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Abstract
During the late period of colonialism in Indonesia, many buildings with various styles emerged in major cities, especially Jakarta, Bandung, Cirebon, Semarang, Solo, and Surabaya, in which the government and Dutch architects played an important role. This study aims to explore the architectural styles of modern Indonesian buildings in the late colonial period. The method used is comparative descriptive through literature study and field observation. The descriptive method was carried out on buildings by Dutch architects which were considered prominent. The analysis was carried out by comparing several buildings based on modern Western architectural references. The results of this study show that there were many modern buildings with various styles, which can be grouped into 5 styles: Neo-Classical, Neo-Renaissance, Art Deco, Vernacular, and Modern Tropical. These styles are the result of a tug-of-war between modern Western and Indonesian traditional architectural styles.
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References
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- Berlage, P. (1996). Hendrik Petrus Berlage: Thoughts on Style, 1886—1909 (H. F. Mallgrave (ed.)).
- Brucculeri, A. (2016). Le néo-Renaissance en France et la Haute Banque Habiter et collectionner entre les années 1830 et 1880. 5, 45–70. https://doi.org/10.14277/2280-8841/MDCCC-5-16-3
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- Norbruis, O. (2020). Architecture From The Indonesian Past. Life and Work of Fermont-Cuypers 1927-1957. LM Publisher.
- Ntieni, E. (2025). Does Form Follow Function? Harnessing Philosophical Perspectives in the Architecture and Design Process. Art and Design Review, 13(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.4236/adr.2025.131003
- Palmer, A. L. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
- Salura, P. (2018). Misplaced eclecticism in the architecture of constitutional court building in Jakarta- Indonesia. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 10(2 Special Issue).
- Van Dullemen, C. . (2018). Arsitektur Tropis Modern: Karya dan Biografi C.P. Wolff Schoemarker. Komunitas Bambu.
- van Roosmalen, P. K. M. (2020). Sugar and the City: The Contribution of Three Chinese-Indonesians to Architecture and Planning in the Dutch East Indies (1900–1942). Architectural Histories, 8(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5334/AH.416
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- Wang, Y. (2024). Louis Henri Sullivan and His National Architecture. Journal of Art and Design, 4(1), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.31586/jad.2024.966
- Widjanarko, R. E., Alanur, M. N., & Birsyada, M. I. (2023). The Development of Welfare Politics of the Dutch East Indies in 1900-1918. HISTORIA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Sejarah, 11(2), 145. https://doi.org/10.24127/hj.v11i2.7459
References
Abastillas, M. E., Cantago, D. B., Cariliman, D. G. O., Cuario, S. M. A., Labuca, J. A. S., Mamac, J. B. E., & Sinining, C. O. (2023). International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews Historical Evolution of Civil Engineering Materials. 4(12), 510–515.
Adiyanto, J. (2023). Dutch architectural learning process of the Dutch East Indies Case: Maclaine Pont, Thomas Karsten, C. P. Wolff Schoemaker. ARTEKS : Jurnal Teknik Arsitektur, 8(2), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.30822/arteks.v8i2.2350
Antonius, A., Achmad, D., Suryabrata, I., & Adi, D. (2014). the Concept of Modern Dutch Colonial Architecture To the Development of Javanese Architecture. DIMENSI (Journal of Architecture and Built Environment), 41(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.9744/dimensi.41.1.37-42
Ashadi. (2020). Teori Arsitektur Zaman Renaisans. Arsitektur UMJ Press.
Ashadi. (2025). Arsitektur Kolonial di Indonesia Tata Ruang Omah Gedong Londo Cepu Jawa Tengah. Nasmedia.
Berlage, P. (1996). Hendrik Petrus Berlage: Thoughts on Style, 1886—1909 (H. F. Mallgrave (ed.)).
Brucculeri, A. (2016). Le néo-Renaissance en France et la Haute Banque Habiter et collectionner entre les années 1830 et 1880. 5, 45–70. https://doi.org/10.14277/2280-8841/MDCCC-5-16-3
Brucculeri, A., & Frommel, S. (2015). Renaissance italienne et architecture au XIXe siècle. Campisano Editore.
