Today UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) announced its recognition of batik as a unique hallmark of Indonesian heritage at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held this week in Abu Dhabi. UNESCO’s list describes Indonesian Batik as: The techniques, symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batik permeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and the dead are shrouded in funerary batik.
Related to the issue, I want to mention the Jogja Hypermart building which adopts and implements Batik as Skin Architecture. Description: Located on intersection between Malioboro and Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Hypermart is a medium Scale Shopping center [21000sqm] 4 storey and 2 level of basement, the design undergoes Batik as Skin Architecture. The idea came from Batik Kawung which is another very old design consisting of intersecting circles, known in Java since at least the thirteenth century. For many years, this pattern was reserved for the royal court of the Sultan of Jogjakarta.
As long as the design is earthquake-proof.