Video: Indonesian architect sees education’s role in helping planet

Video courtesy of Xinhua News Agency. It was originally published in their Global Connection column.

Indonesian architect Mia Tedjosaputro, an assistant professor in the Design School at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, studies use of bamboo in products and architecture. She says bamboo’s environmentally sustainable qualities sparked this research and teaching interest.

In addition, both China, where she has lived for nearly 10 years, and Indonesia have rich bamboo resources, culture and industry, she notes.
Her current research focus is to pursue more in bamboo – particularly how to turn bamboo and waste into construction materials.

“I would like to see that grow and I definitely would like to see a result coming out of that,” she says.

Tedjosaputro sees an important role for architecture education in today’s world.

“As architects, we are the change makers. If we can educate our young generation of architects to actually start to think about this climate emergency, we can do something that is beneficial for the planet,” she says.

Indonesia can learn from how China supports forestry, including how bamboo is harvested, and its supply chain, she says.

“China provides big support to the transformation of bamboo, not just design but also the bamboo industry.”

China is a large investor in Indonesia and, Tedjosaputro says, she has noticed Indonesian companies wanting to start businesses in China.

“If we can put the people and the planet as a priority within this cooperation, it is something that could benefit everybody.”

Edited by Yi Qian and Tamara Kaup