POSTREALITY REPRESENTATION OF DESIGN OF THE BUILDING OF THE GOVERNMENT CENTER OF BADUNG REGENCY, BALI

I Gede Mugi Raharja

Study Program of Interior Design Faculty of Fine Arts and Design Indonesia Institute of the Art, Denpasar Nusa Indah Street, Denpasar email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Postreality representation of design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency is interesting to explore as it is designed using the most recent simulation. This study is intended to understand the form of representation, the process of the deconstruction of representation, and the meaning of the postreality representation of design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency. As part of cultural studies, this study is a qualitative one. The theory of virtual space design, the theory of simulation, and the theory of deconstruction were eclectically used in the present study. The data were collected through observation, interview, and library research.

The results of the study showed that the postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency represented the image of chronoscope, the image of the Government of Badung Regency, the appreciation of traditional architecture, hybrid of design, semiotization of design. The deconstruction process of the postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency represented the deconstruction of space and power. The postreality representation of design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency implied the scientific and technological meaning. The meaning of the postreality representation of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency is implied from the integration of the computer technology and the field of fine arts and design.

Keywords: simulation, virtual, chronoscope, deconstruction, hybrid.

INTRODUCTION

Representation is a human activity which is intended to show the social relation of the realization of cultural objects so that their meanings can be understood through cultural texts such as sounds, pictures, and architectural building (Barker, 2006: 9). The postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency is an activity of creating design simulation using the three-dimensional computer technology with virtual reality in such a way that the image of hyperreality simulation can be successfully created with implied meanings within various contexts. According to Piliang (2009: 160-161), postreality representation actually refers to the world of hyperreality, the world which oversteps reality created from the data in the

computer so it can offer the degree of experience, perception, feeling, and emotion which are different from the real world.

It is interesting to explore representation in order to know how meaning is created within various contexts in which the simulation of the design of the Building of Government Center of Badung Regency is created. The problem explored in the present study is the postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency which was created using the three-dimensional computer technology of design with virtual reality. The most recent simulation technology has been part of the cultural life of contemporary Balinese people as far as the activity of creating design is concerned. The empirical problem in this present study is how the simulation of design was created in the new dimension of space, which is the man-made electronic space containing the element of movement or the image of chronoscope. According to Piliang (2008: 396-397), it is the image of chronoscope which has caused one to see the simulation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency, and to undergo the atmosphere of space and time virtually before the design is realized to be a physical building.

The general objective of this present study is to understand the use of the threedimensional technology of computer of design which is related to the postmodern theories. It was expected that the present study would contribute to the development of knowledge and insight of the students of interior design and architecture, and the development of the Balinese traditional culture in design in the global era.

RESEARCH METHOD

This study of dissertation was planned to be a cultural studies using the approach of postmodern design and qualitative method. The theory of virtual space design proposed by William Gibson, the theory of simulation proposed by Jean Baudrillard, and the theory of deconstruction proposed by Jaques Derrida were eclectically used in the present study.

The data in the present study were collected through observation, interview, and library research. The data were systematically presented after they were edited. The data were analyzed after they were related to and interacted with each other. The data were obtained from two sources; the primary data source and the secondary data source. The primary data source included technical pictures, the design of the Building of the Government of Center of Badung Regency in the form of the simulation of three-

dimensional design with virtual reality, the information provided by the coordinator of the design consultants, and the information obtained from the Dinas Cipta Karya (the Department of Public Works) and the staff members of the Badung Regency Government. The secondary data included scientific references such as journals, the results of research, papers presented in seminar, the documents of design (visual data), the regulations of law and the other supporting references.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of the study showed that the postreality representation of the design of the Government Center of Badung Regency represented image, postmodern design and hybrid design. The image of chronoscope and the image of the institution were found in the representation of image. It was the image of chronoscope which resulted in the postreality representation, which was the simulation of space and time on the computer screen, completed with the image of movement. This image of movement caused one to see the simulation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency, to be able to undergo time and to feel space virtually. The image of the Badung Regency Government appeared after the design of the Government Center of Badung Regency was realized in the form of a fact of reality, which was combined with the image of pseudo-reality or image. The image of the Badung Regency Government appeared in the form of the appreciation given by the community or officials of the success made by the Badung Regency Government to construct the building of its great government center. The design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency represented the appreciation of the traditional architecture related to space layout (tri mandala), the building structure (tri angga), the decoration style and the building interior. The representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency was hybrid of the Balinese traditional architecture and contemporary architecture which created a new realization which did not inflict one another. The postrealilty representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency implied the meaning of sign, including the meaning of sign in the Balinese tradition.

