At the end of October, our team had the pleasure of hosting Dr. David Duindam from the University of Amsterdam for a fascinating seminar titled “The Ruins of Radio Malabar: Infrastructure as Colonial Heritage in Indonesia”. The presentation drew from the ongoing research project “Concrete Colonialism: Architecture and Heritage in Indonesia around Independence,” which David conducts together with Dr. Rixt Woudstra and Anita Halim Lim, M.A.
David presented his findings and thoughts on the circulation, use, and afterlives of concrete in the former Dutch East Indies and postcolonial Indonesia. His project explores how this seemingly modern, durable material became entangled with histories of colonial governance, technological ambition, and nation-building. Focusing on two early radio stations, one in Kootwijk (the Netherlands) and one in Malabar (Indonesia), he traces how concrete connects infrastructures, landscapes, and political imaginaries across continents. The presentation highlighted how radio technology, landscape engineering, and colonial aesthetics intersected, turning “infrastructure” into both a material and symbolic bridge between Europe and Southeast Asia.
In an engaging discussion, team members reflected on themes of migratory heritage, the durability and decay of concrete, and the ways colonial legacies persist in postcolonial space. Questions of ethnographic method, environmental impact, and the emotional meanings of material heritage enriched the exchange.
We thank David for sharing his thought-provoking research and for inspiring our team to think critically about how materials themselves, such as concrete, carry histories of empire, memory, and transformation.