Craftsmanship: Material Consciousness

Indonesia is the outcome of a long history of craftsmanship.

Craftsmanship is not merely a matter of practicality and technicality; it is also a value, an ethos, and a commitment. It has been practiced and internalized in our diverse traditions as a driving factor to achieve excellence.

As a craftsman, an architect is not an autonomous subject. To produce and deliver their works, they have to collaborate with practitioners of other disciplines. They also have to deal with and respond to the abundance as well as the deficiency of the existing natural resources. In other words, they dwell in material consciousness, without which they would lose what is fundamental in their profession: the intimacy of the work processes. The Indonesia Pavilion, Craftsmanship: Material Consciousness is a glimpse of 100 years history of discourse and practices of architecture in Indonesia, a journey that cuts across social, political, and cultural boundaries through the lens focused on craftsmanship.