(le-ri: brother in law, father, sister, mother, me) at Den Haag HS Station, early morning, heading for Zurich
In short, this is the motivation letter I wrote to get admitted into Landscape Architecture at TU Delft. Luckily, one shot was all I needed. Enjoy!
Motivation Letter
Abdul Said Ahtar
A typical day of an architecture student is spending hours thinking of the future. Whether to become an architect, urban designer, landscape architect, contractor, developer, lecturer, there were so many options to go through. Studies in Architecture at Institut Teknologi Bandung and my work experiences in Area Designs, CPG Consultants, and ETH Zurich - Future Cities Laboratory gave me better insight in the world of architecture. Through studio projects, classes, and student activities I learnt that architecture is knowledge to build a better environment for people and the world. Everyone deserves good design, whether you are a large multi-million company down to lower income people and the public.
Golfing has opened my eyes to the beauty of a designed landscape, also the greatness of outdoor spaces. This particular hobby of mine led to the choosing of my final project. My final project was to design a golf clubhouse and resort in the city of Bandung. The challenge was to design a new clubhouse, with accommodation and resort facilities at a historic course located at the north of Bandung. Main opportunity from the site is the view, because of the location up on the mountain, there is a clear view of Bandung and also the golf course from the top. Challenges faced in the design are the steep contour, and the awkward lean boundary of the site. The design of Dago Endah Golf Clubhouse and Resort was to split the site into two areas, with the northern part near the 1st hole tee box and 18th hole green for the clubhouse, and the resort area in the south. The resort will accommodate 80+ rooms in the hotel building, with six 2 story bungalows to add to the resort. A boardwalk and viewing deck is located between the clubhouse and resort area to connect the two. Families can watch the golfers play from the viewing deck, with a nice view to the city. The final grade I received was a B worth 8 credits, with a workload of writing a thesis paper, journal, architectural modeling, and creating concept and architectural design drawings of the building.
Landscape is much more than just sidewalks, trees and plants, to me more importantly it provides an experience and certain ambiance for the users. My home country of Indonesia is in dire need of decent landscapes and public spaces. In the early 2000s well designed landscapes and outdoor areas are seldom found in Indonesia, with focus mostly on building shopping malls, and car roads. The only decent landscape I experienced was on the golf course, where I could walk and enjoy the outdoors comfortably. Unfortunately, this type of landscape is only experienced by a small number of people even though I feel there is greater joy in walking around outside rather than hanging out in shopping malls. Since 2010, cities in Indonesia started to give more thought and care towards the design of outdoor spaces and parks such as in Surabaya, Bandung, and even Jakarta. But there is still a big lack of public spaces all around Indonesia. I see this as an opportunity and a challenge that I would like to contribute to, and attending Landscape Architecture at TU Delft would be a perfect way for me to develop the skills needed to conquer this issue.
Advanced study in the landscape architecture field has been a goal of mine since my early college days. Stories from my lecturers and seniors inspired me to apply for the field of Landscape Architecture in TU Delft. TU Delft is one of the best architecture schools in the world, currently ranked 3rd in Architecture Schools around the world based on the QS University Survey. This is one of my main reasons for applying to TU Delft. TU Delft has always had a good history with my alma-mater ITB, and one of my good friends is currently attending TU Delft for his Master degree. I also got inspired to study in the Netherlands after attending KTCF 2014, where I was appointed as an architectural assistant along with several of my friends mainly for the Dutch architecture firm KCAP, as well as helping out OMA and MVRDV, also attending were local architects Djuhara-djuhara, Han Awal and Partners, and Andra Matin Architects. This experience showed gave me a better understanding of the history of Dutch buildings in Indonesia, as well as the similarities of design approaches by Indonesian and Dutch architects. I maintained a close relationship with Kees Christiaanse throughout the years, and he was one of my supervisors during my work at ETH Zurich – Future Cities Laboratory, and he highly recommended to continue my studies in TU Delft. By studying in TU Delft, I will also gain first-hand experience living in a new city, country, and continent which will broaden my view towards the design of urban landscapes. Networking opportunities is also a main purpose for me to apply to TU Delft. I have spoken with some TU Delft Alumni and they told me about the great experience of networking between students, between students and staff, and also professionals that can be made in TU Delft.
There has been a growing trend in parks and urban development across Indonesia the past few years. Surabaya as one of the first cities to acknowledge the importance of public spaces, with Bandung and Jakarta soon following to build and maintain great parks and developments. There is also a rise in design competitions in other major cities of Indonesia .
The Flowscapes studio is interesting as the project involves development along a riverbed that crosses through various European countries. This will be a really interesting study, especially because in Indonesia there is also an abundance of rivers and also borders with neighboring countries for example Malaysia, Timor Leste, and Papua Nugini. Rivers are also very common all across Indonesia, and most large cities have rivers flowing through them such as Ciliwung River in Jakarta and the Cikapundung River in Bandung.
My thesis project would be around the Flowscapes concept, where it is expected to design infrastructure as a landscape. If possible I plan on making my design thesis in my home country of Indonesia. Infrastructure as landscape to me is to design a bridge, or street furniture that can have multiple purposes. For example the bridges can act as a dam to protect high rising water, street furniture along beaches and rivers also serve to protect the city. There is a major problem in the city of Jakarta regarding flooding, and also the rise of the sea level (where Jakarta’s soil is sinking every year). It would be an interesting project to find a solution with infrastructure as landscape for the city of Jakarta.
After getting my master degree, I plan on working at a reputable architecture, landscape, or urban design firm for a few years to gain experience. The opportunity to be in the Netherlands where there are many well-known and reputable firms such as KCAP, OMA, and MVRDV would be a great experience for me. Once I feel adequate enough, I plan on starting my on local firm in Indonesia and my goal is to design great parks and public spaces all across Indonesia. I also have a passion for teaching and plan on teaching architecture and landscape architecture back in my home country.