The Cultural Melting Pot:
Museum of Indonesian Gastronomy
Type: Studio Project, Museum, Cultural
Site Area: 12210 sqm
Building Area: 18586.8 sqm
Location: BSD, Tangerang, Indonesia
Year: 2020
Design: Selvia Diwanty
Supervisor: Ir. Tri Yuwono, MT.
Cicero once stated that the human mind must be cultivated to ‘fruit’;
Since God knows when I have always been inquisitive about the world of food: the sizzles, the outburst of aroma, the tempting visual, the texture, the universal language it speaks, the way such delectable celebration of flavors works on every bite, and the fact that certain settings could elevate the whole dining experience. Behind those curiosities lies a vivid love for Indonesian culture. Hence, the idea of designing an experiential center for Indonesian gastronomy as my final project came to light.
The root of the matter
Indonesia has more than 30.000 varieties of recorded dishes originating from across the archipelago. Indonesian Cuisine is not only about taste but is also full of narratives and cultural philosophies contained. Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture. Based on the notions of various Indonesian gastronomic communities and associations in the National Dialogue on Gastronomy, Indonesia's abundant gastronomic wealth needs to be promoted for cultural education and preservation—to be passed down to generations to come. Various foods, eating activities, and the cooking processes can be documented, stored, and preserved in a center for cultural preservation and studies, namely the Museum of Indonesian Gastronomy.
The importance of storytelling
People and their stories make experiences and destinations attractive and distinctive. It is essential to work on storytelling, on the narrative of gastronomy from a human perspective, seeking new angles with an impact on the destination’s culinary identity. Foods with a message, chefs as interpreters of the territory, etc. The construction of an inspiring message is vital.
—UNWTO on Development of Gastronomy Tourism
The idea was to create an experiential space to appreciate the courses of Indonesian gastronomy and let the stories and centuries-old legacies be passed down to generations to come. Hence, the project combines the function of active and extroverted museum exhibitions—which focus on its programs and user activities rather than stationary objects—as a form of cultural preservation with the crucial role of storytelling and education through provided classes, workshops, and library. These functions are complemented by commercial facilities and recreational public spaces in supporting the rise of Indonesian gastronomic tourism.
Multi-sensory experience—eating and drinking with all five senses
Tasting is a multi-sensory activity: perception is affected by what we can see, feel and hear, and by what we smell and taste. Emotion is also involved.
—UNWTO on Development of Gastronomy Tourism
The design issues are focused on interaction, atmosphere (mood/ambiance), and flexibility of facilities. These issues are selected to produce an explorative and sensuous visitor experience in unraveling the history, methods, and development of Indonesian gastronomy. The designed museum is envisioned to be a platform for interaction and collaboration of various gastronomic communities, culinary practitioners, and people of various backgrounds in exploring, preserving, and advancing Indonesian gastronomy.
Project site inventory & analysis
Somewhere it shall stand—an emerging foodscape
The selected site for this project is in BSD Green Office Park, Tangerang, Banten as the center of a new development area with a rapidly increasing number of local and foreign tourist visits. The project site covers an area of 12,210 m² with permitted coverage and minimum green area of 35%, building floor coefficient of 3.2, and basement footprint coefficient of 50%. The main access to the site is located on the north side, through the BSD Green Office Park main ring, which is traversed by the BSD Link Bus and a larger volume of vehicles. The road on the south side is higher than the north side. Thus, the elevation in the building mass is disparted and varied as a response to the land contours.
Design concept
The cultural melting pot
The designed program embodies multidimensional gastronomic exploration. The building acts as a platform that connects men and their natural surroundings in cultivating ideas. The gastronomic course from the cultivation of ingredients to the processing and enjoyment of gastronomic products is chosen as the main sequence and translated into the museum programs vertically. These facilities are woven by a spiral ramp that runs across the building, along with social spaces that kept the dialogues going. The designed museum is envisioned to be a culturally vibrant platform for appreciating, learning, experimenting, and preserving the diverse and unique Indonesian gastronomy.
Programming
Site & ground plan
The course of form finding
I imagined the journey of gourmet discovery to be very dynamic, just like being tossed and stirred in a bowl or pot to cook up some idea. Hence, the building masses and other site elements are composed dynamically with multiscale patterns resembling flower petals and leaves—giving an organic and natural image. The building is arranged surrounding the central plaza as a multifunctional area for public activities and events space. The entire ground plan is connected by circulation paths and its landscape elements.
The form composition is obtained by projecting the site boundaries, contours, zoning, and inventories, minimizing intervention in the existing vegetation, and letting the prevailing winds pass from west to east. The building masses are then subtracted, following the geometry of the park and plaza. The multiscale and organic mass geometry is interlocked to increase progression fluidity.
Utility & structure design
Green building material, water, and energy simulation
The design recipe
The final design is derived from a series of creative iteration and technical deliberation. Situated in a green office park, the proposed design practices the principles of a green building. Its environmentally friendly concept achievement is assessed based on the GREENSHIP rating system which is issued by the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI). This assessment system consists of several categories as follows: appropriate site development, energy efficiency & conservation, water conservation, materials & resources cycle, Indoor air health & comfort, and building & environment management. The implemented green building design strategy includes mitigation of the heat island effect by greening land and building surfaces, use of double-skin façade and other building envelope strategies, use of environmentally friendly materials with relatively lower embodied energy, and installation of innovative building elements to increase the efficiency of water and energy consumption.
Elevation
Section
Relishing the whole journey
Architecture and gastronomy coexist on an experiential dimension, both involve multi-sensorial perceptive experience and play pivotal roles in human life—from basic physiological, social, and psychological needs to the point of portraying one’s identity and cultural dynamic.
These past semesters have been quite a delirious adventure.
It may not be all sunshine and rainbows but thankfully as things go
I have learned new things and broaden my perspective.
J.F. Blondel once defined ‘taste’ as the ‘fruit of reasoning’.
So stay hungry, stay curious.
May we embrace our roots,
nurture our sensibilities,
and cherish the fruits of our culture.
—
For book-reading experience visit bit.ly/TAselvia
