Virtual Pavilion of Indonesia
at Somerset House, London Design Biennale 2021

The pavilion seeks to explore the challenges faced by the indigenous community regarding their modern domestic space. Public housing design is an agency of power, and architecture has the power to persuade inhabitants and manifest a particular ideology. However, there is often a discrepancy between the designed space and how it is perceived by inhabitants, particularly in disinvested communities and spaces in urban areas. The universal design of public housing often disregards the communal culture and the psychological needs of the inhabitants. In contrast, there are informal designs formed by collective spatial patterns across Indonesia, which reflect the global housing crisis and the challenges faced by indigenous communities. The pavilion aims to promote inclusivity and social equality by portraying home as a transient space, exploring the fluidity of space and blurring the boundaries between real and imagined spaces through the use of illusory interiors and virtual reality. The installation also provides seven narratives through audio and video to educate the audience on the challenges faced by inhabitants of modern buildings.