Heritage Placemaking
In the last several decades, adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and sites has been increasingly applied as a strategy for conservation. This method has changed the old approach of protecting only the materiality of monuments and replacing useless buildings with new construction (Plevoets and Van Cleempoel, 2019). Moreover, with the densifying urban neighborhood, there is less opportunity to building anew. Adaptive reuse, the art of keeping the built fabric and inserting new functions, has become the solution for this issue. The transformation strategy allows a site or a building to retain its ‘sense of place’ without hindering the active societal life of the city.
In tandem with the development of adaptive reuse practice is the increase of culture-led urban planning, resulting in the discovery of creative city (Landry, 2000) and the rise of the creative class (Florida, 2002). Subsequently, creativity becomes the catalyst in the regeneration of deindustrializing cities (Waitt and Gibson, 2009: p. 1224). It did not take long before many old buildings, particularly industrial heritage buildings, were transformed into art and cultural centers. Research on creative economy and places has centered on several topics, including encouraging discourse on how cities become the cores of creativity (Florida, 2002; Jacobs, 1967) and criticizing studies on the gentrifying impacts of the development (Paul, 2005; Peck, 2005; Yeoh, 2005). These studies are crucial as the basis of understanding the connection between the creative economy and places. However, there is yet another layer to discover in this place-based relationship. Waitt and Gibson (2009) described it as the uncertain and surprising ways creativity-led urban regeneration operates in certain times, simultaneously estranging and involving people.
The COVID-19 pandemic could be one of those times when the notion of place has been challenged. It has triggered an unprecedented global emergency in peacetime. In other words, this crisis has become one of the most impactful events experienced by the creativity-led urban regeneration movement. As a consequence of the crisis, the control of space and interaction in cities will dramatically change (Alexandri and Janoschka, 2020). For starters, the pandemic has introduced social distancing measures, work from home recommendations, travel restrictions, and the digitalization of many business models. All of them are challenging the various spatial narratives of density, proximity, and sense of place.
Therefore, this research aims to inspect these spatial changes in a smaller scale by using two culture-based transformation sites. The first is M-Bloc Space in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the second is Westergas in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The selection of these two case studies represents the global characteristic of COVID-19 as something experienced in the whole world. It also gives us an insight into how the pandemic is being perceived in two different sides of the world through the lens of art, culture, heritage, and urban development.
This research will examine the concept of placemaking in both sites as both the philosophical and practical process of creating places with meaning. The premise is that social distancing measures induced by the current COVID-19 pandemic have caused the extensive use of digital technology and diminished the importance of physical place. The consequence of the physical restriction and measurements on creative economy is also massive, as many of the sub-sectors from this industry were relying on face to face contact. Moreover, heritage and cultural institutions are suffering from the effect of pandemic because they were considered as non-essential.
Case Study: M-Bloc Space
Project Background
History of Blok M District
Figure 4.1 The Pertjetakan Printworks around 1955, shortly after construction (Photo Collection of John Enschede, obtained through O. Norbruis). Source: Corten, J. P., Robbers, M., Wijayanto, P. (2021). Adapting Historic Structures to Current Needs. My Livable City, July-December 2021, 72-76.
Back in the 1937, the Dutch had started planning a new town extension for the fast-growing population of Jakarta (Corten et al., 2021: p. 73). However, the plan was not commenced until 1948 as a part of a large-scale construction conducted by Centrale Stichting Wederopbouw (CSW) or the Central Foundation for Reconstruction. The land appointed for this development is Kebayoran, a village located only 8 km from the city centre. Although contemporary planning theory suggested a minimum 15 km distance for a new town, this closer location was selected because the Dutch army could not guarantee security for a longer distance at the time (Van Roosmalen, 2008: p. 183).
