Jakarta as an Open Air Museum of Architectural History

Batavia or Jakarta is a city which has played an important role not only in the history of the region that it is located but also in the history of the world. Since ancient times, Jakarta has been a significant city in world trade. The city’s architectural relics which can be considered as evidence of its civilization history are still visible in certain sections of the city although the majority of them were lost. Since the end Second World War, which characterizes the city’s independence era, it historically witnessed the era of the ruling states including the Sunda Kelapa Kingdom and Banten Sultanate, then the headquarter town of Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) and later in government Dutch East Indies, and Japanese occupation in turn. Since the cities and their buildings in their urban fabric could be considered as the instruments in conveying, expressing and reflecting their historical background today, it might well be stated that by interpreting and decoding the history of a city it will be possible to develop a sophisticated and strong vision for it. In this respect, the main line of discussion in this paper is based on the existence and physical/architectural characteristics of the city of Jakarta’s historical relics that might be used as a base in forming a Freilichtmuseum/an open-air museum or an open air laboratory for architectural history of the city. This can be seen as a first step in developing a sophisticated and strong vision for it which was declared to be a global/world city in 2008.