Gudang Garam's Urban Sanctuary

2/6/2017

As one of the largest companies in Indonesia, PT Gudang Garam Tbk has always come up with remarkable feats since its conception in 1958 in Kediri, East Java. One of these achievements is the creation of a hotel/exclusive apartment named Gudang Garam Residence (GG Residence) which is located right behind the Gudang Garam office building in Jalan Jenderal A. Yani, East Jakarta.

Photo by Bagus Tri Laksono

As the headquarters of the company, Gudang Garam Jakarta frequently invites its staff to attend internal and external meetings in the city. On average, around 40 to 60 employees come to Jakarta each month and most of them need proper accommodation that is not too far away from the office. With this in mind, the Gudang Garam Company decided to construct GG Residence to be used internally by its staff members.

GG Residence is designed by Anggara Architeam, a renowned architecture consultant, together with illustrated names in the field of interior design, lighting, landscaping, as well as civil and structural consultants. “The client’s brief to design an exclusive living quarter behind the company’s office block was in fact more difficult than we had imagined,” says Budi Sumaatmadja, the principal architect and founder of Anggara Architeam, which he started 22 years ago. The client wanted a modern, homey and environmentally friendly theme for the residence, which posed a challenge for the designers because they needed to integrate the private and exclusive function of a living quarter with the public and commercial side of an office block.

Some technical problems that arose from this situation included the accessibility, operational and utility matters, all of which had to be designed in an effective and efficient way. In addition, the comfort level of GG Residence as exclusive living quarters should also be considered. What’s more, the site orientation towards the west meant that the incoming afternoon sunrays should also be carefully considered. And on top of that, Anggara Architeam had to ensure that the building stand harmoniously integrated with the office tower nearby.

In terms of its layout, GG Residence is a building that does not look like a typical residential structure. From the facade, the building appears unique and attractive. Several factors had been taken into consideration by Anggara Architeam to present a thoroughly strategic building. A successful solution to the early problems could be seen in the clear vertical zoning (between the building’s residential and non-residential functions) and the horizontal zoning (between the private nature of the residential and the public function of the office).

Entering GG Residence from the office area, visitors will immediately feel the buffer space thanks to the clear boundaries between rooms and landscapes. Accessibility for guests from outside the building and building tenants is also strictly separated throughout this 7-storey building. The drop-off area is designated for guests belonging to the semi-public category, while tenants are given a separate access from the office building to the lobby through the parking area on the first and second floors.

The building is equipped with a large main lobby on the bottom floor, which is actually located one level below the ground floor, which is built on the same elevation as the office tower. The lobby is elongated in design with a reception area in the middle, flanked with a lounge area, which comes complete with a pantry, on one side and a dining area on the other. Above, there is another semi-public area in the form of a recreation room which is placed adjacent to two spacious spa treatment rooms (separate for men and women) and a very large gym area. These facilities are quite wide-ranging and comprehensive for a cloistered residence.

On the next levels are the living areas, which are split into 5 types: 16 units of studio rooms, the smallest in size, 2 units of 1-bedroom living quarters measuring 80.6 sqm, 2 units of 2-bedroom accommodation measuring 131.2 sqm, 2 units of 206 sqm, 3-bedroom residence, and four 3-bedroom units with a dimension of 288.8 sqm placed in each corner of the building with a duplex system. On the third floor is a garden roof which, in addition to functioning as a green area, also serves as an imaginary border between the semi-public area and amenities with the living spaces.

From the point of view of the orientation and zoning of the living spaces, the exclusive type (suites) are specifically built in the north and south sides in order to prevent the afternoon rays of the sun from entering the units. Other units that face west are equipped with sun-shading components that are shrewdly placed to add to the attractive ambience of the residence.

With its distinctive facade, GG Residence makes use of materials that are not difficult to maintain, such as aluminium composite panels, glass, fibre glass, reinforced cement, as well as several natural stone accents that are lined with silicone coating to cover the pores. The building’s expression is also modularly segregated with several variations of volume that are randomly arranged. “This is done to create a harmonious transition between the tall and massive office tower with the low-rise residential area in its vicinity,” says Budi.

Project Name

GG Residence

Location

Jl. Jend. A Yani No. 75-79

Jakarta 10510

Site Area

5,128 sqm

Gross Floor Area

11,489 sqm

Client/Owner

PT Gudang Garam Tbk.

Rooms

Studio Room: 42.5 sqm (16 units), 1-Bedroom: 80.6 sqm (2 units), 2-Bedroom: 131.2 sqm (2 units), 3-Bedroom: 206 sqm (2 units), 4-Bedroom: 288.8 sqm (4 units)

Total Floors

7

Architecture Consultant

PT Anggara Architeam

Interior Design Consultant

Griyadi

Lighting Designer

MAW Design

Landscape Designer

PT Sheils Flynn Asia

Mechanical & Electrical Consultant

PT Hantaran Prima Mandiri

Civil & Structural Consultant

PT Davisukamta & Partners

Contractor

PT Harjaguna Kurniamitra

Started

June 2013

Completed

June 2015

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Anton Adianto
Author
Anton Adianto graduated from Parahyangan Catholic University majoring in architecture. His passion for writing, watching movies, listening to music, uncovering design, exploring the culinary world, traveling, delving into the philosophy of life, meeting people and disclosing all matters related to technology feeds his curiosity. Currently he resides in both Jakarta and Bandung.