Vernacular
Malaysian Architecture. What is it actually? To start off, I'm going to explain
the meaning of the word "vernacular”. According to Oxford Dictionaries, "vernacular is defined as architecture concerned with domestic and functional
rather than public or monumental buildings", in short, a house for example.
Vernacular architecture “addresses the human needs and is composed of local
materials and derived from local customs, techniques that have been passed on
from generation to generation” (Edwards, 2011). Vernacular architecture
basically is built to fulfill human’s needs. However, Malaysian
vernacular architecture do have foreign elements that are combined together
with the local culture. To me, vernacular architecture will have the image of Malaysia and combined with other foreign countries because evolution is constantly happening, especially in the olden days. I think this is what makes Malaysia so unique.
Malaysia
is a country full with people of different races and culture. We have Malays,
Chinese, Indians, Sikhs and many more. Thus, the architecture in Malaysia are
influenced by the uniqueness of each culture. Some are even influenced by two
or more culture which creates a new culture that is truly authentic.
One of
the examples of Malaysian vernacular architecture is Malay houses which is also
known as Rumah Melayu. The different types of Malay houses depends on which
state they are located, such as Rumah Tiang 12 at Kelantan, Rumah Minangkabau in Negeri Sembilan, Rumah Serambi Kedah, Rumah Limas Johor and more (Scribd,
2016).The differences between these types of houses is not only because of the
different location but also because of the influence of foreign countries like
Portugal, Holland and British that colonise Malaysia (also known as Malaya in
the olden days) and also foreign countries like India, Indonesia, Myanmar (also
known as Burma), and Thailand that carry out trade business with Malaysia (Wan Ismail, 2005).
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| Traditional Malay House (Source: http://www.worldtravelserver.com/travel/en/malaysia/airport_sultan_mahmud_airport/photo_63656229-traditional-malay-house.html) |
A
typical Malay house consists of two parts, one is front portion and another is
the back portion. Front portions is basically for male while the back portions
is for female (Wan Ismail, 2005). The front part of the house
consists of serambi, rumah ibu and anjung. The back part of the house consists
of rumah dapur and tengah. Serambi is where guests are entertained and rumah
ibu is where most of the activities are held (Wan Ismail, 2005). So, vernacular Malaysia architecture is about fulfilling humans necessities. In my
next post, I will talk more detail into Malaysia vernacular architecture.
References:
Edwards, S. (2011) "Vernacular Architecture and the 21st Century". ArchDaily. Available at:
http://www.archdaily.com/155224/vernacular-architecture-and-the-21st-century
[Accessed 1 June, 2016]
Oxford
Dictionaries (2016) Oxford University Press. Available at:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/vernacular
[Accessed 1 June, 2016]
Scribd Inc. (2016) "Jenis-jenis Rumah Melayu". Available at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/31193629/Jenis-Jenis-Rumah-Melayu
[Accessed 1 June, 2016]
Wan Ismail, W.H. (2005) 'Traditional Malay Houses'. Houses in Malaysia: Fusion of
the East and the West. pp.12-15.
Skudai, Johor. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Image Sources:
Traditional Malay House (n.d.) [Image] Available at:
http://www.worldtravelserver.com/travel/en/malaysia/airport_sultan_mahmud_airport/photo_63656229-traditional-malay-house.html [Accessed 1 June, 2016]
