Empty Pond

I don't know why the shallow pond in the northern garden of Villa Isola (Bumi Siliwangi) is kept empty most of the time. My guess is that it's leaking or the pump and the circulation system are not working properly so that the water cannot stay long or, if it does, it would soon turn green with algae.

Vila Isola Obelisk Against the Sky

This is one of the two obelisk-shaped structures at the southern garden of Vila Isola. They are placed on either side of the building, one on the west and one on the east of it. I don't know what they were originally for. But today they are used as lighting post.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in this week's Skywatch Friday meme. Please check other participating blogs' posts from around the world here.

Vila Isola at Dusk

Some buildings are called an architectural heritage not for nothing. They are beautiful from whichever angle you see them, whatever the time of the day and whatever the season is. I think Vila Isola is such a building. I have photographically explored this building from many different angles and time of the day, and I never get bored with it.

I took this photo from the front gate of my office, which is located just across a small in-campus road from it, at dusk a couple of days ago just as I was getting out of the office. The the light of the early evening sky shining upon it gave me another photographic opportunity to marvel at its beauty. The silhouetted arch framing is that of the entrance columns (?) into my office building.

Since some of my friends and this blog visitors have sometimes asked me what camera(s) I use, I'd like to this opportunity to say once again that I don't usually use fancy or expensive cameras. I took this photo (and many others I have posted here) with a small, inexpensive pocket camera that I always have with me where ever I go. I'd rather not say what the brand is, but if you want to know you can email me.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in this weeks Skywatch Friday meme. See more sky-related photos from participating blogs from around the world here.

Villa Isola Fish Pond

A father with his daughters enjoying the fish pond at the southern garden of Vila Isola on a Sunday morning.

I have previously posted several photos and stories about this villa before. As you may remember from those posts, Vila Isola is one of Bandung's most iconic art-deco architectural heritage. Built as a private residence in the early 1930s for an Italian-Dutch media tycoon Dominique William Berretty, the founder of the Aneta press-agency in the Dutch East Indies, Vila Isola was turned into a hotel just after his death in 1934. Then it became the Bandung headquarters of Japanese occupational army in the early 1940s when Japanese Imperial Army occupied the Indonesian archipelago and an Indonesian resistance army militia headquarters during the wars for independence. After the Indonesian Independence, it was renovated and made as the central piece of the newly established Teachers' Education College or PTPG campus in 1954.

The name of the college in which this building stands has changed several times since then: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (Faculty of Teacher Training and Pedagogy) or FKIP of the newly established 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.

Since 2010, the building and its surrounding gardens have been renovated to revive its past grandeur. The renovation of the park that you can see at the background of the picture was completed this year and is now designated at Vila Isola Heritage Park.

More of Villa Isola

I took this photo yesterday afternoon from the UPI's Faculty of Language and Art building with my mobile device. It was exceptionally sunny after a lot of rainy days this year and the clouds looked interesting.

This is also my first posting from my mobile device. Let's see how it turns out. If it looks good, then I can probably post/report life from anywhere.

Have as good Friday everyone!

Villa Isola Series # 5: Villa Isola at Dusk and The Skywatch Friday

My blogging friend Babooshka of Ramsey Daily Photo has an interesting project of making 100 photographs of Ramsey Swing Bridge. So far, I think she has made 25. The same bridge from different angles and taken at different times. They are all beautiful and well-made.

I'm trying to do the same with Villa Isola, one of Bandung's architectural masterpiece heritage. My target is not 100, but 33. Today's picture is the fifth. The previous four are here:

The first
The second
The third
The fourth

Today's post is also Bandung Daily Photo's participation in the weekly meme Skywatch Friday. Check other participating blogs with photos of the sky here.

Bandung Architectural Heritage # 5: Villa Isola - The Western Facade

This is the western facade of Villa Isola (now Bumi Siliwangi and the rector's office the Indonesia University of Education or Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) as seen from one of the classrooms of the Faculty of Language and Art Education building located west of it.

Villa Isola is located on the northern hills of Bandung on Jalan Dr. Setiabudhi 229.

I have posted three pictures and the stories about this building before: here, here, and here.

Villa Isola Yard Ornaments: Marble Greek Statue

Villa Isola (see my previous posts here and here) has two gardens: North and south.

The north garden is of European style marked by, among others, a swan pond, a rectangular fountain pond, flower gardens, and a path that devides the garden into two symmetrical parts. This photograph of Greek style marble statue is located in the middle of the rectangular fountain pond.

In contrast to the building (read: Villa Isola), which is well-maintained and kept to its original condition, the garden is now in less-than-perfect condition, the rectangular fountain pond is dry, and the arms of this Greek marble statue - as you can see in the photo - are broken. I don't know why nobody has attempted to restore this statue and pond. Regardless of its current condition, I think one can still see the traces of how beautiful this statue must have been once.

This post is my participation in this week's yard ornament theme of Photo Scavenger Hunters.

The Southern Facade of Villa Isola

Text and picture by Eki Qushay Akhwan
I received quite a number of great comments for my yesterday's Skywatch Friday post about Villa Isola or Bumi Siliwangi. Thank you all.

My good friend Virginia of Birmingham, Alabama, Daily Photo asked me if I could post a closer look photo of the building. Her (and your) wish is my command. So, here it is another photo of Villa Isola or Bumi Siliwangi. This is the southern facade of the building, the one overlooking the valley with the view of the city of Bandung underneath. (Yesterday's photo was that of the northern facade overlooking Mt Tangkuban Parahu.)

A little bit more information about the building:
Villa Isola and its surrounding gardens occupied an area of 120,000 square meters, cost about a half million of the 1930's Dutch guilders to build (I don't how much that would be in today's money value, but it must be a lot). The name Villa Isola itself comes from a placard that Barretty had ordered to be made and placed that read "Me Isolo e Vivo" (in Italian) which means "I isolate my self and live." Back then, Villa Isola was of course a remote countryside area.

The Historic Villa Isola - A Skywatch Post

Text and picture by Eki Qushay Akhwan


Villa Isola (now called Bumi Siliwangi) is the rectorate office of Bandung's Indonesia University of Education (UPI). Located on Jalan Dr. Setiabudhi 229 overlooking the valley with the view of the city underneath, it is arguably one of the most beautiful historical buildings in Bandung and one of the most celebrated examples of art deco architectural heritage in the Asia Pacific region.

Villa Isola was built in 1932-1933 by a reknown Dutch East India's architect Wolff Schoemaker for the Dutch media tycoon Dominique William Berretty. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to enjoy his treasured home villa. He died in 1934 in a plane crash enroute from Batavia (now, Jakarta) to Amsterdam six months after he moved into the villa.

Upon his death, the villa was sold and turned into a hotel. When the Japanese invaded what was then the Dutch East India in 1942, the building once again changed hands and became the headquarters for the Japanese Imperial Army in Bandung. The Indonesian people's liberation army took it over from the Japanese in 1945 when Indonesia declared it's independence and made it their headquarters. In 1954, the building was restored to its original condition and made into the main offices of what was then Perguruan Tinggi Pendidikan Guru (PTPG), Indonesia's first teachers' college, and what is now the Indonesia University of Education (UPI).

About the Photo:
I took this photo from the parking lot of my newly constructed office building, which is located just across a narrow on-campus road from this building a couple of days ago. It had been cloudy that day, but I was lucky. By the time I finished my classes and was ready to go home that afternoon, the sky cleared a bit and provided an excellent lighting condition for this beautiful skywatch shot.

Welcome to and enjoy my second Skywatch Friday post! And thank you for your visit and comment.