CUBIC CoverDec08.indd - Colliers

LUXURY LIVING
Site plan of Plaza Indonesia Complex
THE ESSENCE OF NOTHING
A strange irony presents itself when one walks into any of the 68
“completed” Keraton penthouses, located on Jalan M.H. Thamrin – the
most expensive real estate in Central Jakarta. Inside each Grand Palace
penthouse, with its USD4,000 per sq m price tag, is 500 sq m of bare
screed under a 4-metre-high ceiling and nothing else. No bedrooms. No
toilets. No kitchen.
“Buyers are limited only by their own imagination,” said Muskita.
According to Ferry Salanto, Research Manager at Colliers International,
it took a more personal approach to sell The Keraton. Former buyers were
invited back. Prospective occupants were whispered-in. And all were
screened by the shareholders of PIR. “It’s like head-hunting,” Muskita
explained. “They have to be in the business community, move in the same
circles and value their privacy,” she said as the subset shrank. “They are
the rich-rich ... They are the members of high-high society.”
The Keraton’s concept was presented to dinner guests. They were
shown the panoramic view of the Jakarta skyline from every penthouse in
the 48-storey building. No advertisements were placed. No showrooms
were put up. They would be “misleading”, Muskita deadpanned.
“Such developments are usually targeted at a specific group of affluent
people,” noted Ivan Hoh, Executive Director of PropNex International.
“I believe PIR was less concerned with what unit mix to build than how
unique and creative they could be. They wanted to create something that
is ‘the talk of the town’.”It was certainly that. As of October, 70 per cent
of the units at The Keraton have been sold. Pretty impressive for nothing.
Calling Keraton buyers “discerning”, Victor Lee, lecturer at the department
of Architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said that it will
take a unique mindset to see potential in these “non-cellularised” residences.
The Keraton buyers are not the type to simply put up walls to divide the
“shell” into as many rooms as possible, he said. “They appreciate how the
immediate home environment is a reflection of a lifestyle, how open-plan
spaces and other means of defining ‘rooms’ could work.”
By forgoing tastes and penchants, buyers are limited by their own
imagination. One bedroom? Four? Hang up a Jackson Pollock? It’s
completely up to them. Though they bear the additional costs of fitting out
their shells, it’s not uppermost on their minds.
“Most of them are quite excited because it will be the first time they
can design their own homes,” said Muskita. “They have the freedom to do
anything they want.”
“Most people who buy expensive property tear out previous owners’
preferences anyway,” said Mark Knowles, Executive Blogger for online portal
Luxury Property. “The affluent tend to have specific ideas. They will not
settle for anything less – or different.”
“Our goals,” said Laurence, “were to ensure that each apartment has
infinite possibilities in terms of layout, is self-contained in terms of services
… and has access to the highest quality of service.” For noise-insulation,
there are sandwich floors. For privacy, zoned elevators. For commuting
Jakarta’s gridlock, an adjacent helipad. At the pool deck on the 6th floor,
Keraton residents will also have private access to Grand Hyatt Jakarta.
SERVICE STANDARDS
PIR, which also undertook the development of the five-star hotel, reached an
agreement with its former charge to manage The Keraton’s 68 penthouses and
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January 2009 |