Gedung Singa, Showcase of Indonesian Cultural Fusion by European Architects.

Penelehhistory.com: Surabaya (25/10/24) – A husband and wife from the Netherlands, Max Meijer and Petra Timmer, shared their views on the Algemeene Lion Building (Gedung Singa) at Lodji Besar Peneleh Surabaya on Thursday evening (24/10/24). This event was organized by Begandring Soerabaia, who has regularly held discussion events related to the history of Surabaya.

Petra Timmer and Max Meijer are a professional research couple in the field of heritage. They manage a heritage consulting agency, called TiMe Amsterdam. So far, TiMe Amsterdam has collaborated with Begandring Soerabaia in a joint effort to revitalize the Peneleh European Cemetery in a program called Peneleh as a Living Library 2024.

Petra Timmer in the discussion that evening (24/10/24) shared her views on the Lion Building “New Perspective on Berlage,’s”. Petra Timmer has been conducting research for the last few years about the Lion Building, which was a monumental building in the early 19th century. The building is very striking and different from most buildings of that time, not only in Surabaya but also in throughout Indonesia (the Dutch East Indies).

Petra shares her new perspective about Gedung Singa. Foto: mat

In sharing this view, Petra divided her presentation into 3 parts. First, regarding design and style. Second, about the history of building construction and third, about the audience’s opinion regarding the presentation that Petra had presented as part of her research on the Lion Building.

“I am not giving a lecture but sharing about my ongoing research on Gedung Singa,” said Petra when starting her presentation.

What Petra presented in the first part of her presentation were the decorations or ornaments at the top of the facade including the dormers on the roof of the building and the architecture of the building in general.

“This part is the one that I didn’t see before. “I found it just two months ago and it surprised me,” explained Petra about the style in finishing the top of the building (crown).

Petra Timmer, a Dutch Researcher, working on the Gedung Singa. Foto: bs


What Petra found was that at the top of the building (crown), like on the dormer frames and plinths, there were decorative decorations like most traditional houses in Tanah Toraja. Apart from the decoration with colorful paint, the shape of the frame is also like the Javanese architectural model. There is a mix of local Indonesian geniuses.

“I don’t know yet why Berlage’s choose this particular form but I do know he always did this on purpose, deliberately. I can imagine he discussed this with Dutch ethnography experts who could inform him about traditional Indonesian architecture. Who that could have been is something I still have to find out. Or maybe there were publications on this subject that Berlage could have seen. So there are still some questions I need to solve before publishing my new perspectives”, Petra explains.


The Lion Building itself is also the result of a combination of architects and two artists. The architect is Berlage. Meanwhile the artists are Mendes Da Costa and Jan Toorop.

In her presentation, Petra invited the audience to pay attention to the physical building which was the result of the collaboration of three experts. The building design was made by Berlage. A pair of lion statues created by sculptor Mendes Da Costa. The ceramic mosaic decoration was created by Jaan Toorop.

According to Petra, there is something interesting and that is one of the focuses of her research. Namely on the exterior of the building where there is a Lion Statue arrangement at the bottom (foot of the building) by Mendes Da Costa, a foreign artist. Then the body of the building is decorated with painted ceramic mosaics by artists of mixed Javanese and Dutch descent. Then the crown of the building (top) is a local pattern, which has a mixed Toraja and Javanese symbol.

The concept of the facade’s exterior layout from foot to crown at a glance illustrates the symbolic message of the Three Terrace, which is generally a Javanese Hindu philosophy. This concept of three steps is commonly found in the spatial layout of the enshrinement site on Mount Penanggungan, the burial complex of the saints and the spatial layout that is still applied in Balinese tradition.

The concept of three terraces is like the Meru Three Steps form, which is found on the roof of the Ampel and Demak Mosques. The concept of the Three Steps is nJaba (Outside), Tengah (middle) and nJero (inside). The nJero or top part is an important part because it is considered the shrine where the ancestors reside.

Apart from that, this building is physically symmetrical, which depicts balance. Balance in architecture is the main principle in composition, which means that the visual attention of the two parts on two sides of the center of balance is the same.

Meanwhile, the meaning of the philosophy of balance for building occupants is the importance of maintaining balance in various aspects of life, such as personal life, work, and relationships between humans and the relationship between humans and God, in order to achieve a healthy, harmonious and happy life.

This building was built in 1901. Meanwhile Berlage himself was not in Surabaya at the time of the building’s construction. Berlage only came to the Dutch East Indies and Surabaya in 1923. However, reports on construction progress including photos of buildings were sent to the Netherlands periodically and regularly so that Berlage could monitor building construction activities.

Max Meijer, a museologist, suggested using buildings that are generally considered colonial buildings.

“They are colonial buildings but that is in the past. Now they belong to you, the locals and Indonesians, then make use of them for economic, educational and research purposes. Remember, the workers were local and the building materials were from local sources,” explained Max, who also added his perspective on the Lion Building.

At the end of Petra’s presentation, she opened a question and comment session as feedback on ongoing research. Petra and the Berlage di Nusantara (BdN) Team have been producing a book, entitled Berlage in the Nusantara, to commemorate 100 years of Berlage’s presence in the Archipelago. This book was launched in the city of Amsterdam in June 2024 and in October in Jakarta 2024. This book was written jointly by a joint team from the Netherlands and Indonesia.

“And that I really hope to collaborate with Indonesian heritage experts and enthusiasts. Because it is not only about Berlage but about Surabaya people and history as well. This collective research is what I hope that is possible in the near future”, said Petra at the end of the discussion. (nng)

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