“Many of us have become enslaved by technology,” architect Budi Pradono declared, opening the fifth iteration of Bintaro Design District (BDD), where he serves as a curator. “We live in an era where AI (artificial intelligence) is causing us to think less, dulling our wits. This year’s theme, ‘Analog Reality’, is our call to rethink our approach [as designers] and to reconnect with our senses as our true source of creativity.”
Like previous years, the annual design festival takes over the Bintaro district, where the theme is explored by 55 designers through exhibitions and open studios alongside talk shows and workshops that encourage creatives to “think with their hands,” as Budi put it. Sharing curatorial duties with him are fellow architects Andra Matin and Danny Wicaksono, as well as graphic designer Hermawan Tanzil.
“What’s interesting about this year’s theme is that you get to see more creative perspectives that were previously unexplored at the festival. Like ceramics, for example, which truly highlights the artistry of the handcrafting method. You can see this with architectural models too, where digital advancements still have a lot of catching up to do to match our hands-on approach,” said Andra Matin. “Ultimately, this festival is an appreciation for analogue methodologies and a reminder of how they’ve always been part of our journey as humanity.”
At Kopi Manyar, the award-winning architect collaborated with Engel Tanzil, founder and gallerist of Dia.Lo.Gue for the Bandung & Schoemakers exhibition, celebrating the legacy of Dutch architects and brothers Wolff and Richard Schoemaker. Known for their colonial-era designs that continue to shape Bandung’s architectural identity, the brothers produced approximately 57 buildings between the 1910s and 1930s, overcoming the technological limitations of their time. The exhibition invites visitors to explore architectural models of their most celebrated designs, including landmarks such as the Bosscha Observatory and Villa Isola—an art-deco masterpiece regarded as their magnum opus.
“It really highlights the creative tenacity of the pre-digital era,” Hermawan remarked. “However, we’re not trying to discourage the use of digital technology; instead, we aim to reevaluate our reliance on it. In graphic design, countless processes that once required specialised knowledge, such as typesetting, have been simplified or even eliminated by technological advancements. The real question is, how do we, as designers, respond to this evolution?”
Across the festival, many answer the prompt by showcasing the handcrafting processes behind their products. Scent brand GoodVibes invites visitors to their studio at Alkahf Co-Working & Incubation Center, where they get to explore local herbs and spices with aromatic potential—such as cloves and red chilli peppers—and use them to mix up their own scent oil using traditional hand tools.
At the open-aired BDD Center, multidisciplinary designer Domestic Mass (Owen Pradipta Golim) presents futuristic-looking metal stools and tables crafted from commonly available, ready-made parts—showing that new design perspectives can still be achieved with simple tools.
Devan Fagan Arganta—last year’s youngest participant at just 11 years old—returns with another design that addresses today’s environmental crisis. Together with his 8-year-old brother, Berry, he created Octosquid & Moonjelly Linkage, a manually powered machine designed to collect trash from bodies of water, which visitors can find at The Mawi’s garage space. Outside at the spacious back garden, homegrown sandwich business Lunch for My Husband collaborates with FORMAT to highlight the human touch of analogue methods through Dapur Hidup, a pop-up sandwich shop and interactive installation that invites visitors to connect over food and toys like frisbees and softball.
“During our discussions, we realised that for thousands of years, humanity’s progress has been driven by analogue tools,” Danny shared. “From the ancient Romans, who moved water uphill with hand-powered wheels, to indigenous tribes in Indonesia, who earthquake-proof their homes with wooden stilt foundations set on broad stone slabs. With AI now entering design conversations, it felt timely to remind ourselves that the reality we live in is not digital—it’s analogue.”
Bintaro Design District 2024 ‘Analog Reality’ will run until 9 November 2024. For more details and booking information, find the Bintaro Design District (BDD) app on Google Play and App Store.
