Although at first glance, Kebayoran Baru appeared to reflect Western design aesthetics, it carefully incorporated Indonesian elements. Elements Soesilo explained one by one to Vincent van Romondt, an archaeologist who had worked for the Dutch East Indies Archaeological Service from the early 1930s onwards, when he criticised Kebayoran Baru for being ‘too Western’. Soesilo acknowledged Kebayoran Baru in the 1950s probably didn’t appeal to a majority of Indonesians; however, he remained undeterred in his conviction that if Indonesia were to participate on the world’s international stage, it was important Indonesia recognised the dominance of Western culture on that stage. And that, if Indonesia didn’t want to be left behind, it needed to open up to and embrace this culture while at the same time treasuring Indonesian culture. To Soesilo, Kebayoran Baru did exactly this: it was the perfect synthesis between East and West.
Today, even though it’s now been swallowed up by Jakarta’s expansion, and has, over the years since its initial realisation undergone plenty of spatial and socio-economic changes, Kebayoran Baru’s core has remained largely unchanged. Kebayoran Baru therefore continues to be an important hallmark of early Indonesian town planning.
