Project Name: Mutu Loka
Office Name: Aaksen Responsible Aarchitecture
Office Website: aaksenstudio.com
Social Media Accounts: @aaksenstudio
Contact email: contact@aaksenstudio.com
Firm Location: Bandung, Indonesia
Completion Year: 2023
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 384/460 sqm
Project Location: Bandung, Indonesia
Program / Use / Building Function: Commercial/ Coffee Shops
Lead Architects: Yanuar Pratama Firdaus
Design Team: Azzahra Dartaman, Martha Aurelia, Bayu Herdiadi
Lead Architects e-mail: yanuarpf@sbm-itb.ac.id
Photo Credits: Azzahra Dartaman, Martha Aurelia, Vanessa Adinda Rahmadya
Materials : Bata Kingdom, Versicell, Dulux Paint, Cisangkan Vent Block, Vintage Tiles (Tegel Suryo Tiles), Andesite Paving, Teak Veneer
Established in 2022, MUTU Loka existence has taken part by honoring the progression of Cilaki 33 in juxtaposing a narrative of obsolete among contemporary lifestyle. Due to the early 2020s pandemic, people started to acknowledge the presence of open space in communal space. The core of the history lies in the main building located at the front area, where once ‘Tiloejane’ was sculpted to mark the identity of Cilaki 33.
The site comes with several building masses, where the original building was formed by a 30 cm-thick wall without any supporting column or beam from reinforced concrete. The other building masses spread organically topping one another due to different activities required by different owners, creating disorganized layout functions, leaving many site problems ranging from structural to maintenance issues. The beauty of the original building remains unseen due to disarranged layers of additional buildings. Thus, the finding has led to a decision to demolish ineffective additional parts from the main existing building, restoring the original building while exposing deconstructed bricks as the narrative point of ‘Tiloejane’ story, as seen on the left side of the building with its slanted fort walls made of bricks; reconstructing the destructed. The demolition aimed to reopen closed spaces, by specifically injecting some exposed H-beam to alter the quality of the existing space due to a more spacious indoor area. These astonishing findings require impeccable and quick treatment during the construction process.
Industrial style denotes the appearance of steel dominancy, exposed materials, and exposed utilities as essential elements generate exposed and neatly arranged installations that functionally allow easier maintenance processes. Rethinking the development of core elements in an industrial style could be varied, in a way that exploration of additional elements has numerous derivatives. While conserving the main atmosphere in the industrial concept, some developments are offered to see opportunities of each design and relevancy in the targeted market. Developing the brand objectives to cater the needs of tranquil space in third-space such as café in a post-pandemic era, the ratio of outdoor, indoor, and semi-outdoor area for seating area also remains important in MUTU Loka that has been spread evenly to cater various activities within one place.
Interpreting ‘reconstructed the destructed’, exploration in brick materials was approached with different treatments in each section. To create a focal point around the outdoor dining area, the ideas of deconstructed exposed bricks arrangement were merged based upon user habits in Bandung - forming an ergonomic-angled curve to create a comfortable experience for users to lie down, relax and enjoy the weather during daytime and day night. Another different treatment was applied to the interior area of the main building. Exploration started by finding a complementary color to the domination of terracotta brick color. The result came up in amazon green color to enhance the pop color in the building facade, as users are dominated by the youth. In finding the best flooring treatment in the main building where the bar is located, existing vintage ceramic tiles were found, which turned out to be overwritten by new tiles. In order to preserve these rare materials, new ceramic tiles are dismantled to enhance the beauty of the rare vintage ceramic tiles.
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