In the recent case of Jakarta’s condition prone to sinking due to climate change and rising sea levels, the official government decides to move its central government to East Kalimantan. The building of the new capital might have significant environmental and social impacts on Borneo. In response, the project proposes a new building typology for the new capital that aims to minimize the negative ecological impact of the development. I am proposing a “hovering” compact urban fabric, with a minimal building footprint to allow for the ecosystem of Kalimantan to remain intact as much as possible. Referring to Lazar Khidekel proposals of aero city, elevating city is one way to break the correlation between construction of the cities and destruction of nature.

The urban block designed to be compact to limit the impact on ecosystem. Strategic landscaping on the urban hubs creates opportunity to weave the symbiosis between human and nature. The capital city fabric is designed for accessibility as more people populate urban hubs. Residents projected to have healthier lifestyle with streamlined access to nature and walkability of the neighborhood. The urban developments are designed to promote food production and renewable energy offset through the architectural features. With a bold architectural proposal to the site, the urban hubs are visioned to be “hovering” city above the tropical forest of Kalimantan. The building slabs is elevated 30-50m from ground level, supported by compact building core and slender stilts branching out following the context terrain. The structural support geometry is optimized to be suited to the context condition, achieving an even structural load distribution of the elevated building slabs. As such, my vision for the new capital aims to redefine sustainable urban architecture for Indonesia and beyond.