Grha Sabha Pramana as A Public Space

Grha Sabha Pramana is the name of Universitas Gadjah Mada's Auditorium. This building is very iconic to the University because it is of Javanese traditional architecture and located in the middle of the campus. The Auditorium, because of its spacious size, is often used to organize wedding parties, seminars, workshops, exhibitions, graduation and even concerts. Beside it's main hall, it has extra rooms but smaller in size for smaller meeting events. The building also has a sort of large corridors on its sides and student communities make them their places of expression: traditional and modern dancing, meeting, or just hanging out with friends. In front of it, there is a very large grass yard and an open 'amphitheater' on one of it's sides. Many students, not only those of the university's, often hang out there with friends just to chat, to take photos, etc. There are many 'sawo kecik' and the other kinds of trees planted surrounding the Auditorium and the yard complex. In the the late afternoon, this place is getting more crowded with people going jogging and doing other kinds of sports: American football, badminton, or simply skipping. The streets surrounding the Auditorium make a jogging track. Not only students of the university who go jogging and do some other kinds of sport, but also those of other universities, or even people coming from around the campus area. No wonder that this place is more like a public space than just a university auditorium. It might be a reflection of Jogjanese's lack of public space. Truly it's a homework for the government to make a place of that sort. Hopefully someday! Amin.