Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, is sinking due to the rise of the sea level, climate change, and depletion of groundwater. The government announced to move the capital from Java to a new city called Nusantara in Borneo. The groundbreaking occurred in 2022, with the operation to begin in 2025.
The Christian Missionary Alliance church of Indonesia acquired a piece of land in the new capital to build a church that also functions as a community center. To do this in a compact site, they plan the building to be a three-story building with the congregation area on the first floor, the pastoral house on the second, and a gathering place on the roof.
The design of the proposed church building takes inspiration from the local communal house called rumah panjang, or long house in English. With the limited site, the long bar of the long house will need to be cut up, stacked up, and reinterpreted.
A simple steel structure, common in the area, is used as the primary structure with cement plastered and brick walls as the infill. Stairs are added on the east side next to the main car park, one to serve the public portion of the building (congregation, outdoor Sunday school, and the rooftop community space) and the other for the private pastoral house.
Since the church is also acting as a community center, it needs to be less recognizable as a typology to allow others of different faiths to feel welcomed.
