Rumah Kaca Anggrek Soedjana Kassan

Orchids have a long history at the Kebun Raya Bogor, founded in 1817. According to records cited in the Indonesian press, on 13 April 1965 Kim Il-sung, accompanied by Kim Jong-il, toured the garden's orchid house with President Sukarno. The North Korean leader was taken with one orchid, and Sukarno proposed naming it Kimilsungia as a token of friendship between the two countries. The Dendrobium hybrid had been raised by the breeder C. L. Bundt at his family's nursery in Makassar. From 1994, the Bogor, Bali and Cibodas gardens renovated their orchid houses.

The present building came out of a redevelopment of the orchid area carried out by Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works. The contract, worth IDR 35.9 billion and awarded to PT Kemang Bangun Persada, began on 18 December 2019; work was 97 per cent complete by November 2020 and finished in 2021. Press reports put the total project cost at more than IDR 38 billion.

The greenhouse was inaugurated on 17 May 2023 by Megawati Soekarnoputri, chair of the Indonesian Botanic Gardens Foundation, during the garden's 206th anniversary. It is named after Soedjana Kassan, the garden's first Indonesian director and an orchid specialist, who led the institution from 1959.

The project consists of two main buildings: the display greenhouse itself, covering 6,813 m², and a 1,560 m² tissue-culture laboratory, linked by bridges and supplemented by display spaces. The brief also included facilities for exploration, plant care and quarantine. One Antara report rounds the whole to about 6,818 m².

The greenhouse is laid out in two wings. An upper floor holds a multipurpose hall, used among other things for botanical art exhibitions and painting demonstrations. Design was by the joint venture PT Saranabudi Prakarsaripta – PT Wahana Reka Tekindo, with construction management by a consortium of PT Elsadai Servo Cons and PT Bintang Perkasa Sejati.

The greenhouse shows native Indonesian orchids alongside hybrids, displayed at various stages of growth and flowering. detikEdu puts the count at about 450 species, and the Antara news agency at 500 from across the archipelago.

The collection is part of a national programme: in partnership with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), orchid gardens have been developed at twelve botanic gardens around the country, including Cibinong, Eka Karya in Bali and Baturraden. The adjoining tissue-culture laboratory supports propagation, in line with the conservation, research and education roles emphasised by the ministry.

The greenhouse stands near Gate 3 of the Kebun Raya Bogor, a large garden in the heart of the city, next to the presidential palace. Entering by that gate makes it easy to start with the orchids before heading into the garden's main avenues. An hour is enough for the greenhouse itself, while the wider garden deserves half a day. The upper-floor hall hosts temporary exhibitions from time to time, particularly of botanical art. In its north-eastern corner the garden also keeps a memorial garden dedicated to Soedjana Kassan.