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Boboto

Boboto

Jakarta, Indonesia

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Other Projects by Realrich Architecture Workshop - RAW Architecture

Add To Collection

Boboto

Jakarta, Indonesia

Firm

Realrich Architecture Workshop - RAW Architecture

Type

Residential › Multi Unit Housing
Educational › Library

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft

The design conceptualised with a vision centered around the library, craftsmen home, boarding home, and an informal kiosk. RAW Architecture envision a spatial experience reminiscent of an alley, labyrinth, a small walkway like one in Kampoong in dense Jakarta. Guha Boboto began as a one-storey structure, with intricate skylights and walled corridors defined by patterns made from composition of recycled, polished, and angular bricks, combined with plywood surfaces that form a dynamic rhythm of solids and voids. The design employs bioclimatic strategies to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature of around 27°C. Throughout the project, pockets of gardens create micro-spaces that bring light in and natural ventilation into the interior.

The term "Bobotoh" derives from the act of laying bricks, a process that embodies craftsmanship, patience, and perseverance. This philosophy traces back to when Boboto began as a craftsman house, a family home that has existed since the 1990s. Boboto's intent has always been to keep the family together, accommodating three children and providing space for their informal kiosk. It became a tool for survival, a form of resilience, and a quiet act of resistance.

As the family's needs grew, the building evolved with them. The existing structure became the backbone for a new two-storey renovation. The renewed plan introduces an open layout for OMAH Library, organized around three staircases: one for the library and two for the residence. These stairs anchor clustered programs, defining three key zones — the boarding area, the craftsman’s family home, and OMAH Library.

The library’s entrance welcomes visitors with textures, cast in concrete using bamboo molds, and its door resembles the silhouette of an Indonesian man — a metaphor of mind and body. With varying dimensions and uneven conditions, the timber required improvisation. Columns were built in a patchwork fashion, combining mismatched pieces joined with simple nails, an act of necessity that evolved into a structural language. Glulam beams were reinforced with brick, combining the lightness of laminated wood with the permanence of masonry. Entering through the brick thresholds evokes a warmth like one you found in a parent's home, with a sense of comfort and protection. With calm lighting and the layering of old and new structures, the architecture becomes both shelter and story, a lived archive of craft, memory, and care.

The design responds to Indonesia's postcolonial context, where craftsmen are often undervalued. Therefore, the project seeks to restore our craftsmen dignity and livelihood through economic sustainability. Boboto integrates a boarding house and a public library within the same compact footprint, opening new connections within Jakarta’s typically enclosed neighborhoods. Addressing the city’s housing challenges, Boboto replaces the conventional 3+1 housing typology with 15 compact rooms, a library, and a street-facing kiosk, rethinking density as a framework for community. Boboto carries forward this legacy, showing that architecture, even under constraint, can still speak of dignity, adaptability, and quiet defiance.

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Boboto

Jakarta, Indonesia

Other Projects by Realrich Architecture Workshop - RAW Architecture

Kampoong Guha

Stupa House

Sarang Nest House

Otten Coffee Experience

Kampono House

Tresno House

Parabolic Plywood

Akanaka

Piyandeling Artisan Workshop

Rivoli Hotel

Sumarah Pavillion

School of Alfa Omega

The Guild

Istakagrha

Java House

RAW Architecture Office

Wirawan House

Bare Minimalist

Boboto

Jakarta, Indonesia

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team

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Boboto

Jakarta, Indonesia

Other Projects by Realrich Architecture Workshop - RAW Architecture

Kampoong Guha

Stupa House

Sarang Nest House

Otten Coffee Experience

Kampono House

Tresno House

Parabolic Plywood

Akanaka

Piyandeling Artisan Workshop

Rivoli Hotel

Sumarah Pavillion

School of Alfa Omega

The Guild

Istakagrha

Java House

RAW Architecture Office

Wirawan House

Bare Minimalist

Boboto

Jakarta, Indonesia

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team