Modern Indisch town planning

Attracted by the growing career opportunities emerging in the Dutch East Indies around the turn of the twentieth century, an increasing number of young, ambitious and well-trained professionals from the Netherlands set sail to the Dutch colony. Amongst them was a growing community of architects. Inspired by a new sense of social responsibility, and in tune with the aesthetic and perspectives of the new cultural and social movements then sweeping Europe, they came inspired to introduce the latest modern ideas and approaches to the practice of architecture and urban reform. Thomas Karsten was one of this band of pioneers. A strong personality, with an incessant energy and firm ideas about the future directions his profession should take, Karsten soon became one of the leading voices in the development of modern town planning in the Dutch East Indies.