Heavy maintenance of the 17th-century Dutch-style buildings in the tropics had forced the Dutch to follow examples from indigenous architecture of Indonesia.

The colonial government, under the Departement voor Burgerlijke Openbare Werken (Public Works Department), developed new standards for the construction of buildings such as hospitals, schools, town halls, post offices, and other public utilities to consider the local (tropical) climate as means to reduce the cost of building construction and maintenance.

His work is characterized by its clean-cut, functionalist elevations, which often feature curved lines, and the absence of external ornamentation and other purely decorative devices.

Similar with Dutch Rationalism, the style is the result of the attempt to develop new solutions to integrate traditional precedents (classicism) with new technological possibilities.

Characteristically, New Indies Style is similar with Dutch Rationalism with its use of Romanesque-inspired arches while keeping the regularity of traditional Classicist form.

Other differences is the exaggerated roof eaves which form a significant overhang which protects any opening, a style that did not appear in the Dutch counterpart.

Several examples of building from this period are Citroen's Lawang Sewu (1907),[citation needed] Moojen's Kunstkring Art Gallery (1913) and Cirebon Kejaksan Station (1912).

[4] Amsterdam School influence also appear in buildings designed by Schoemaker who often collaborates with sculptors: The expressive relief of Grand Preanger Hotel (1929) and the sculptures of Bandung Jaarbeurs (1920).

The preference is to use universal form such as cube or cylinder or curving horizontal lines and nautical motifs that are known as Streamline Moderne in the Anglophone world.

Albert Aalbers is the most representative expression of Nieuwe Bouwen in Indonesia, apparent in his design for Savoy Homann Hotel (1939), Denis Bank (1936), and the "Driekleur" (1937) in Bandung.

In Indonesia, the style is characterized by its openness, the sleek facade lines, and strong spatial effect on the exterior and retreat of curtain wall.

[6] Other examples of Nieuwe Bouwen in Indonesia are the works of Cosma Citroen, K. Bos, W. Lemei, Liem Bwan Tjie and some buildings of AIA Bureau of Schoemaker, namely Bandung Jaarbeurs, which he designed shortly after his study trip to America, clearly inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

[7] This new school of thought and design with strongly implement traditional elements using 20th-century technologies and Modernist architectural principles from Europe appeared mainly in the 1920s and 1930s.

The interest of Modernists in the dynamic interplay of geometrical elements was soon incorporated into the new style and led to bold experiments that combined these structural forms with traditional vernacular ornamentation.

The building features an eclectic synthesis of various Indonesian local forms, including the architecture of Lake Toba, the Mentawai islands, and Sunda.

This orientation also minimizes the effect of solar radiation in that the morning and afternoon sun only strikes the narrow end facades of the building.

The external galleries of the building create a double facade which shield the interior from direct sunlight, while cooling towers at either end ensure good ventilation.

Other example is the guesthouse of the Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij in Brastagi (1939) by Herman van den Houvel of the Langereis & Co architecture firm.

One of the few remaining architects who chose Indonesian citizenship was Han Groenewegen, who assisted Silaban in the design of Bank Indonesia in Thamrin Road, Jakarta.