The original plan for Kebayoran Baru (New Kebayoran) area was to build 1,000 villas, 1,500 more modest bungalows (kleinwoningbouw), and 10,000 small houses in the public housing sector (volkswoningbouw), with a size of 150, 80, and 50 sq m respectively (Colombijn, 2013: p. 298). However, as the plan developed, it turned out that low-income people had no interest in moving back to Kebayoran Baru. The place was more favorable for the middle to high-income Indonesians, who also could afford travelling back and forth daily to the city center for work (Clason in Colombijn, 2013: p. 306). Another shift in the target population also happened when The Constitution of the Federal Republic of the United States of Indonesia requested accommodation for their civil servants, who were supposed to move from the old to the new capital of Jakarta. To allocate the new demand, the state then decided to build another 1,000 houses for the civil servants. With the urge of a housing crisis and solid political will to accomplish the construction, the development had built 4,700 houses by 1954 (Colombijn, 2013: p. 306).
As a new residential area, Kebayoran Baru was divided into 18 blocks, each named with alphabetical letters (Prabowo and Hartanti, 2019). Today, only Blok A, Blok M, and Blok S still retained the name from the previous extension. The area around Blok M became increasingly important as it hosts many governmental buildings, including the Peruri complex that will later be transformed into M Bloc Space. The popularity of Blok M was also closely related to many markets and shopping centers surrounding the new green neighborhood of Kebayoran. However, in the collective memory of the residents, Blok M is more associated with youth culture. In this place, young people of the 1980s and the 1990s would hang out with their friends, consuming and at the same time producing their own pop culture.
Transformation: From Bill Printing Factory to Creative Space
Perum Peruri (short for Perusahaan Umum Percetakan Uang Republik Indonesia) is the state-owned banknote/security printer and mint. The facility was officially opened in 1955 under the name of Pertjetakan Printworks. The main structures of the plant are two parallel assembly halls, preceded by a two-storey high office building in Art-Deco style. These buildings were all designed by Fermont-Cuypers, one of the leading architecture firms during colonial times. As the company grows, more buildings were being added to the compound, including several storage facilities and employees’ housing. Some of the dwellings, which will later be transformed into creative hub, were designed in the Yankee-style by Indonesian architect Moetalib Danoeningrat (Corten et al., 2021: p. 72-73).
The activities of the bill printing company increased. Hence, in the 1990s, they planned to move the factories to a larger area of Karawang in West Java. Hence, since 2005, the production section od Peruri complex in Kebayoran was abandoned, leaving only administrative activities in their office building.
Leaving the place unoccupied for decades, Peruri then decided to redevelop the area. In 2012, the Netherlands architecture firm MVRDV, American landscape design firm Jerde, ARUP Dublin and the local developer Wijaya Karya Benhil Property proposed Peruri 88, a 400 meter tall mix use projects as a part of a developer's bid competition. However, the design concept stayed in the proposal state, and the site remained idle, waiting for a further discussion and final decision of its future.
Figure 4.2 Peruri 88 superblock projects by MVRDV. Source: https://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/19/peruri-88-by-mvrdvthe-jerde-partnership-and-arup-dublin/
Figure 4.3 Main Entrance of M-Bloc Space. Photograph: Anita Halim Lim
When first approached by Peruri in 2019, the six founders of PT Ruang Riang Milenial (each has different creative and professional background) had already envisioned a new creative space for Jakarta. There are many great local artists and talents but no place for their showcase and performance. With the founder’s affinity with the music industry, M Bloc Space was created as the breeding ground of creativity, with music as the main driving force. Peruri thoroughly supported the idea, and it didn’t take long for them to sign an agreement with PT Ruang Riang Milenial for a new phase of their 6,500 sq m area. The transformation process started immediately, with the design period of March-May 2019 and the construction period of May–September 2019. By occupying the old structures of Peruri facilities with temporary uses, M-Bloc had offered a solution and opportunities to debate a more sustainable future for the site (Corten et al., 2021: p. 75).
The architectural firm in charge of the design was Arcadia Architect. Using the principle of adaptive reuse, they converted 16 two-stories houses into various tenants of creative industries. Alongside that, they also renovated two storage buildings – one being used as a restaurant and the other as the live studio, which could hold concerts for up to 350 people. This program has filled the gap of a medium-sized venue that could provide a more intimate environment for live music performances.
