Living With Friedrich Silaban In Istiqlal Design To Monas

Soekarno and Friedrich (Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Friedrich Silaban was born on December 16, 1912 in Bonandolok, Tapanuli, North Sumatra. He is a legendary Indonesian architect whose architectural works can still be seen today.

He took his basic education at Holland Inlandshe School (HIS) in 1927, then he continued to the Koninginlijke Wilhelmina School of Engineering in Jakarta and graduated in 1931.His interest and outstanding talent in the field of architecture have been seen since he was young, so he also had time to work in an architectural company. belong to the Netherlands.

Friedrich Silaban got the opportunity to deepen his knowledge of architecture when he and his family were on vacation in the Netherlands for seven months. The vacation period he used for night lectures at the Academic Voor Bouwkunst Amsterdam.

His talent was tested through various architectural competitions he won, one of which was the Istiqlal Mosque architectural competition which was held from February 22, 1955 to May 30, 1955. President Sukarno immediately became the jury of this competition.

So, after Friedrich Silaban's assessment was done, he emerged as the holder. The architectural style of the Istiqlal Mosque is carried out with the concept of Modern Islamic architecture, namely the combination of the Middle East and the West. Friedrich Silaban also placed symbols on the seven gates of the mosque which were named after Asmaul Husna.

Istiqlal Mosque (Commons Wikimedia)

In the main building of the mosque is placed a dome with a diameter of 45 meters, the number 45 symbolizes the year of Indonesia's 1945 independence. Meanwhile, the dome is supported by 12 poles, which symbolize 12 Rabiul Awwal, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

The four levels of the balcony and one main floor symbolize the number 5 which is interpreted as the Five Pillars of Islam as well as the Five Precepts in Pancasila. Unlike mosques in architecture in Saudi Arabia, Persia and Turkey which usually have many minarets, the Istiqlal Mosque only has one minaret which symbolizes the Oneness of Allah SWT.

Furthermore, along with President Soekarno's desire to build a monument as a symbol of Nationalism, the government held another contest to design the monument, after going through the assessment process, the winner of the competition was won by Friedrich Silaban and Ir. Soedarsono.

They both designed the National Monument (Monas) with three parts, namely the Flame Tongue at the top, which symbolizes the never-ending struggle of the Indonesian people. The flames are made of bronze weighing 14.5 tons and coated with gold weighing 45 Kilo Gram.

National Monument (Commons Wikimedia)

The second part is Pelataran Puncak, an area of 11x11 meters and has a capacity to accommodate as many as 50 people, where visitors can see views of the city of Jakarta. While the third part is the lower court, with an area of 45x45 meters.

The construction of Monas began in 1961, at that time the Monas development project was the largest project of the Sukarno government, with a development fund of Rp. 7 billion. After it was completed, Monas officially opened in 1975.

Not only the Istiqlal Mosque and Monas built by Silaban, he also designed the Bank Indonesia building, the Equator Monument, Gelora Bung Karno, the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery Gate, the Bogor Mayor's Office House, the West Irian Liberation Monument, the Bogor Fisheries Service House and the Jakarta Air Force headquarters. .

Friedrich Silaban, Silaban, one of Soekarno's favorite architects, breathed his last on May 14, 1984. To commemorate his services, Jalan Gedong Sawah in Bogor City was changed to Jalan F. Silaban.