Architect Rafi Haikal and His Vision of Advancing Indonesia's Development through Architecture
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29 December 2023 16:14 WIB
The concept of zoning and codes in architecture is indispensable. Zoning is a set of rules that regulate limits on the size, shape, use and placement of buildings in various locations. “For example, the zoning code in New York regulates in detail how high apartment or office buildings can be built in certain locations to ensure sufficient natural light in the surrounding, sufficient supply of utilities such as electrical power or water, and easy access by emergency services. The goal is to ensure that pedestrians still experience enough sunlight when walking on the sidewalk, which has a direct impact on people's mental health – another parallel between architects and health workers. That’s how it’s supposed to be in order for the community to benefit from and enjoy the built environment," added Haikal in the same series of interviews in New York.
The success of the Sanur project was only the beginning of Haikal’s advocacy for inclusive architecture. He then assisted in establishing an effective incentive scheme for Urbahn Architects’ new joint venture, Urbahn International, expanding Urbahn's expertise to Indonesia.
Since its founding in 1945, Urbahn has designed projects for organizations and institutions that operate in the commercial real estate, public and governmental services, transportation, residential, healthcare, education, justice, science, hospitality, multi-family residential, and infrastructure sectors. The firm served as the architect for some of the US’ most iconic structures, including the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL, at the time of construction the largest building on Earth, and the Fermi National Accelerator Lab in Batavia, IL. The total value of Urbahn’s current domestic and international projects exceeds $1 billion.
Building Design & Construction magazine ranks Urbahn as the 83rd largest architecture and planning firm overall, 36th largest government building designer, 21st largest designer of justice facilities, 48th largest hospitality designer, 99th largest designer of healthcare projects, and 104th largest university architect in the United States. Engineering News-Record New York magazine recognized the firm as the 2019 Design Firm of the Year.
Haikal led the process of establishing Urbahn’s new subsidiary through a detailed feasibility study and fundraisings with a target investment value of IDR 10 billion or the equivalent of USD $650,000. Thanks to his efforts, Urbahn International PT PMA has recently become a licensed company in Indonesia, with Haikal serving as partner and president commissioner, responsible for examining the design quality, sustainability and accessibility components and aesthetic standards of the company’s projects.
Most recently, Haikal's commitment to his home country has been showcased on an even larger scale. Since 2022, Haikal has advocated for inclusive architecture standards in the master design of Nusantara (IKN), Indonesia's new capital. The main commitment is to connect world-class architectural consultants and developers to the Nusantara development process so that the Archipelago has accessibility and sustainability standards equivalent to those in New York City while highlighting Indonesia’s own cultural and aesthetic heritage.
As part of this effort, on November 20, 2023, at the World Trade Center 7 in Manhattan, Haikal organized a meeting that enabled the IKN Authority Agency to pitch the nation’s megaproject to some of the most prominent real estate developers in the world, like Silverstein Properties, the co-owner and operator of the iconic World Trade Center complex. The meeting’s participants discussed the potential for New York-based property developers to become one of the main developers of the new capital in the next five years. Meanwhile, Urbahn would serve on the advisory board for the Nusantara project with the main mission of overseeing and ensuring accessibility and human rights in the Nusantara master plan.
This meeting succeeded in enticing Western developers to become one of the largest investors in the development of IKN. This is no small achievement, considering the prestigious profile of the global developers that often refuse to invest in regions that do not match the company’s values and goals.
