Architecture Spotlight: Indonesia (Villa Isola (aka Bumi Siliwangi), Andra Matin)
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. For this article we’ll be heading back to Indonesia and taking a trip down memory lane; first tapping into the legacy of Dutch architect, Wolf Schoemaker and perhaps his most memorable design, the Villa Isola. We’ll also be highlighting another jewel from Bandung, one of Indonesia’s best architects, Mr. Andra Matin. As always, remember that Bandung is one of many featured locations in my novel, Eteka: Rise of the Imamba. Let’s get to it.
Villa Isola (aka Bumi Siliwangi)
Charles Wolff Schoemaker was one of the most influential designers in Indonesia during the Dutch occupation. He was the visionary behind many landmark art-deco buildings in Bandung, one of them being the Villa Isola (“Villa Isolated”). The Villa Isola was designed and built for Dominique Willem Berretty, an Italian-Dutch media tycoon that has a very interesting biography (in my opinion, Berretty’s life story would make for a great biopic, you heard it here first!). The Villa Isola was completed within 6 months (October 1932 — March 1933), but Willem Berretty would only get a short taste of his new home, as he was killed the following year (1934) in a plane crash while flying over Syria. History has it that building the Villa Isola almost drove Willem Berretty into bankruptcy, and on its opening he made sure to have a launch ceremony complete with journalists and friends. After Berretty’s death, the building was used as a hotel, then as the Japanese army headquarters during Japan’s invasion (1942). After Indonesia’s independence in 1945, the building was re-named to Bumi Silwangi and re-purposed as the headmasters office for the Indonesia University of Education.
Note: The Indonesia University of Education has gone through many name changes since Indonesia’s independence — Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (Faculty of Teacher Training and Pedagogy) or FKIP, Padjajaran University in 1958, Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (Institute of Teacher Training and Education Science) or IKIP Bandung in 1963, and Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (Indonesia University of Education) or UPI in 2004.
Villa Isola faces Mount Tangkuban to the north and the city of Bandung to the south.
Note: Mount Tangkuban aka Tangkuban Perahu is an active volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung.
The Villa Isola was designed with the art-deco style design style; a visual arts style originating from France that gained international appeal during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. The art deco style places a premium on glamour, opulence, geometric shapes (in Villa Isola’s case, bold curves) and sophisticated elegance, which makes sense when we consider the extravagant tastes of Wolff Schoemaker’s one time client, Willem Berretty. The layered circular shapes on the Villa are also a reference to “Candi’s,” ancient Buddhist temples in Indonesia which were also built with similar layered surfaces, perhaps the closest likeness being the Candi Borobudur.
The northern entrance of the Villa is supported by a sole pillar, which from a side view in my humble opinion resembles a man/woman pulling a heavy load up a hill (see side view pic above). The Villa Isola is surrounded by beautiful gardens, a fish pond to its south, and to its north a rectangular shaped pond complete with a statue.
Andra Matin
Andra Matin is undoubtedly one of Indonesia’s best kept secrets. An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, he was one of the first Indonesian architects to establish an independent practice in Indonesia in 1998 after working for Grahacipta Hadiprana, a leading architecture design firm in Indonesia. The Bandung native, cat lover and lover of nature and his firm (aptly named Andra Matin Studio) has designed residences, museums, art galleries, office spaces, schools, cafes, airports, hotels and beyond across Indonesia. His approach to design, at least from my perspective rotates around “fusion:” creating a seamless relationship between the external tropical elements native to the Indonesian terrain and internal spaces, while retaining beauty and originality. This approach is perhaps best observed in his private residence (which he designed), a promenade style house with a myriad of intentionally positioned open spaces that bring the external environment indoors.
Below are a few more shots of Andra Matin’s work. You can learn more about this intriguing architect on his website, www.andramatin.com.
Hope you enjoyed this article! Be sure to check out my website to learn about my other projects!