The process of the deconstruction of the postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency represented the deconstruction of space and power. The deconstruction of sign took place in the form of the simulation of design on the computer electronic screen, which was created using the

three-dimensional technology of computer of design with virtual reality. This technology could resolve all restrictions in the creation of the design of architectonic space, which is confined by the natural law and traditional norms. In the process of the creation of the design of the building of the Government Center of Badung Regency was highly determined by the factor of power; the power determined whether the design could be accepted, revised or neglected. The realization of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency showed that no attention was paid to the code of the design of Badung style. Referring to Umberto Eco (1979: 43-44), the code of the architectural design of Badung style is specific, as it has been a convention made by the people living in Badung area, as shown by the gate (candi bentar/gapura) which is in the form of a pair of bird wings and the red bricks used. The fact that the code of Badung design was neglected was an activity of design which dislocated comprehension and deviated from the virtual text of the code of the design of Badung style in the past, and exposed new interpretations of more imaginative design. This caused the meaning of the code of the design of Badung style to be postponed. Based on what is stated by Al-Fayyadl (2005: 21), the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency is a virtual text of a game of signs. In the game of signs, the designer may make the signifier free from the burden of the past meaning. However, this does not mean that meaning can be completely neglected. Therefore, the meaning of a tradition in the new design is still needed although it may not be classified into a form in which the old meaning is present.

The postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency implies political, economic, cultural, and scientific technological and art meanings. Therefore, the simulation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency is an integration of design computer technology and the area of fine arts and design. The process of creating such simulation was influenced by the political decision, economic calculation, cultural aspect and the knowledge of computer technology of design. The political design could be implicitly seen commencing from when the building was planned and designed to when it could be realized. The design should refer to the ATB values as determined by the Local Act (Perda) Number 4 of 1974 concerning Buildings and the Perda Number 5 of 2005 concerning the Architectural Requirements of Building Construction. The economic meaning could be observed from the technical or design aspect. The economic matter in the technical or design aspect is referred to by Giatman (2011:100 as technical

economy. With reference to what is stated by Sjafrizal (2011: 6-7 and 291), the economic meaning is also implied in the Space Layout of the Area of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency. The implied cultural meaning of the postreality representation, referring to what is stated by Koentjaraningrat (1990: 203-204), could be observed from the result of the simulation of design and in the reality of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency, as part of the elements of the universal culture, as far as the fine arts and design are concerned. The implied scientific, technological, and art meaning of the postreality representation could be observed from the application of the three-dimensional technology of computer of design, which is the synergy of science, technology and art.

The findings of the present study are as follows. First, the three-dimensional technology of computer of design with virtual reality has been part of the contemporary Balinese cultural life, which, in this case, was used to create the simulation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency with the image of chronoscope. Second, the three-dimensional computer of technology of deign with virtual reality has given opportunity to application of the values of the Balinese Traditional Architecture ‘Arsitektur Tradisional Bali (ATB)’ using nonmaterial, nonphysical and nonspacial elements. The reality of design which was created to visualize the image of chronoscope could construct the space characteristics in ATB. Third, the concept of the hybrid of design applied to the Building of Government Center of Badung Regency was the synergy of the ATB values and contemporary architecture. It expressed the ATB values globally (translocation) and the global culture locally (glocalization). The reflection of the three-dimensional design of computer technology with virtual realization could be used to actualize the ATB values, in accordance with the context of era.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

Several conclusions could be drawn from the present study. First, the postreality representation of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency was created from the simulation of space and time artificially on the digital electronic screen with the image of chronoscope. Second, the process of the deconstruction of the postreality representation of the design of the Building of the Government Center of Badung Regency represented the deconstruction of space and power. The deconstruction of space was created using the three-dimensional technology of computer of design with virtual reality; it could resolve all restrictions of the creation of

the design of architectonic space in the real world. The factor of power resulted in the deconstruction of power and determined whether the decision was accepted, revised or neglected. Third, the postreality representation of the design of the building of the Government Center of Badung Regency implied political, economic, cultural, and scientific, technological and art meanings.

It is suggested to students, architects, and interior designers that the ATB values could be applied using the design computer technology through the process of technological adaptation and their combination. The difficulty in applying the local material and the ATB decoration style to the technology of computer of deign could be overcome using digital photographic technique. In that way, a graphic aesthetics could be made to appear on the computer screen as a result of the integration of technology and the area of fine arts and design by processing the data in the computer program.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer would like to thank the coordinator of design consultants, Ir. I Wayan Gomuda, MT, for the data on design technique and information on the Government Center of Badung Regency provided. Thanks are also expressed to Dr. Yasraf Amir Piliang, M.A, the teaching staff of Postgraduate Studies of Fine Arts and Design, the Faculty of Arts and Design , Bandung Institute of Technology, for his explanation on the theory of the design of virtual space.

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