Čavlović, M., Cvitanović, M. S., & Uchytil, A. (2020). Art Nouveau in Zagreb: The New Movement’S Significance to the Profession of Architecture. Spatium, 728(44), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.2298/SPAT2044037C
Chen, L. (2023). The Development of Steel Construction with the Innovation Brought by High-Tech Architecture. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, 10(1), 66–70. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/10/20230057
Chizzonity, D. G. (2017). The Structure of Space: Cubism and Modernism. Figures and Icons in Josef Gocar’s Work. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, 41(1), 9–12. https://doi.org/10.3846/20297955.2017.1296793
Dal Falco, F. (2019). ). Italian Rationalist Design: Modernity between Tradition and Innovation. Arts, 8(27), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts 8010027
Francis D.K. Ching, M. J., & Prakash., V. (2017). A global history of architecture (Third). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fu, C. (2023). Analysis of the Dominance of Steel and Concrete in Architecture. Applied and Computational Engineering, 3(1), 79–83. https://doi.org/10.54254/2755-2721/3/20230349
Goriunov, V. (2016). The Liberty Style - Italian Art Nouveau Architecture. MATECWeb of Conferences, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/20165302004
Halperin, C. T. (2016). Vernacular and monumental Maya architecture: translations and lost in translations during the Terminal Classic period (ca. 800–950 CE). Vernacular Architecture in the Pre-Columbian …. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JCwlDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA113&dq=classic+architecture&ots=FhA3TeGMNQ&sig=MxFlYHcFmxvc59dsx1swPCJ_DsM
Kurnia, N. S. & A. S. (2017). Development Of Art Deco Architecture In Indonesia. The 3rd International Conference on Engineering of Tarumanagara (ICET) 2017.
Liu, J., Liu, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2024). Analysis of Visual Elements of Cubism in Western Modernist Art. Transactions on Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 8, 130–135. https://doi.org/10.62051/f9m3mr83
Louw, H. (2009). Dutch Influence on British Architecture in the Late-Stuart Period, c. 1660– c. 1714 . In Dutch Crossing (Vol. 33, Issue 2). https://doi.org/10.1179/155909009x461902
Mahatmanto. (2015). Role of the journal of building engineers in Dutch East India in discussing the emergence of Indonesian modern architecture. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 14(3), 529–532. https://doi.org/10.3130/jaabe.14.529
Mahatmanto, M. (2002). Publikasi Pemikiran Henri Maclaine Pont Di Jawa. DIMENSI (Journal of Architecture and Built Environment), 30(2), 110–121. https://doi.org/10.9744/dimensi.30.2.110-121
Martinis, R., & Rossetti, E. (2022). Between Renaissance and Neo-Renaissance: Tito Vespasiano Paravicini’s Graphic Corpus. Architectural Histories, 10(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.16995/AH.8332
Morra, J. (2017). Purism and the Object-type: Tradition and Modernity, Art and Society. The City University of New York.
Norbruis, O. (2020). Architecture From The Indonesian Past. Life and Work of Fermont-Cuypers 1927-1957. LM Publisher.
Ntieni, E. (2025). Does Form Follow Function? Harnessing Philosophical Perspectives in the Architecture and Design Process. Art and Design Review, 13(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.4236/adr.2025.131003
Palmer, A. L. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Salura, P. (2018). Misplaced eclecticism in the architecture of constitutional court building in Jakarta- Indonesia. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 10(2 Special Issue).
Van Dullemen, C. . (2018). Arsitektur Tropis Modern: Karya dan Biografi C.P. Wolff Schoemarker. Komunitas Bambu.
van Roosmalen, P. K. M. (2020). Sugar and the City: The Contribution of Three Chinese-Indonesians to Architecture and Planning in the Dutch East Indies (1900–1942). Architectural Histories, 8(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5334/AH.416
Vongkulbhisal, S. (2016). Primitivism, Regionalism, and the Vernacular in Le Corbusier’s Middle Year 1929-1945. University of Washington.
Wang, Y. (2024). Louis Henri Sullivan and His National Architecture. Journal of Art and Design, 4(1), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.31586/jad.2024.966
Widjanarko, R. E., Alanur, M. N., & Birsyada, M. I. (2023). The Development of Welfare Politics of the Dutch East Indies in 1900-1918. HISTORIA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Sejarah, 11(2), 145. https://doi.org/10.24127/hj.v11i2.7459