His most well-known designs, such as the Istiqlal Mosque and the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, in particular the Main Stadium in Jakarta, were commissioned during the presidency of Sukarno.

Silaban was born on 16 December 1912 in the village of Bonan Dolok [id], today in Samosir Regency,[7] as the fifth child of a Batak Protestant Christian Church pastor, Rev.

[3] He completed his basic education in Tapanuli, graduating in 1927 before moving to Batavia to attend the Koningin Wilhelmina School, where he studied building design and construction.

[9] During the Indonesian National Revolution, Silaban remained a public works official based in Bogor, before attending the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam between 1949 and 1950.

Silaban, who joined the project in the middle of the planning stages, disagreed with Sukarno and instead recommended the Senayan area – citing future ease of access and traffic congestion in Dukuh Atas.

He wanted to avoid elements which correspond to a specific culture in Indonesia, arguing that an authentically-Indonesian architectural style did not need to imitate traditional forms.