Diah Asih Purwaningrum (Roro)

I’m currently teaching at the Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia) while completing my PhD at the University of Melbourne. I am interested in the discourse of architectural identity, architecture and politics, and informal urbanism. I am also interested in how these issues are translated into architectural design, including any design approach and method that might follow. My research looks at the contestation of Nusantaran Architecture, a conception that is officially selected to represent Indonesia’s architectural identity. It becomes an official state narrative that highlights the nation’s unique and ‘pristine’ culture while distancing itself from the Western’s universalism. The research aims to deconstruct the canonical conceptions of Nusantaran Architecture within its continuous social and political challenges and further offers a constructive rereading from the perspective of critical studies of architecture in the 21st century postcolonial context.

Recent Publications

1. Purwaningrum, D. A., & Savirani, A. (2020). Architecture for living: Do we design architecture for humans? Paper presented at the Arte-Polis 8, Bandung, Indonesia.
2. Purwaningrum, D. A. (2019). Perplexing Discourse of Indonesian Architectural Identity: An Understanding of Contemporary Nusantaran Architecture. International Journal of Architecture and Urban Studies, 4(2), 5-17.
3. Purwaningrum, D. A. (2019). Long Road to Identity: Critical Study of Contemporary Nusantaran Architecture. Journal of Comparative Cultural Studies in Architecture, 12, 12-20.