Building age profile and figure-ground image: defining the urban development pattern of Balikpapan City

Abstract

As one of Indonesian city that emerged from the industrial sector, Balikpapan grew and was inhabited by transmigrates from various cultures. The development and growth patterns of the Balikpapan urban area was influenced by the culture of the residents, due to the absence of empire influence or colonialism. This research was conducted to identify the oldest area as a starting point of the urban development patterns of Balikpapan. The building-age profile method was used to identify the oldest building groups or blocks, which belong to the city’s heritage zone. In this analysis, a series of figure-ground images in several periods were collected to indicate the building age. Through the process of overlaying solid-void maps, the pattern of space-built interaction was generated as the patterns of urban development. Results shown that urban development, which was determined through overlay technique, was organic pattern, which was formed by several connected irregular shapes. The conservation of the urban pattern indicates the effort to achieve urban identity, as one of the sustainable urban form indicator.