Crossing the Threshold: Jakarta Architecture Festival 2026 Opens at M Bloc Space
Crossing the Threshold: Jakarta Architecture Festival 2026 Opens at M Bloc Space
Okt 23, 2026
m bloc space
Jakarta Architecture Festival(JAF) 2026 is now underway at M Bloc Space in Blok M, running from 23 October to 1 November 2026. Held under the theme“Ambang Ruang”(Threshold of Space), this year’s edition invites visitors to see boundaries not as dividers, but as meeting points between ideas, professions, communities, and the future of Jakarta.
This year, JAF joins forces with M Bloc Design Week(MBDW), whose theme,“Daur Rupa,” explores sustainable design and the second life of materials. Together, the two events turn Blok M into a ten-day crossroads for architecture, design, and urban culture.
A Festive Opening
The exhibition officially opened on 23 October at 4:00 PM. The ceremony began with a vibrant Betawi traditional dance, performed in richly colored costumes at the entrance of M Bloc Space, drawing a crowd of onlookers and photographers. The opening also featured a recycled-material fashion show from MBDW, where garments made from snack wrappers, cutlery, and plastic bottles showed how waste can become wearable design.
The atmosphere was lively and warm. Architects, designers, academics, students, community members, and industry stakeholders gathered to mark the festival’s start, including many of the professionals who shape Jakarta’s built environment, alongside the public agencies and design practices exhibiting this year.
Exhibitions and Programs
AF 2026 presents ten exhibition categories, including curated works by IAI Jakarta members, IAI Jakarta Awards 2026 nominees, TITIK 2026 competition winners, Green Hub TJ 2026 finalists, installations by young architects, and showcases from Jakarta government agencies, architecture firms, university students, sketchers, and urban photographers. Scale models and display panels line the open-air walkways of M Bloc Space, inviting visitors to explore between cafés and shops.
Ambang Kelindan Talk’s
Beyond the displays, a packed program runs through 1 November: a free Architecture Clinic from 11:00 to 19:00, offering advice on healthy homes with Lembaga Bantuan Arsitek and on building approvals with Jakarta’s spatial planning agency; talks and dialogues such as Ethitalks; an AI workshop and hackathon; presentations by young architects; a heritage sketchwalk; the“Ayo Ke Taman” walking tour; and a padel tournament.
Cowema Studio Takes Part
Among the participants, Cowema Studio presents a scale model of The Pasisi 08 in the Curated Works of IAI Jakarta Members category. Designed by Ar. Welly Kusumo, IAI, the compact villa in Canggu, Bali, reinterprets the traditional rice barn in contemporary architectural language, responding to tropical conditions through a pitched roof, cross ventilation, and shutters that manage rain, heat, and privacy. Local identity is reinforced through the Tri Angga principle, woven shutter details crafted by local artisans, and natural materials such as paras stone, timber, bamboo, and rattan. These choices create a spatial experience rich in texture and close to nature.
Admission is free, and the festival continues until 1 November. Visitors can follow @jakartaarchitecturefestival for the latest schedule. Come cross the threshold and join the conversation on Jakarta’s future.
