by Kenta Kishi & Bintang Putra |
19 Nov 2015

During July 31st and August 5th in 2015, an experimental urban study workshop has been held at an old urban settlement in Surabaya, in cooperation with OHS (Operations for Habitat Studies, formerly Orange House Studio), together with ICCI 2015 (3rd International Conference on Creative Industries) and Despro ITS (Dept. of Industrial Design Product, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember), in responding urban and social conditions in Surabaya.

Kenta Kishi (architect, Japan) and Bintang Putra (social activist, Indonesia) designed and conducted this intensive session, collaborating with 16 international young architects and students as participants. With the support of over 20 students from Despro ITS as volunteering committees. Inviting 4 creators and scholars from both Indonesia and Japan as a reviewer, and whole community member from Kampung Tambak Bayan as an active local knowledge.

This workshop explored the issue of “Absent Citizens” in Kampung (urban settlement), particularly in Surabaya. We focus on diverse existence of the neglected urban citizens such as migrant workers, minority (and/or discriminated) race, the poor, people and community in forced displacement, elderly or disabled people, and etc.

Any “creators” who design and produce new artifact and system in this “new urban era” should undertake obligation to develop methodology to rediscover and respond to the “Absent Citizens” in city, since we tend to shut our senses to recognize voiceless expectations of them, especially in the massive urban growth. They exist behind of surface of bright side of city and are surviving under the critical problems that generated by rapid and drastic urban transformation.

Kampung Tambak Bayan was the project site of this workshop. This urban settlement was formed by Chinese migrants about four generation past from now. There has been known as a manufacturing community of timber furniture, but through the transformation of urban industrial structures, majority of residents has left from their traditional business. At the same time, this urban community has faced with critical problems in “forced displacement issue” that generated by urban redevelopment project. After some court fight, community lost a case completely and now they are living with unrest and struggle toward their uncertainty future. This is a typical phenomenon of change of living in urban settlement under the urban growth, and many cities in developed countries had already been experienced this.

In this six days session, we deeply dived into the site with tools of visual documentation such as video, photo, drawings, mapping and others, in order to capture diverse and hidden signs of Absent Citizens. Actions of documentation and analysis were implemented through intimate and deep communication with residents in Kampung.

Simultaneously with intensive documentation activities, participants were expected to find right media to reflect their own way in responding to the Absent Citizens in both Kampung and city. Through a volume of dialogues of diverse participants and stake – holders, all documented materials done by each were integrated into “public media” that could be distributed and/or applied into Kampung as a tool to rediscover and redefine themselves.

Challenged actions and its results in this masterclass could be recognized as an alternative function of urban practice. It is suggesting us to re-invent a role of architectural design, urban design, social action, and other creative actions toward urban issues.

Away from conventional form of education of design and architecture, this masterclass developed an alternative form and methodology of urban studies that could produce appropriate processes and solutions for critical and latent issues in contemporary city

We are delighted that Sounding for Absent Citizens were done in the best possible way through the greatest of efforts from all parties involved.

Thereby, we would like to provide the Post-Event Catalog which contains detailed information on the whole proceedings such as:

• Fundamental information of event,
• Social and urban related articles from Directors and Reviewers,
• In-depth information on each one of the project results,
• Reviewers’ comments, and
• Photo documentations.