Some say that to work in Jakarta is to labor amid dense and dry office towers. However, this is not the feeling for these two connected office buildings in Central Jakarta. The towers offer a serene ambiance with a lush vertical garden applied to one corner. The space offers calmness for workers and the neighbourhood.
Photo by Bagus Tri Laksono
Sitting on the second layer of Medan Merdeka/Monas Park, the office towers have a strategic location for accessing the central business district of Jakarta, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tanjung Priok Harbour and the industrial satellite cities to the west of Jakarta. The location allows people who work here to enjoy the location and not worry about heavy traffic.
Coming to work is a pleasure, since the appearance of the office towers alone is already pleasing. The facade of the south wing is fully covered by clear glass tiles, offering a rigid rectangular pattern that shows simplicity and cleanliness in the working environment. The north wing has two faces — one similar to the south wing, while the side facing the corner of the road has an attractive vertical garden framing clear glass windows.
There is a grand meeting room at the top floor of the north wing. Catering to up to 50 people at a time, this room can be used for company meetings and gatherings. It is connected to a rooftop garden, where people can barbecue and enjoy the sunset together. This meeting room is actually a mezzanine that is accessed through a spiral staircase from a private reading room. While that meeting room is for upper-level management, workers can enjoy the alfresco terrace on the rooftop of the south wing.
The two towers have separate lobbies. The lobby of the south wing belongs to one of the tenants who uses most space of this tower. The lobby shares a modern design with the architecture. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows leave this room well-showered with natural daylight. The elevator for this tower is located right after the front door, hence clients and workers of the other tenants may go directly to their desired floor. A banking tenant has its space on the ground, with a door from this lobby and a direct door from the parking lot. The easy access makes the ground favoured by banks.
At the right wing, the ground level is fully occupied by another banking corporation. In this tower, the elevator in located at the side of the space, with clear glass walls, hence people who are passing by can see people transporting vertically. Having the elevator at the corner of the building lets the tenants on the ground floor enjoy one big area for an easier space program. The office towers, which appear as a U-shape buildings, are actually formed by an L-shape building and a beam-shaped building. The L-shaped building, which now is the south wing, was the first to be built, as it stands on land that has been under the control of the owning company for a long time. “There was an old office building in this location that owners decided to renovate. When this wing was nearly completed, the owners succeeded in buying the land next door, which is also a corner of the street. This later became the north wing, built as the second phase. We made a glass canopy to connect both buildings at the final stage,” explains architect Sony Budiono.
This corner is well exposed to the intersection. The owner took advantage of this prime position by having a bold facade made with a vertical garden. Through this vertical garden, the owners showed their positive intention for a greener neighbourhood, although they had limited space for landscaping. This has been acknowledged by the mayor of Central Jakarta, Mangara Pardede, who later awarded them a certificate of merit for private office gardens in 2015. Nevertheless, this garden lowers the room temperature.
Beside a strategic location, comfortable workspaces and security, the building offers more convenience by providing filtered water dispensers to each of the tenant spaces. For this, the office installed a water filter at the back of the south wing. This thoughtful office evokes a vibrant and energetic vibe as a commercial space while being as comfortable as a second home.