Architecture

Bandung is renowned for its large stock of Dutch colonial architecture; most notably the tropical Art Deco architectural style. Henri Maclaine-Pont is among the first Dutch architects who realized how important to combine each architectural style with culture of local people. He stressed that modern architecture should be evolved from local history and native elements. In 1920, Pont planned and designed buildings for the first technical university in the Dutch East Indies, Technische Hogeschool te Bandung (the present-day Institut Teknologi Bandung), after which he was named as a professor in architecture at the university. A striking local Javanese roof style is noticeably seen on top of the campus' ceremonial hall, embedded in his artwork.

In the same year, another Dutch architect, J Gerber, designed Gouverments Bedrijven (Government Companies) in line with the colonial government plan to move the capital from Batavia to Bandung. The building is an example of a harmonious mixture between West and East architectural styles, particularly the Italian Renaissance style of arch structures in the west wing and Thailand's pagoda-like structures in the middle section. The building is known as Gedung Sate, named after the distinguished small satay shaped structure on the roof, and used as the head office of West Java provincial government and West Java's house of representative.

The modern and native architectural blending was followed by several Dutch architects that have shaped the city landmarks. In the 1930s, Bandung was known also as the city of architecture laboratory because of many Dutch architects made some experiments with new architectural designs. Albert Aalbers added the expressionist architecture style to the Art Deco by designing the DENIS bank (1936) and renovated the Savoy Homann Hotel (1939). C.P.W. Schoemaker was one of celebrated architects who strongly added native elements in his artworks, including the Villa Isola (1932), Hotel Preanger (1929), the regional military headquarter (1918), Gedung Merdeka (1921) and ITB Rectorate Building (1925).