A team of alumni from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) successfully earned an Honorable Mention in the EPOCH45 International Planning Competition, a multidisciplinary competition for students and young professionals in spatial planning for Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN). The competition was organized in collaboration between Diponegoro University and MARS Architects, aiming to find innovative solutions for urban and landscape development in the next phase of IKN’s construction. The award announcement took place on March 18, 2025, at Erasmus Huis, Royal Netherlands Embassy, Jakarta.
The team number 0240, consisting of Aisya Nazifa, Fatimah Muthi Sakinah, and Tasnim Arma Fauzia (Urban and Regional Planning, UGM), Dwiana Putri Setyaningsih (Cartography and Remote Sensing, UGM), and collaborating with Fathah Aulia Rizka (Landscape Architecture, IPB University), successfully developed an innovative concept under the guidance of UGM lecturers, namely Dr. Ir. Tri Mulyani Sunarharum, S.T., Ir. Deva Fosterharoldas Swasto, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., IPM., and Wirastuti Widyatmanti, S.Si., Ph.D. Their mentorship played a crucial role in strengthening the scientific foundation and strategic approach of the team in designing sustainable and applicable planning solutions.
For this competition, the team presented the concept “Wildscape Living Nexus: Where Wildlife Meets Urban Scape,”which emphasizes the integration of natural ecosystems with urban landscapes through a multi-scale approach—from the regional, district, to block levels. Wildscape Living Nexus functions as an interconnected system that ensures a balance between urban development and environmental preservation. This concept also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) No. 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and No. 13 (Climate Action).
EPOCH45 encourages participants to challenge conventional planning paradigms and explore the concept of Evolutionary Planning—an approach that focuses on gradual development from an administrative center in 2025 to a self-sustaining and resilient Forest City with a population of 2 million people by 2045.
The competition attracted teams from prestigious universities worldwide, with six teams receiving Honorable Mention awards, including teams from University College London (UCL), University of Sheffield, and Liverpool University (UK), Kanagawa University, Kyoto University, and Meiji University (Japan), and Southeast University (China), along with many other participating universities. Additionally, institutions such as the Royal Horticulture Society and China Construction Eighth Engineering Bureau also contributed to innovative planning solutions for IKN. The participation of global universities and institutions highlights the importance of international collaborationin tackling the challenges of future urban planning that is more sustainable and adaptive to environmental changes.
This achievement demonstrates the capability of UGM alumni in designing innovative and sustainable future cities, successfully competing on a global scale.