Besides providing a place for creativity, M Bloc Space also intends to strengthen the narrative of Blok M as the former creative cluster for the youth in South Jakarta. They would like to shape a creative ecosystem of various stakeholders, from music, film, culinary, fashion, photography, crafts, comics, animation to book publishing. They tried to facilitate this diversity in the form of talk shows, seminars, and gathering events and induce better collaboration from this multidisciplinary community.
M-Bloc certainly has the potential to be the creative hub of Jakarta, as it is located within walking distance from two metro stations and a bus terminal. With the strategic location, it is always in the founder’s mind that people could approach the place either by public transports, cycling, or walking.
Figure 4.4 The connecting ‘Brandgang’ area is a popular open space in M-Bloc. Photograph: Anita Halim Lim
M-Bloc Space in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic
Within six months of opening M Bloc Space, the COVID-19 pandemic struck Indonesia, inducing the first lockdown in the capital. With this restriction, only eleven essential sectors were allowed to serve the public. The newly opened M Bloc Space, focusing on music and entertainment, was undoubtedly not on the list. Apart from the small amount of food and beverage tenants that were rented out, all of their activities must stop immediately.
The event spaces have always been dealing with the crowd, and since it was prohibited, they have to mitigate into online platforms quickly. During the first phase of lockdown starting in April 2020 (which had been extended to June 2020), M Bloc Space was holding online events nearly every day through the platform of Instagram Live. Under the theme of ‘Creative Week in Difficult Time’, they organized virtual music concerts, talk shows, interviews, and workshops. Several paid online classes were also held under the name of M Bloc Academy.
In June 2020, the restrictive regulations eased for a short transition phase, allowing M-Bloc to have a “responsible re-opening”. The place was allowed to have 50% occupancy and a five-people-maximum group rule while maintaining the social distance (Aisyah, 2020). After almost three months of lockdown, assuming people had adjusted to the sanitation and distancing measure, the government allowed some venues to receive visitors in a limited number. Therefore, although the city fell into another restrictive measure in September 2020, M-Bloc was still open for visitors who would like to enjoy the outdoor space (Aditya, 2020).
The residents were, of course, taking the chance to enjoy the public space again. During my visit in February 2021, the visitors of M-Bloc are mainly young people taking pictures with the murals and cyclist community having breakfast at the terrace cafe. Still, the number of visitors had significantly reduced. Before the pandemic, M Bloc Space can attract 10,000 visitors on the weekend. During the temporary ease of the restriction, their busiest day had only 4,000 people. The curfew rules also significantly reduced their visitors, as Jakarta people had been used to eating out and going shopping in the evening. M Bloc Space management did their best to comply with these rules and ensure the safety of their visitors. Therefore, when COVID cases are relatively low, and some hybrid and offline events were allowed again, they did it with stringent measurements.
Figure 4.5 The newly opened M-Bloc Market. Source: https://manual.co.id/directory/m-bloc-market Photograph: Liandro N. I. Siringoringo
From Music to Market
In the early days of the pandemic, M Bloc Space got nominated for funding from the Cultural Facilities Programme under the Ministry of Education and Culture. Another aid came from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, which also supported their virtual events. However, the funding received was only sufficient to cover the production cost and pay for the guest speakers. They still had to find a way to pay for the company's operational costs, including bills and staff salaries.
In August 2020, Peruri offered more buildings to be developed under M Bloc Spaces. Initially, the idea of adding performance space would come up due to the massive demand at the beginning of the opening. Still, with the ongoing pandemic, they have to make another plan. In September 2021, M Bloc Space started the second phase of development, consisting of 1,500 square meters of old warehouses. They had planned three new functions for the buildings – M Bloc Market, Peruri Gallery, and Creative Hall.
