THAT Wednesday afternoon last week, the 21st floor of The City Tower on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta, three times the size of a volleyball court, was a mess. The floorboards had only been covered with rough mortars, the ceilings, gaping in many places, had yet to be boarded up, and air-conditioning ducts protruded from many parts.

Workers hired by Design Era Arsitektur, the interior design contractor, were busy installing plywood sheets