WEEK 5

LECTURE
INTRODUCTION TO:
1. INDIGENOUS ARCHITECTURE – Malay house
2. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE - Masjid
CONTENTS
1. INDIGENUOS ARCHITECTURE
- DEFINITION
2. TRADITIONAL MALAY HOUSE
- CHARACTERISTICS & ELEMENTS
- RESPONSIVE DESIGN
- STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS
- DESIGN FOR CLIMATIC CONTROL
INDIGENOUS ARCHITECTURE
DEFINITION
• Structural design originating
naturally in a region, not
imported or copied from elsewhere.

• Also termed as vernacular

architecture i.e. native or local
architecture which categorize
methods of construction by using
locally available resources to cater
local needs.

• mostly applied to refer to

residential buildings
1.INDIGENOUS ARCHITECTURE

•It
is the practices of local traditions or knowledge passed
down through time and generations.
•Synonymous to traditional architecture.

Toda hut – Indian

vernacular
architecture

Stone & clay

houses of Nepal
CHARACTERISTICS & ELEMENTS
1.Designed and built by the native/local society
- (Designer and builder is the same person)
2.Designs were developed to serve the users needs
3.Responsive to climate, site conditions and lifestyle/culture
(energy efficient)
1
Wigwams-
Evolution in design
Igloo
2

Malay houses
African early shelters
CHARACTERISTICS & ELEMENTS
- contd.
4.Use of local materials and unskilled labour
(resource efficient)
5.System of shared labour - a whole
community involved
6.Built through a process of trial and error- use simple
construction methods

Shared labour system

 RESPONSIVE DESIGN
Responding to climate/weather & site condition
The roof of the Traditional
Malay house (tebar layar) is
Openings on the sides and steep to cater the heavy
grilles for better cross monsoon rain
ventilation.
Overhangs for shading
and water drainoff

Timber stilts to elevate the

building above the ground
level to avoid flood, wild
animals and for better
ventilation.
Wood carving for both decorative and
ventilation purposes
 RESPONSIVE DESIGN (contd)
Responding to culture - Some traditional Malay houses
have floors at different levels, indicating the room functions, also giving
a sense of spatial transition in the building.

The layout of Malacca House

 RESPONSIVE DESIGN
Responding to lifestyle( way of life)
- The decoration and carving reflect the social status of
the house owners

An ordinary Malay house

Istana Kenangan:
Have magnificently crafted
walls
 RESPONSIVE DESIGN - contd.
Responding to - Local materials
& construction methods

- Abundant natural materials from

the tropical forests provide ready
construction materials

- Early Malay houses used timber

for the building structures, rattan
and tree roots for tying up joints,
bamboo and leaves were used for
floors and walls.
2.TRADITIONAL MALAY HOUSE
The traditional Malay house is a timber house raised on stilts. It is basically
a post-and-lintel structure with wooden or bamboo walls and a thatched roof.
Windows are plentiful, lining the walls and providing good ventilation
and views for the house. This quality of openness is also reflected by the large
open interior spaces with minimal partitions.

 Built without master builder or architect

 Display of a good fit to the culture, lifestyle and socio-economic needs of
the user
 Efficient use of local materials
 Appropriate to the climate
 Use a high degree of user and community participation
 Creates a well-designed and healthy living environment which is self
maintained.

All the above reflect the indigenous nature of the traditional Malay houses
Malay house form
Various traditional and hybrid Malay house forms can be
identified in Peninsular Malaysia.
They are classified mainly by their roof shapes.
The basic house forms are:
 the bumbung panjang, bumbung lima, bumbung perak and
bumbung limas.
 The most common houseform is the bumbung panjang,
characterised by a long gable roof. The bumbung panjang
houses are the oldest identified in Peninsular Malaysia.
 The bumbung panjang is the simplest of the four houseforms. It
has a simple gable roof, supported by kingposts.
 The most common roofing material used for the bumbung
panjang is the attap (a thatch made from nipah and other palm
trees found in the local natural vegetation).
 The simple bumbung panjang roof-form is most efficient in its
ventilation properties. Its simple funnel shape, the use of
ventilation grilles at its gable ends (tebar layar) and the use of
ventilation joints allow good ventilationof the roof, space which
cools the house effectively.
Malay house form – contd.
 The bumbung lima, bumbung limas and bumbungperak are all
houseforms which are not indigenous but developed through
foreign influence.

 The bumbung lima and bumbung perak houses are believed to

have been influenced by colonial Dutch and British houseforms.

 The bumbung lima house has a hipped roof, the bumbung perak
house has a gambrel roof and the bumbung lirnas house has a
pyramidal roof.

 Of these three foreign houseforms used in Malay houses, the

bumbung perak houseform (also called bumbung potongan
Belanda [Dutch-type] roof in the
 East Coast) is the most popular.
Kelantan House
Kelantan House –contd.
Kelantan House –contd.
Kelantan House –contd.

Elaborate fenestrations/openings- require skilled craftsmanship

Kelantan House –contd.

Motifs derived from nature

Kelantan House –
contd.

Structural members
as decorative panels – good
marriage of engineering &
architecture
Malacca House
Malacca House – contd.
Malacca House – contd.
Minangkabau House
Minangkabau House – contd.
Minangkabau House – contd.
Perak House
Perak House
Perak House
Perak House
Perak House
STRUCTURE AND
MATERIALS
• Materials are mainly provided by nature

• Use lightweight construction

• Wall, column, door and floor - cengal,

merbau,petaling, bamboo panels and bertam

• Roof - strips of thatch tied to a bamboo or nibong

woodspine, bertam leaves
Design for climatic control

Due to the hot and humid climatic characteristics of Malaysia,it is

obvious that to attain optimal climatic control, a houseform in
Malaysia should provide for the following:
(a) allow adequate ventilation for cooling and reduction of humidity;
(b) use building materials with low thermal capacity so that little
heat is transmitted into the house;
(c) control direct solar radiation;
(d) control glare from the open skies and surroundings;
(e) protect against rain; and
(f) ensure adequate natural vegetation in the surroundings to
provide for cooler microclimate.
Climatic Design of the Malay House
Use of Interior Space
in
the Traditional
Malay House

•Spaces in the Malay

house
are multifunctional.
The use of space
changes at different
times of the day and
year.
•There are minimal
partitions or interior
walls in the house,
allowing for the flexible
use
of space and for good
ventilation & lighting of
the interiors.
•Minimal furniture
is used and most
activities
are done on the floor.
Built environment of the traditional Malays – Malay kampong