Yogyakarta, June 1, 2025 — The Gadjah Mada City Festival (Festagama) returned in 2025. Festagama is an annual festival open to the public, organized by students of the Urban and Regional Planning Program, Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada—specifically the 2023 and 2024 cohorts. The festival serves as a space for creative exploration that connects art, the city, and the community.

The 13th edition, Festagama 13.0, carries the theme “Citra Musim Rupa Kota” (Seasons of the City’s Images). This theme invites participants to explore urban dynamics through the diversity of seasons, showcasing how a city can adapt to various seasonal changes—covering aspects of urban infrastructure, city image and experience, and the aesthetics of public spaces. read more

To celebrate the selection of candidates for the Thesis of the Year (TOY) and Student’s Design Competition (SDC) of the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA) 2025 by the Association of Architectural Higher Education in Indonesia (APTARI) and the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI), the Undergraduate Architecture Program, Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada held the TOY & SDC ARCASIA Indonesia 2025 Exhibition.

This exhibition showcases 13 TOY finalists and 10 SDC finalists who were selected through a two-stage process: the regional level by APTARI and the national level by IAI. As the initiator of this exhibition, IAI appointed undergraduate architecture programs at 14 universities across Indonesia, including Universitas Gadjah Mada, as the host of the TOY and SDC ARCASIA 2025 Indonesia exhibition from July 7 to August 8, 2025. Specifically for UGM, the exhibition was extended until mid-August 2025 to welcome the new batch of architecture students. In organizing this exhibition, IAI required participating programs to present works anonymously to maintain fairness in the Asia-level judging process and to design the exhibition in a way that reflects the uniqueness of each university. read more

Three students of the 2024 cohort of the Master’s Program in Architecture (PMPSA), Universitas Gadjah Mada, who are participants in Studio 2 under the Housing and Settlement Architecture Research Group, successfully conducted their final studio presentation on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The students presented the results of their research, which had been carried out throughout the semester under the guidance of lecturers from the Housing and Settlement Architecture Research Group, namely Dr.Eng. Ir. Ahmad Sarwadi, M.Eng., IPM, and Ardhya Nareswari, S.T., M.T., Ph.D. The final presentation was also attended by Diananta Pramitasari, S.T., M.Eng., Ph.D., Head of the PMPSA Program, who provided valuable feedback on the students’ research outcomes. read more

On June 25, 2025, the Doctoral Program in Architecture, Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada (DTAP FT UGM), held a Closed Doctoral Examination for doctoral candidate Mutiawati Mandaka with the dissertation entitled “Urban Morphology of Historic Tourism Cities: Case Study of Lasem, Central Java.”

“This research highlights the crucial role of urban morphology in supporting sustainable tourism development in small historic towns, with a focus on the town of Lasem, Central Java. As a coastal town with rich cultural heritage, Lasem demonstrates how the historical form and spatial structure of the city can shape identity, enhance tourism appeal, and influence the direction of tourism development.”
(Excerpt from the dissertation abstract by Mutiawati Mandaka, 2025, p. xx) read more

Ristya Arinta Safitri, a doctoral student of the Architecture Program, Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada (DTAP FT UGM), has published her scholarly article entitled “Adaptability of Siheyuan (四合院) Spatial Arrangement in Chinese Houses in Kampung Ketandan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia” in the internationally reputable journal Built Heritage, indexed by Scopus. This publication is part of her dissertation research conducted under the supervision of Prof. Ir. Tarcicius Yoyok Wahyu Subroto, M.Eng., Ph.D., IPUas Promoter, and Dr. Ir. Dwita Hadi Rahmi, M.A. as Co-Promoter. read more

Yogyakarta, June 19, 2025 — The Master’s Program in Urban and Regional Planning (MPWK), Universitas Gadjah Mada, held its Final Studio Examination (UAS) as the culmination of this semester’s practice-based academic activities. This event served as an important moment for students to present their findings, analyses, and proposed flagship planning programs for each study area, which had been previously examined through field data collection.

In this studio, students were divided into several groups and assigned to study specific areas as their case locations. The areas analyzed included: read more

Cynthia Permata Dewi, a doctoral student in the Architecture Doctoral Program at the Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has achieved remarkable success by winning 2nd place in The Netherlands – Asia Pacific Student Short-Video Competition for Climate and Sustainable Development in Cities. This annual competition is organized by the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate, University of Groningen, Netherlands. It focuses on how cities can offer local solutions in response to climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, as well as other sustainable development goals. The competition encourages undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students to transform their research into engaging short videos that can reach a wider public audience. read more

Yogyakarta – Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) architecture students have once again achieved outstanding success at the national level by securing 1st Place in the Sayembara Perspektif 2025, themed “Safe Haven and Holistic Healing for Survivors: A Healing Environment Rehabilitation Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence.” Organized by Universitas Mataram, the competition focused on designing rehabilitation spaces for female survivors of sexual violence, emphasizing contextuality and natural materials. read more

Yogyakarta, May 12, 2025 – Another remarkable achievement has been made by a Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) student on the international stage. A UGM architecture student has won an award in the Young Artist Prize Sakura Pigma Art Contest 2025, a global art competition held online. With the theme “Joy in My Studies,” the artwork reflects a personal journey toward higher education at UGM, presented in a captivating artistic style.

Using KOI Sakura watercolor and Micron Sakura pens, the artwork depicts a woman carrying an architect’s tube accompanied by a wooden dragon heading toward UGM’s campus. The background, portraying the road to UGM, is illustrated from a bird’s-eye perspective, creating a profound narrative and visual impact. This artwork not only showcases technical expertise in visual arts but also conveys themes of optimism and enthusiasm for pursuing education. read more

On January 24, 2025, the Doctoral Program in Architecture at the Department of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada held a Closed Doctoral Defense for Ph.D. candidate Tri Endangsih. Her dissertation is titled “A Conceptual Design Model of Hybrid Housing in Transit-Oriented Development Area of Railway Stations (Case Study: Jatinegara Station).”

The urgency of this research lies in the importance of developing innovative urban spaces in high-density areas. A conceptual model of hybrid housing in such areas offers an alternative solution to improve the performance of mixed-use residential environments (residential, commercial, and public facilities) where diverse functions and resident strata can coexist. In the context of urban planning, hybridity connects people and activities across multiple high-mobility zones by emphasizing corridors and linking areas to form an integrated and complex urban space. This research aims to develop a conceptual model of hybrid housing in the development of the Jatinegara Station Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) area using the hybrid architecture approach to optimize the use of urban land. read more