RAW Architecture, Indonesia: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2021
The Wallpaper* Architects' Directory 2021 includes RAW Architecture, the fast-emerging Indonesian practice set up by Realrich Sjarief
Indonesian architect Realrich Sjarief set up RAW Architecture with a view to reviving architecture’s relationship to crafts, building and people. Using Guha, his own live-and-work base in Jakarta as our case study, we welcome RAW onto our list of exciting, emerging studios for the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2021.
Who: RAW Architecture
Founded in 2011 by Realrich Sjarief, RAW Architecture (or Realrich Architecture Workshop) is a boutique studio in Jakarta, consisting of architects, but also ‘thinkers and craftsmen’, says Sjarief. He goes on to explain that building and crafts are very important in his practice. Architectural design is in fact only one part of a wider, multi-layered practice that encompasses three different platforms. The architecture studio tackles design challenges and leads Sjarief’s sustainable and contextual approach; then, his DOT Workshop laboratory works on building construction and technologies; while Omah Library is the enterprise's research hub.
‘I try to re-establish the long history of craftsmanship in my family, who have been builders one way or another for three generations,' he says. ‘We count 60 years of practice since Indonesia’s independence. My father’s practice had to shut down in the 1998 economic crisis. Around that time, in 2000, I started my journey into architecture. RAW Architecture is reviving this idea of a harmonic relationship between the craftsman, designer, people, and buildings as a whole. It has become the manifestation of this belief.’
As a result, RAW’s work feels rooted to its place, being at the same time modern and experimental. Much of its portfolio consists of contemporary new-builds (such as Alfa Omega School, and Guha, a live/work renovation and extension project, below) that feel organic and at home in their context. ‘We want to deliver unique, relevant, and climate-responsive buildings produced through collaborative research and explorations,' he says.
What: Guha
This complex is the main base, in life and work, of Indonesian architect Realrich Sjarief in Jakarta's Taman Villa Meruya neighbourhood. Containing the architect's own home, his office, RAW Architecture, as well as Omah Library and a separate retail unit, Guha is a live/work composition that combines old and new; natural, native building materials of the region, such as bamboo, and modern concrete; contemporary, urbane forms and spaces, and rich planting and architectural gardens.
Guha consists of an existing building that has been renovated and redesigned, and a brand-new extension. The new element includes three bamboo structures that house the architecture studio. Working with bamboo was a challenge the practice learned a lot from, explains the architect: ‘The design and construction process of Guha's bamboo parts helped us learn about integrated designs that use natural fibre composite materials with manmade, industrial ones to create sustainable architecture. Working with bamboo offers a sense of discovery but also uncertainty, as research and development in bamboo construction technologies has not yet been adequately developed.’
The build was led by local craftsmen and comprises three floors and a metal roof to the east of the existing building, supported by the bamboo structure. Traditional techniques meet contemporary technologies to produce a result that works with its context – visually, as well as climatically. Natural ventilation and an abundance of planting help to passively air and cool down the building.
Why: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2021
Conceived in 2000 as our index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our magazine’s annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. The project has, over the years, spanned styles and continents, while always championing the best and most exciting young studios and showcasing inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni and counting, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 21st edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – 20 young studios, from Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the USA, and the UK, with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Meet Kenia Almaraz Murillo, the artist rethinking weaving
Kenia Almaraz Murillo draws on the new and the traditional in her exhibition 'Andean Cosmovision' at London's Waddington Custot
By Hannah Silver Published
-
A breezy Greek island retreat lets the outdoors in
Open to the elements, an island retreat in Corfu by Invisible Studio was designed to suit the local climate, using metal mesh screens rather than windows
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Spain meets Speyside at the Roca Brothers’ new restaurant for The Macallan distillery
For its 200th anniversary, The Macallan commissioned David Thulstrup to design TimeSpirit, the Roca Brothers’ first restaurant outside Spain
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalism
From modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Extraordinary escapes: where would you like to be?
Peruse and lose yourself in these extraordinary escapes; there's nothing better to get the creative juices flowing than a healthy dose of daydreaming
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Year in review: top 10 houses of 2022, selected by Wallpaper* architecture editor Ellie Stathaki
Wallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki reveals her top 10 houses of 2022 – from modernist reinventions to urban extensions and idyllic retreats
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Roz Barr’s terrace house extension is a minimalist reimagining
Terrace house extension by Roz Barr Architects transforms Victorian London home through pared-down elegance
By Nick Compton Published
-
Tree View House blends warm modernism and nature
North London's Tree View House by Neil Dusheiko Architects draws on Delhi and California living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Maison de Verre: a dramatic glass house in France by Studio Odile Decq
Maison de Verre in Carantec is a glass box with a difference, housing a calming interior with a science fiction edge
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Modernist Coromandel farmhouse refreshed by Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
An iconic Coromandel farmhouse is being reimagined by the South African architectural collaborative of Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
By Nick Compton Last updated