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Space Planning and Ergonomics (AAD 2232)

Research on Space planning of Malay Traditional House

ROSLEEN NATASYA BINTI ROSLI (1513886)

LECTURERS: MADAM ARITA HANIM AWANG

BACHELOR OF APPLIED ART & DESIGN,

KULIYYAH OF ARCHITECTURE & ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, IIUM

Semester 2, 2016 / 2017 session

14th March 2017 (Tuesday)


Table of content:

1.0 Introduction space planning in Malay Traditional house


2.0. Traditional Malay house exterior

3.0 Traditional Malay house interior

3.0.1 Traditional Malay house space planning

4.0 Climate and Thermal comfort

5.0 Conclusion
6.0 References

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1.0 Introduction

Commonly known build by the villagers within the Malay community itself, the Malay
traditional architecture has shown the modern world a clever and creative way to tackle its own
tropical climate of sunny and rainy season all year in making use of the surrounding natural
resources typically timber and wood as parts of its material construction. The traditional Malay
house are usually built with a multifunction spacious area to cater the need for both the cultural
event and the need of a growing family.

Figure 1: Example of various traditional Malay house in Malaysia

2.0 Traditional Malay House exterior

Popular with the usage of timber as its main construction material, the Malay traditional
house was built with raised stilts that act as a column and to preserve the house from
damage that was caused by flood. The stilts were usually a post-and-lintel structure made
from wood or bamboo walls and a grass roof that are called “Nipah” or dry palm leaf. The
window and the ventilation panel function for air flow where it is constructed plentiful in
the Malay traditional house. Each construction of the wall panel and embodiment of
minutiae are apparent depicted on most of the Malay traditional decoration especially in
carving where, it serves the purpose in both of its function and the aesthetic values where
wood carving became the main element of detailing that fills the decorative part of a house
such as the door and window ventilation panel, exclusively found in the traditional Malay
architecture of Peninsular Malaysia. Roof structure become an icon that differentiate each
state uniqueness with variation in its sizes and different orientations creating interesting
identity.

Figure 2: The differences can be seen in the construction of the roof, wall panel and space plan
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Other than that, the climate also gives an effect on the design for the exterior where the wide
overhanging roof, the large window and the building that was raised on stilts are made to
facilitate the natural wind with high velocity and control the sunlight while protecting the house
from dangerous insect and flood. The uniqueness for the Malay traditional house also can be
seen in its construction of the building where no nails are used to build the house, instead a pre-
out hole and grove technique are used to assemble the house

3.0 Traditional Malay House Interior

The interior of the Malay traditional house are constructed spacious and are govern by minimal
partition as a dividers between spaces. The space design are well developed in generations to
adapt to their need and the environment which is to suits various cultural and family activities.
Taking natural resources such as timber as a part of the material for construction, the Malay
traditional house embody a deep knowledge of ecological balance where it is establish to suit
the local climate, thus plentiful window and various ventilation panel are designed embed into
the construction of the Malay traditional house which act as an air ventilation and also solar –
control devices, with the design comes at the cost of timber that function as a low- thermal
capacity building material. The construction of the area for the traditional Malay house were
usually spacious and the infusion of addition system allows the building to be designed flexible
enough which the house can be extended in line to cater the growing needs of the user.

Figure 3: Malay traditional house are designed with several ventilation system such as window
ventilation and wall ventilation panel. The roof of this building are usually constructed high in
the ceiling which allows it to act as a solar control devices that can channel heat from the
outside.

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3.1 Traditional Malay House space planning

Figure 3.1: The space planning for Malay traditional house

Figure 3.2: Example of human body


proportion on Malay traditional house
construction

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Figure 4: The entrance to the Malay house are called Anjung and Serambi Gantung

The traditional Malay house are divided into two part that is the front and the back portions,
which gravitate around the rumah ibu or the core house for the Malay traditional house, and
the dapur or kitchen. The entrances for most of the Malay traditional house are made up from
small stair that lead up to the anjung or the porch. There was also Sorong serambi or Serambi
Gantung in Malay calling. In the traditional Malay culture, male visitor will only be invited to
the anjung and not further to avoid misjudging or ‘Fitnah’ by the community.

Sorong Serambi is the focal point where the male guest and occupant usually rest or doing light
work such as fixing the fishing nets or just rest, chat and watching passer-by in the village. This
is the place that act as a transit for the guest from the entrance porch to the veranda. Architecture
associated with the traditional Malay house in the Malay community are influence with the
teaching of Islam where the privacy between male and female are distinguish to gives comfort
for both gender whether for the residents within or the guest itself. Serambi Gantung also act
as a place to greet the visitor or the assembly place for the community gathering.

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Figure 6: Varies type of Rumah Ibu in Malay Traditional house

Entering from the anjung, rumah ibu is the core area for a Malay traditional house. It is called
‘rumah ibu’ which associate to the role of a mother that acts as the people who are responsible
in managing family and house. This is the largest are where most activity occurs such as
sleeping, sewing, praying, studying and feasting which are held during marriages and other
festivals. The floor of rumah Ibu is constructed higher than the other floor to express the
importance. This space indicates the importance of the bond between families in the Malay
culture.