Since its launching in March 2021, M Bloc Market has become the new driving force for M Bloc Space. The idea of opening a groceries store had never come up in the mind of the M Bloc’s founder, a group of six people from different creative backgrounds. However, the pandemic regulation only allows the so-called essential sectors to operate during the lockdown. Hence, by entering the groceries retail sector, M Bloc Market had allowed them to open for business again. Although it is a pivoting strategy to face the crisis, the new business model had also provided them with new narratives of promoting local products with good quality.
Entering the New Narratives
The opening of M Bloc Market had opened more distribution canals for their concepts. The market provides groceries to residents and their on-site food and beverage tenants. New connections were also established with the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises. As a retail store providing curated local products from the local MSMEs, M Bloc Market had provided a physical space for good quality products that were only sold in the online marketplace before. Alongside this concretization of product displays, M Bloc Market will also work on the digitalization of the local product’s narrative. With a simple QR code, they wish to encourage the brand to tell the story of local empowerment from all around the country. They aspire to build a new ecosystem based on traceability, wellness, and locality.
In the first phase of the lockdown, M Bloc Space approached the issue of health and wellness through several virtual talkshows. However, after one year of learning about these topics, people are more aware now. Therefore, they are focusing on the narrative of keeping the creative spirit alive. During an interview with the program director, Wendi Putranto, he shared some of the future plans of M Bloc Market:
“It has not been easy for all of us, so with the theme of ‘Keep Moving, Keep Creative’, we tell the story of how creative people had found their way of adjusting the situation. With the new local market opening, there is a musician who had just started his agricultural business, providing us with fertilizer for plants. This kind of “adapt or die” story is something that has been in our agenda for the near future. We will also invite the people behind some of our best products here to tell their entrepreneurial story and give inspiration for the others.”
Figure 4.6 The digital space of M-Bloc Space is empowering the creative community. Source: https://www.instagram.com/mblocspace/?hl=en
Expanding with Cultural Economy
Although the pandemic had slowed down part of their activities, the team behind M Bloc Space was actively looking for new ventures. After the development to the retail business, now M Bloc is preparing for their expansion to other places. They had already laid the groundwork to open Pos Bloc, another creative compound that will take place in the former post office in the Pasar Baru (New Market) area of Jakarta. It is located in the historical Weltevreden district, developed by the Dutch in the 18th century, to move their colonial center from the dilapidated old town in the north. Another development that has been in the pipeline is the JNM Bloc (Jogja National Museum Bloc) in the city of Jogjakarta. With the Sultanate and rich history dates back to the 8th century, Jogja is a significant traditional and cultural city in Central Java.
With the rich historical background of the new places, M Bloc Space will be experimenting with more cultural approaches. Handoko Hendroyono, the CEO and one of the M Bloc founders, had stated his preference for cultural economy rather than creative economy. He believed that working with the culture of a place is more authentic and sustainable, as the creative products and activities created are based on the identity and sense of place.
With the pandemic still ongoing (and even reached its peak in Indonesia during the writing of this paper), some people are raising questions on the attempt of expanding their business models to other places. However, M Bloc Space believed that this is the best time to prepare for the post-pandemic. There will be a huge demand for art, culture, and travel sectors, and they will be ready by then.
Changes in the Future
The COVID-19 pandemic had surely brought some permanent changes to M Bloc Space, one being their M Bloc Market, which would not be there if there was no lockdown in the first place. Although online events would never replace face-to-face interaction, people have become accustomed to convenience and effectiveness. Hence, the programme director of M Bloc Space had predicted that there would be more combinations of online and offline events in the future. Furthermore, with the pandemic still going on, the biggest challenge will be to combine working with the crowd and preparing the required health protocols. There will always be extra expenses for the operational costs.
At the end of the interview, Hendroyono emphasized the importance of being reactive in the moment of crisis. M Bloc Space has been striving to become a creative hub since it was established two years ago. Now, the pandemic had provided a new role for them – to empower the society through providing a breeding ground for the local products.