In Architecture from the Indonesian Past, Obbe H. Norbruis tells the
story of a celebrated Dutch architecture firm, its unique buildings, and
their designers. Fermont-Cuypers designed many buildings significant in
Indonesia's history beginning in 1927 when an uprising broke out against
the Dutch in the colony. In the early 1930s, the firm drew up plans for
many schools, churches, villas, and offices. At the end of the 1930s the
firm began to design hospitals, head offices, hotels, and even a
passenger terminal in Tanjung Priok. The expected tourism boom never
materialized due to the German invasion of the Netherlands, and World
War II soon had an impact on the region. After Indonesian independence,
Fermont-Cuypers experienced a resurgence through 1958, designing many
buildings that still exist today in cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya,
Medan, Bandung, Makassar, and Palembang.