Figure 7: Selang is a closed space for the women to chit chat

The Selang is a closed walkway used to integrate the path between the kitchen and the rumah
Ibu. Because of its closed space, Selang are often used by the womenfolk to chit chat and
socialize where the side entrance to the kitchen is also located here. It became a linking pathway
that leaves an open space between the two portion that is the rumah Ibu and the kitchen,
allowing good ventilation and natural lighting for the house.

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Figure 8: Dapur or kitchen in the late 80th using charcoal-fuelled stove

Dapur is always situated at the back of the house on the lowest floor level as dapur become a
place which symbolize women duties. Dapur or kitchen is a cooking area that mostly occupied
by female occupant and female guest that function as a place to serve food and also family
gathering when eating. Male guest aren’t allowed to enter the dapur without permission
because mostly the female occupant were there to avoid slandering and community
misjudgement. In the traditional culture, parents will call for their children to the kitchen to
gives advice and their view to the family members. It is a place designed to fulfil family needs
and bonding.

Figure 9: The addition system of a Malay traditional house and the location of its interior

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4.0 Climate and Thermal Comfort

The Malay traditional house rely heavily on the abundant nature resources in their daily life
ranging from food, medicines to the architecture on the construction of a house. The house
built within the scope of respecting the nature and a depth in understanding the local
climate, making the traditional house not only offers a common functional timber house,
but an aesthetic multifunctional building designed with a space that can cater the needs of
its occupant and also to fulfil the need for protection, security and privacy also. The Malay
traditional house was built with a creative approach on tackling the climatic environment
of a tropical country that are hot and humid with an average air temperature between 22
Celsius to 32 Celsius. It is quite near but a little bit hot for a normal skin temperature. That
is why, the peaked roof in the Malay traditional house were often built high in the ceiling
where it attached the wall panel and stand at the stilts that function as an effective cooling
system or air ventilation system which can reduce the heat in the house. The basic roof
constructed by the Malay traditional design varies from state to state which are the
bumbung panjang, bumbung limas, bumbung perak, and bumbung Lima.

Because it is a tropical climate that consist of a hot and humid temperature, Malaysia are
common inflicted with high temperature, solar radiation, humidity and glare. Rain, floods
and occasional strong wind are also a factor to be considered when designing a building in
Malaysia. Through observation, full ventilation can be achieved in the Malay traditional
house as it is built on stilts with high roof and a nature based material which are timber in
the house construction that provides thermal comfort for the residents inside. Further
ventilation can be achieved form the design of a full length window, no internal partitions
constructed and lattice like grills in walls.

Figure 10: Wide windows that allows nature light to illuminate the interior and cool air
breeze inside. The construction of a perforated wall panel also contribute to the air flow.

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Figure 10: An example
sketch taken from the
internet to show the air
ventilation in the Malay
traditional house.

Figure 11: An example


taken from the internet to
show thermal comfort

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5.0 Conclusion

The Malay traditional house offers the modern world a way to cater the need for its
occupant in a creative approach where it make use of the nature resources that can be found
in their local surrounding which are timber and nipah leaf, and that they are also well
equipped with a vast knowledge on the local climate to be able to construct a multifunction
space within to be used on various activity from the family activity to the cultural event as
the building can be extended in a row. The construction of the gable and peaked roof, the
absence use of nail on the construction that was replace by the ‘tebuk-tanggam’ and the
construction of stilts to prevent wild animal and flood are the evidence to show that the
Malay traditional are creative in finding a solution through problem solving. The Malay
traditional house also uphold a respected cultural belief that were emerged in the design of
the house as the Islamic sensibilities are also infused to the design element of the space
planning. The man and woman area were separated to gives privacy for both gender. Two
Malay traditional element are infused in the construction of the Malay traditional house
that is, the element of culture form, and the landscape element where the approach of
flexibilities, function and aesthetics takes form. The landscape also carries a meaning where
each plant that are planted act as an indicator or direction to the house.
The traditional Malay house was constructed to be facing the kiblat by the Islamic
influence. From the design of the Malay traditional house, the culture value and the Islamic
value were infused and clearly be seen on the space planning of the interior, where the
space not only serve to cater the function needed by the residents, but also the decoration
of the design that uphold an aesthetic value through minutia wood carving on the ventilation
panel that varies from state to state. Each of the Malay traditional house throughout
Malaysia offers different design in its wood carving concept and roof placement, but
uniform in its construction approach and material selection with minima differences.

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6.0 References

http://unossc1.undp.org/GSSDAcademy/SIE/Docs/Vol4/Malay_house.pdf
http://v12gether.blogspot.my/2013/02/info-rahsia-rumah-melayu-lama.html
http://v12gether.blogspot.my/2013/02/info-rahsia-rumah-melayu-lama.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=serambi+gantung&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwiU_6zWwNXSAhUMqY8KHcBUAg4Q_AUICSgC&biw=822&bi
h=667#imgdii=a16BK9QFHF0jLM:&imgrc=cRbBEk0KOyfHKM:
https://www.slideshare.net/acemelarpis/4817-148071pb

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