UMN Architecture Exhibition “Cities in Sketches”, Exploring the Colonial Traces of Old Jakarta Architecture

Group photo of the UMN team with the Head of the South Tangerang Tourism Office. (Doc. UMN)

Tangerang, (01/28/2026) – The UMN Architecture Study Program held an exhibition titled “City in Sketches” (Kota Dalam Sketsa), focusing on colonial architecture in Old Jakarta. The exhibition was held at the City Gallery in Tangerang from January 26 to February 5, 2026. The exhibition was open to the public and served as evidence of how history can continue to evolve in student work.

The “City in Sketches” exhibition was a visualization of the lecture activities of UMN architecture students in collaboration with Pradita University. The learning in this class focuses on Western architectural history and traces the intersecting architectural styles. This exhibition is not merely a college assignment but also a platform for students to continue honing their skills.

“We, the city government, welcome the ‘Kota Dalam Sketsa’ exhibition, which we hope will accommodate students with their work. In addition, this activity also has a positive impact on junior high school and high school students, allowing them to explore their interests,” Mohamad Ervin Ardani, Head of the South Tangerang Tourism Office, said.

Ervin feels that this activity is an extraordinary example of how to continue developing the history of architecture in Indonesia. He hopes that this exhibition can continue and also feature various themes from Indonesia.

Dr. Freta Oktarina, S.Sn., M.Ars., coordinator of the Global Design Studies class and architecture lecturer at UMN, explained how architectural works are born from the learning process, resulting in attractive and educational works.

“Students go directly to the field to observe buildings, draw them directly, and analyze them based on literature studies. This exhibition serves as a means of “storytelling,” which is one method of educating the public to better understand the historical traces of the city, build awareness of the surrounding environment, and foster a spirit of caring for the city,” she explained.

This topic stems from one of the main topics in the lecture, which discusses the classical architecture era in depth. The selection of the Old Town area of Jakarta also stems from concrete traces of that era that can be analyzed directly in Indonesia.

“This activity has the potential to explore the learning process because students not only learn theoretically from books but also examine objects directly. Besides Jakarta, there are also other historical cities such as Bandung, Semarang, Malang, and others,” Freta added.

Freta also added that through this architectural work, students not only hone their historical learning. More than that, through this process, students can hone their sensitivity to the environment and their ability in see the many aspects that bring a city to life. Freta herself emphasized that this learning is essential to hone the ability to observe three-dimensional objects in two dimensions.

“I hope that this activity proves that lectures do not only take place within the campus, but also have a real impact on society. I want to encourage students to grow into humanistic and environmentally sensitive individuals. Through this activity, students are expected to realize that they grow from society, and what they learn in college must ultimately be returned for the benefit of society,” Freta said.

By Rachel Tiffany | UMN News Service

English translation by Levina Chrestella Theodora

Kuliah di Jakarta untuk jurusan program studi Informatika| Sistem Informasi | Teknik Komputer | Teknik Elektro | Teknik Fisika | Akuntansi | Manajemen| Komunikasi Strategis | Jurnalistik | Desain Komunikasi Visual | Film dan Animasi | Arsitektur | D3 Perhotelan , di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara.