

"We are now surrounded by two supermarkets," Suryat sighed. "I don't know. Perhaps that's why."

 

He said he had heard rumors the government would repair the market again, this time to a higher standard. However, he said the rumor was likely false, as the lack of customers would dispel any government incentive to spend more money.

 

"This market is empty. It is only bustling around the times of big holidays, like the fasting month and Idul Fitri," he said.

 

Mede market, also in South Jakarta, faces a similar situation. Mede was renovated by city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya several years ago.

 

The market is now clean and comfortable. It has an efficient drainage system and its floors too are tiled.

 

Even the meat and fish section appears tidy and hygienic.

 

"Before it was renovated, many people came here. I don't know why only a small number of people come now," Syahro, a meat seller at the market, told the Post.

 

It has two floors, including a basement, which is home to the vegetable, meat and fish stands.

 

Most people visit the basement because it is easier to access.

 

"Many shops on the first and second floors have closed because only a few people come to shop there," said Abdurrahim, a parking attendant.

 

He believes the city's more modern, cleaner and air-conditioned markets in the area have stolen Mede's customer base.

 

"You can find modern markets that offer not only fruit and vegetables, but also rice, no more than 50 meters from here," Abdurrahim added.

 

Although the evidence points to a growing prevalence for modern markets over traditional markets in the city, Pasar is optimistic the traditional market will survive.

 

"People of the middle to lower-income brackets who cannot afford to go to supermarkets need the traditional markets. Here, if you have no money, you can still get stuff on credit," said Nur Hafid, Pasar's public relations officer. (naf)

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Traditional markets get a boost

Novia D. Rulistia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 03/08/2008 12:11 PM

The government has allocated Rp 140 billion (US$15 million) for the construction and renovation of traditional markets throughout Indonesia this year, an official said.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Thursday, the Trade Ministry's director general for domestic trade, Ardiansyah Parman, said the budget, although limited, was expected to cover the renovation of market infrastructure, especially in the regions.

Ardiansyah said the budget, which was increased from Rp 100 billion in 2006, would be used to finance the construction of 32 traditional markets, 42 markets in remote and undeveloped regions, five markets in border regions as well as on the smallest and outer islands, 10 markets in regions that had been hit by disasters and nine supporting markets.

"Ideally, the budget needed for the development of traditional markets is Rp 15 trillion," he said, adding that it would take years to cover the development of 12,000 markets in 462 regencies throughout the nation.

The government has said that the survival of traditional markets is at risk as more people shop at modern markets.

In response, the government is also urging vendors at traditional markets to improve their services and market conditions, to maintain customers.

The government also issued a presidential regulation in 2007, which, among other things, restricts the expansion of modern retailers, including supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores, in certain zones.

Last year, 20 traditional markets were built in provinces hit by disasters, including in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Bengkulu, South Kalimantan and South Sulawesi.

In addition, seven traditional markets were built in border regions, such as Entikong in West Kalimantan, Skow in Jayapura and the Sangihe Talaud islands in North Sulawesi.

In remote regions, markets were built in the Mentawai islands, off the western coast of Sumatra, and Enggano off the southwest of Sumatra.

"For next year, we suggest that the budget for the development of traditional markets should be included in the special allocation funds (under the annual state budget) in order to speed up the development process," Ardiansyah said.

The role of local governments and the private sector in developing traditional markets also has to be stepped up, he said.

Minimizing the mosque

Zenin Adrian, The Jakarta Post

A couple of years ago, I attended a seminar on Islamic architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The seminar discussed specifically the development of mosque architecture in different regions and how it had adapted to local context.

The discussions were circled around how Western African mosque design influenced design throughout the world. With its dome and minaret (tower/lighthouse) configuration, it was decorated to fit in with the local traditional architecture style. Towards the end of the seminar, there was a critical discourse to rethink the use of dome and minaret elements and their relevance in practical modern mosque architecture.

Traditionally, domical form has been used in many religious buildings other than mosques because of its geometrical characteristic. A dome has centralized geometry and provides an edgeless ceiling. These embedded characteristics enhance our sense of upward direction, which is why the ceiling of a dome is usually perceived as a representation of the sky or, most of the time, heaven.

