Architecture
The design of the Villa Isola by the architect Wolff Schoemaker, was influenced by indigenous Javanese philosophy. The orientation of the building is according to the north—south axis, where the building faces Mount Tangkuban Perahu to the north and the city of Bandung to the south. Schoemaker was a firm follower of the art-deco style, which he mixed with local ornaments. Many circular shapes decorated the whole complex, the design of which reminds people of the shape of Candi in the east of Java. Circle is the main theme of the complex, both inside and outside the villa, including the gardens.
The main entrance is located at the center of the north facade shaded by a concrete canopy arch supported only by one pillar. The interior of the first floor consists of a lobby with a twisted staircase to the second floor, and a family room. A large window in a half-circled curve shape decorates the family room completed with an open balcony with a parapet of steel bars, with a panoramic view of the city. The family room is also equipped with a circular shape of toilet.
On the second floor, a master bedroom is located facing south, connected by two corridors to the west and the east terraces. Besides as connecting halls to the terraces, the west and east corridors function as "pipelines" to regulate air in the building, isolating the thermal condition of the tropical climate. Hence, the bedroom has a room temperature during the hot sunny days.
The third floor consists of guest rooms and an entertainment room (a bar). Due to the difference in height between the north and the south sides, the south side has an extra floor. The fourth floor in the south was mainly used as service area. Integrating a service area within a house was new at that time, as the usual colonial residential houses separated service rooms from the main house.
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