On 10 May 2024 we held the second event of our project LEARNING FROM MANGUNWIJAYA. Eduard Kögel, critic, publisher, content manager, and curator in the field of architecture and urban development, gave a deep insight into Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya’s educational background in Germany.

An Indonesian priest, writer, political activist, and architect, Mangunwijaya studied architecture at RWTH Aachen University in West Germany from 1960 to 1966, after which he returned to Indonesia. In his architectural projects, he sought to translate the universal principles of modernism into an authentic, indigenous expression. He can be seen as a forerunner in collaborative and sustainable architecture that responded specifically to the needs of the local environment.

In 1959, shortly after being ordained as a priest, the Indonesian Catholic Church asked Mangunwijaya to study architecture in order to reform the country’s church architecture, which had been shaped by its colonial past. From 1960 to 1966, he studied at RWTH Aachen University, where distinguished professors such as Gottfried Böhm, Rudolf Steinbach, Erich Kühn, Eleanor von Erdberg, and Willy Weyres taught.

Lecture:
Y. B. Mangunwijaya in Germany
Eduard Kögel, Berlin, Germany

Moderation:
Faiz Hamdi Suprahman, M.A., Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The lecture was part of the workshop programme hosted by the Department of Architecture, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta.