Yogyakarta – the Return of the Housing Question

The walled and now derelict area of land that used to accommodate a fuel depot belonging to the state-run oil company Pertamina is situated in a central location not far from the railway station Lempuyangan in Yogyakarta (Java / Indonesia). The fuel tanks have long been dismantled; now a petrol station in the northeast of the site is the only clue to its former use. The immediate surroundings of the plot are formed

• to the north by Jalan Argolubang (Jalan = street), with its small flower shops and the railway tracks and railway premises beyond
• to the east by a small brook and an embankment that separate the plot from Kampung Pengok Kidul (an informal housing area)
• to the south by the directly adjacent Kampung Pengok Kidul; and
• to the west by the shops, restaurants and old single-family homes along the busy Jalan Dr. Sutomo.

As part of the design workshop, participants in mixed groups (“intercultural peer learning”) are to critically examine traditional residential buildings and typologies and to develop concepts and visions for affordable living for the planning area, which should, on the one hand, satisfy the need for a variety of residential styles and, on the other, take into account the particularities of the planning area (Kampung, shopping street, embankment etc.).