BIOGRAPHY OF A BUILDING AS AN INTERDISCIPLINARYAPPROACH FOR THE JAVA RAILWAY STATION ARCHITECTURE CONSERVATION

Abstract

In recent times, the biographical approach has been applied to study variety of topics. It is known that this model can help explain the circulation of things and can offer interesting new insights into the study of objects. Using this point of view makes it possible to understand the history of an object, its life cycle and its meaning. Moreover, it enables us to see how one object related to another.
Architecture forms both a tool and a result in the framework of the socio-technological systems. The built environment lends itself well to be described with the biographical approach. The ways in which architecture forms an expression of contemporary society, constitutes a tradition and ideology, shows a relatively unified visual and structural pattern. The architecture of railway station cannot be separated from the context of technology, concession and the sources on which its creation based: materials, producers, and geography. By using the biography of a building, people can find and understand the context of architecture in the micro, meso and macro level.
In my study of railway station architecture in Java, I have selected a series railways station that will be presented from a synchronic and diachronic perspective related to its development. The history behind the Java railway station development will be reconstructed by departing from its architectural appearance using a visual chronological catalogue. In the next phase, the architectural context of the selection will be explained by studying the development of the railway companies, railway constitution, and concession negotiations between the colonial government, private company and local rulers.
The general aim of the research is to provide a thorough understanding of the aim and concept of the railway station on Java. The results of this critical comparative investigation through a biographical approach can help establish both the intellectual framework and the visual background for future plans for the construction of new, or the repair and/or transformation of old stations that are conceived as cultural heritage.