Jakarta Philatelic Building to Be Transformed into A Modern Hangout

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Developers in Jakarta continued to give colonial era buildings in the capital a new lease on life by reinventing their purpose for future generations.

The Jakarta Philatelic Building in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta is the latest edifice to go down this path, joining other heritage buildings such as the Kunstkring Paleis or the Bank Mandiri Museum in the Old Town.

Once known as the Pasar Baru Post Office Building, or to be exact, the Post Telefon en Telegraf building, the Jakarta Philatelic Building was the brainchild of Dutch architect JF van Hoytema.

Van Hoytema located the Art Deco Building near Pasar Baru, near other colonial buildings such as the Neo-Gothic Jakarta Cathedral, the Antara Building, and the Jakarta Arts Building or GKJ.

Now known as Central Jakarta, the area was known as Weltevreden, the center of colonial Batavia since the era of 19th Dutch East Indies Governor-General Herman Daendels. 

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Once known as the former Pasar Baru Post Office Building, the Jakarta Philatelic Building will  reinvent itself as Pos Bloc, a hip, contemporary hangout and commercial that evokes its past.

The M Bloc Space creative event space and live music venue collective is behind the Jakarta Philatelic Building's transformation into the Pos Bloc.

dok. Alsabrina | https://nova.grid.id/ Screenshot of the Jakarta Philatelic Building or the former Pasar Baru Post Office Building which will be converted into Pos Bloc shown through a virtual press conference.

"We are cooperating with PT Pos Properti Indonesia to make [Pos Bloc] as a place to empower the public through creativity,” said Handoko Hendroyono, one of the founders of M Bloc Space to Kompas.com.

"[The reinvention of Pos Bloc] is a part of M Bloc Space's efforts to create a hub to market and showcase the products of MSME [Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises or Small and Medium Enterprises]," he continued.

Headquartered in a disused 6,500 square-meter former headquarters for Peruri or The Indonesian Mint [printers of Indonesian bank notes] in South Jakarta, M Bloc Space shrewdly used the space to convey its message. Now the company sought to do the same with Pos Bloc.

M Bloc Space announced that it will demolish the Jakarta Philatelic Building’s old spaces to make way for restaurants, retail and public spaces. The latter includes spaces for entertainment, cultural exhibitions and footpaths.

Also read: Glimpses of Colonial Jakarta in Petamburan Cemetery

Handoko noted that the tenants "are movers in the creative industry, among them film and music. As for the businesses, they are in the form of shops or pop up stores.

"We are currently finding prospective tenant. It is important that they share our vision, so as to keep [the Jakarta Philately Building's] spiriti alive," Handoko said.

dok. Instagram @mblocspace The interior of the Jakarta Philatelic Building or the former Pasar Baru Post Office Building which will be converted into a Bloc Post.