engineering

Merdeka Building

Merdeka Building is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Merdeka Building rather than just read about it. In short: Merdeka Building (Indonesian: Gedung Merdeka) is an Art Deco building in Jalan Asia-Afrika, Bandung, Indonesia. Today it serves as a museum displaying collections and photographs of the Asian–African Conference, the first Non-Aligned Movement event, which was held there in 1955.

Key takeaways

Merdeka Building belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Merdeka Building to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Merdeka Building from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Merdeka Building (Indonesian: Gedung Merdeka) is an Art Deco building in Jalan Asia-Afrika, Bandung, Indonesia. Today it serves as a museum displaying collections and photographs of the Asian–African Conference, the first Non-Aligned Movement event, which was held there in 1955.

Architecture

The present building was designed in 1926 in Art Deco style by Van Galen and C.P. Wolff Schoemaker, both professors at Technische Hogeschool (today ITB) and famous architects of that time; a further extension was designed in 1940 in Streamline Moderne style by Albert Aalbers. The 7500 m² building had Italian marble floors, some saloon and rooms in cikenhout wooden finishing, and was adorned with crystal lamps on the ceilings.

History

The first building on the site at the intersection of Braga Street and Jalan Asia-Africa was constructed in 1895 for the Sociëteit Concordia. In 1926 it was rebuilt by Wolff Schoemacher, Albert Aalbers and Van Gallen. The Sociëteit Concordia was the dance hall, entertainment and social gathering venue for rich people in Bandung and its vicinity. That included plantation owners or employees, officers, officials, and wealthy businessman. During weekends, the building was filled with people enjoying art performances, social dances and dinner. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, the building was renamed Dai Toa Kaikan and served as cultural centre. After the Indonesian proclamation of Independence on 17 August 1945, the building was used as headquarters of Indonesian independence fighters against Japanese troops. After the recognition of Indonesian Independence by The Netherlands in 1949, and the formation of federal government of Negara Pasundan, Concordia building was once again used as public gathering hall, for art performances, parties, dances, and gala dinner. In 1954, the government of Indonesia appointed Bandung as the host of Asian–African Conference, the Concordia building chosen as the venue of this International conference. At that time Concordia was the largest and grandest hall in Bandung, with strategic location near Savoy Homann Hotel and Preanger Hotel in the city centre. In early 1955, the building was renovated to meet international conference requirements by Ir. R. Srigati Santoso, and renamed Gedung Merdeka (independence building). The building also served as Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) convention building. In 1965 the Gedung Merdeka was the venue for the Asian-African Islamic Conference. In 1971 all of the House of Representatives meetings and activities were moved to Jakarta. In March 1980 the building hosted the 25th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference, and the Asian-African Conference Museum was inaugurated by president Soeharto.

References

External links

Museum of the Asian-African Conference (Official site) 6.92114°S 107.60922°E / -6.92114; 107.60922

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Merdeka Building

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Merdeka Building claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Merdeka Building before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Merdeka Building ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Merdeka Building

In research: Merdeka Building appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Merdeka Building in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Merdeka Building is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Art Deco architecture in Indonesia, Buildings and structures completed in 1926, Buildings and structures in Bandung, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Merdeka Building outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Merdeka Building in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Merdeka Building means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Merdeka Building out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Merdeka Building in simple terms?

Why does Merdeka Building matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Merdeka Building?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Merdeka Building.