On the other hand, the use of the minaret is believed to have traces of the ancient concept of male (tower) and female (dome) symbols. In most cases, especially in modern times, the minaret is perceived as a symbol of establishment rather than religious value.

This application of symbolic forms was the core of the discussion that the modern mosque architecture should move away from symbols and extravagant decoration and focus on creating a more meaningful prayer space.

Some contemporary architects in Indonesia have been struggling to propose modern ideas in mosque design, and most of them have to be confronted with the rooted perception and strong preference for the dome and minaret configuration typical of mosques in the Middle East.

However, some struggles come with victories. The Ar-Royan mosque in Galaxy Bumi Permai, Surabaya, was designed to accommodate the need to have a meaningful praying space. Designed by Jakarta-based architect Ahmad Djuhara, the mosque does not apply the traditional dome.

As opposed to the dome ceiling, which enhances the mosque's verticality, Djuhara designed a compressing curve ceiling which increase the feeling of horizontality.

The curved ceiling accommodates the two stories of prayer space where the upper floor is reserved for females. Although the mosque is square in plan -- 15 by 15 meters -- the ceiling gives a strong directionality towards the Qibla wall.

The prayer space is minimally decorated with inscriptions of the 99 names of Allah on the Qibla wall. Small openings at the bottom of the wall provide a glimpse of the fish pond behind the Qibla wall which inherits a poetic meaning within the sound of the flowing water from the pond.

I perceive these design gestures as an effort to emphasize the quality of self-revelation and social interactions. The embedded values seemed to contrast with traditional mosque design where distractive symbolic representation and unnecessary decorations dominate the prayer space. Djuhara's minimalistic and functional approach shows us that religious space can be built upon modernity and still maintain our religious practice and commitment.

Zenin Adrian has a website www.zadl.net and can be reached at zenin.adrian@zadl.net

Market vendors demand end to mall permits

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Traders from nine traditional markets in Bandung staged a rally at the West Java Legislative council Monday demanding that the government stop issuing building permits for malls.

A trader at the Ciroyom market in Bandung, Dadan Jumpena, 42, argued the municipal administration had not been selective in issuing building permits for malls to replace traditional markets. He said the administration cited excuses such as modernizing markets deemed dirty.

Traders are eventually forced to buy kiosks in the basement areas of these malls, at high prices set by the private developers.

"We have already met the legislative council and municipality a dozen times to voice our opposition but they have never responded seriously. More traditional markets will be evicted due to increased construction of malls," Dadang told the crowd from atop a truck in front of the legislative building on Jl. Diponegoro in Bandung on Monday.

Aside from the Ciroyom market, other traditional markets set to make way for malls include Pasar Baru, Ujungberung, Cicadas and Andir.

The municipality argues it lacks the funds to revitalize traditional markets, so it has invited the private sector to take part in the projects. However, according to Dadang, the revitalization benefits big traders at the expense of small vendors.

The traders say it is very difficult to pay the kiosk price of between Rp 11 million (approximately US$1,220) and Rp 21 million per square meter.

Based on this year's data at the Bandung Industrial and Trade Office, there are now 250 modern markets in Bandung, including 176 minimarkets and 74 malls and supermarkets. They compete with the thousands of traditional traders at 39 traditional markets.

A vendor at the Cicadas market, Beti Anan, said around 1,000 vendors who were relocated from the market earlier had been losing money for the past year due to the construction of the Bandung Trade Mall on the former market site.

"We could earn Rp 5 million (per day) in turnover previously, but earning Rp 2 million is good now," said Beti, who has been selling groceries at the market since 1984.

The head of Commission B on economic affairs at the West Java legislature, Hidayat Zaini, said he had sent a number of letters over the last year to the Bandung municipal council and administration about the issuance of building permits for malls and supermarkets, but had yet to receive a reply.

"We invited them to come, but there was no response," said Hidayat.

He added that the Commission was preparing a draft on a provincial ordinance on traditional market protection which would regulate permit issuance and determine the appropriate distance between a mall and a traditional market in a bid to alleviate unfair business competition.

"We cannot directly intervene with the municipality in prohibiting the issuance of permits for malls and supermarkets, but the regulation would make restrictions clear. In any case, the provincial administration is the representative of the central government in the provinces," said Zaini.