This study aimed to explain the synthesis design approach of the architectural expression in the Town
Hall building of Kupang city. This is necessary due to the need for Town Halls, as public facilities, to
reflect technically correct building standards, environment, and the aspects of political symbolism.
Kupang Town Hall design uses the roof image expression of the Timor, Flores, and Sumba ethnic
architecture in a harmonious composition and this means it is an example of an ethnic architectural
synthesis in a modern building which represents a function, meaning, modernity, and local cultural
identity. This research employed the social semiotics method to examine the design in relation to the
surrounding social life context and the design was found to be produced from the symbolic regionalism
approach which involved mixing the architectural images of Timorese, Flores, and Sumba ethnicities
to modernize and conserve ethnic architecture and represent the cultural identity of East Nusa Tenggara.
This, therefore, means architectural synthesis methods which are established on the symbolic
regionalism approach have the potential to be used in designing public facilities in different places of
Indonesia to reveal local cultural identities in modern buildings through symbolism based on an ethnic
architectural image.