VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Chapter-10 MALAY HOUSE – DHARINI MIDDHA

10.1 Introduction

 Malay architecture is greatly affected by climate and weather. Hence, the traditional
Malay houses are almost always raised on timber stilts or pile to elevate and protect the
building from floods and also serve as a source of natural ventilation.
 No nails are ever used in a traditional Malay house as pre-cut holes and grooves were
used to fit the timber together. Roofs of these houses are typically steep and have wide
overhangs for shading and protection from tropical downpours.
 There are usually 2 parts to a traditional Malay house: the main house (Rumah Ibu) and
the kitchen annex (Rumah Dapur).
 The Rumah Dapur is separated from the Rumah Ibu for fire protection as the bulk of the
buildings are made from timber.
 One or more verandas (Serambi) are attached to the Rumah Ibu for seated work,
relaxation, or where non-familiar visitors would be entertained, thus preserving the
privacy of the interior.
 Aesthetics of these houses differ between states and ethnic groups. For example, in
Melaka the staircase is always decoratively molded and colorfully tiled.

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10.2 Climate Responsive Design

 The design and form of the traditional Malay house is to provide a total control on
three climatic factors namely wind, rain and sun.
 It should allow adequate ventilation for cooling and reducing humidity, control direct
solar radiation, control glare from the open sky and surrounding, protect it from the rain
and ensure adequate natural vegetation in the surroundings to provide a cooler
environment. The materials used for the house
 Should be with low thermal capacity so that little heat is transmitted in the house.
 True to the needs of shelter, the traditional Malay house is formed based on the ventilation
and solar radiation control to provide climatic comfort for the house.
 These are the most effective means for climatic comfort in a house in the warm and
humid Malaysian climate and environment

10.3 Construction of the Malay House

 Using renewable natural materials including timber and bamboo, the dwellings
are often built without the use of metal including nails.
 Instead pre-cut holes and grooves are used to fit the timber elements into one another,
effectively making it a ‘prefabricated house’.
 Although nails had been invented and in later houses used minimally for non-structural
elements such as windows or panels, structural flexibility was a benefit which nailing
inhibited.
 Without nails, a timber house could be dismantled and reconstructed in a new location

10.4 Typical Building Plans, Its Layout and Functional

 Design Approach For Ventilation

 Basically, the concept of ventilation in the Malay traditional house is a combination of
three approaches which are ventilation from top, bottom and cross ventilation at
body level.
 Based on this concept, the house was designed to fulfill the requirements.
 The significant result is the climatically responsive design features consisting of devices
and thermal capacity building materials.

10.4.1 Planning

 Two main criteria of the Malay house are:

1. Random arrangement of houses. This ensures that the wind velocity in the houses
in the latter path of the wind will not be substantially reduced.
2. Malay traditional houses are built on stilts. As velocity of wind increases with
altitude, the house, particularly at body level ensures the capture of winds of higher
velocity. House that is built on stilts also ensures full capture of ventilation as it
allows avoidance on ground cover plant which restricts the air movement.
 Orientation

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o Traditional Malay houses are often oriented to face Mecca (i.e. in an east-west
direction) for religious reasons.
o The east-west orientation minimizes areas exposed to solar radiation.

o This orientation also suits the wind patterns in Malaysia (north-east and south-
west).

10.4.2 Building Layout

 For traditional Malay house, the body level is the most vital area for ventilation for
comfort.
Typical Plan of the House

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 Open plan concept is adopted, providing good ventilation.

 The design approaches of the traditional Malay house in conjunction with the needs of
achieving good ventilation are summarized as follow:
o The elongated open plans of the traditional Malay house allow easy passage of
air, assuring cross ventilation is achieved.
o Minimal partitions and these allow good air circulation within the internal part
of the house.
 The open plan concept reflects the importance given to ventilation in the design of the
traditional Malay house.

10.4.3 Openings

 Windows and doors are the main elements for ventilation at body level.
 Other than these, there are also decorative elements, specifically designed to allow air
passage into the interior part of the house.
 The design characteristics of the openings are as follow:
1. Having many full length openable windows and doors at body level to allow cross
ventilation.
2. Depending on types of traditional Malay house, some appear to have intricate
woodcarvings such as tebar layar, which allows air passage through the roof area.
3. The position of windows of the Malay house can be found at all panels of the house,
especially at living and dining areas.

10.4.4 Roof Elements

 Roof spaces in the traditional Malay house are properly ventilated by the provision of
ventilation joints and panels in the roof construction.
 No ceiling panel is used, assuring no air
 Ventilated roof space that helps to cool the house.
 Besides the bumbung panjang, the bumbung Lima, bumbung limas, and bumbung perak
are all not origin tradition roof shapes, it has modified and developed through foreign
influence.
 Furthermore, the bumbung Lima Malay house always with a hipped roof, the bumbung
perak Malay house form always with a gambrel roof and the bumbung limas house
always with a pyramidal roof. Hence, they are two type of houses believed that were
influenced by Dutch and British architecture during the colonization.
 Lastly the bumbung perak house form also known as the bumbung potongan Belanda
which is a type of Dutch roof and it is a famous roof in East Coast.

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10.5

Different Roof Styles

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10.6 Wall &

Window
Pattern

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10.7
Pillar
Height
&

Material

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10.8 Examples of Houses

10.8.1 Johore Five Roofed House

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 The traditional Malay House in Johore well known as ‘Rumah Limas Bugis’ or Bugis
Five-Roofed House.
 The house style is influenced by the Bugis of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is easily recognized
by the long ridged roof, which is joined to four ridges, which project outwards to the
four edges of the roof. The special about it is the edge of the roof is decorated with
carvings.
 This type of house can be found a lot in the Pontian District.
 The main characteristic of this house is that at the ends of each main ridge are upright
sharp wooden projections.
 The layout design of traditional Malay
house in Johore consists of the verandah,
which is connected to the front room.
 The verandah always used as a living
area for the family.
 It is separated from the main house by a
wall.
 The main house and kitchen are separated
by a passage.
 The materials used for construct ‘Rumah
Limas Bugis’ include ‘Cengal’, ‘Keranji’,
‘Penak’ and ‘Meranti’ wood that can easily found in Malaysia.

10.8.2 Malacca Long Roofed House

 ‘Rumah Melayu Melaka’ or Malacca Malay House is the traditional Malay house that
can be found in Malacca.
 It can still be found in the whole of Malacca today. It is only traditional Malay housed
which mainly can be recognized by its glazed and multicoloured tiles on the staircases
which are imported from Europe and China.
 Flowers are a common motif. The house evinces a mixture of architectural influences,
which mainly adopted from the traditional
Chinese house.
 In its original form, the main house of the
Malacca Malay House stands on 12 or 16
main posts.
 The structure is made up of the main house,
the central section and the kitchen. The
main house is made up of the verandah and
at times front room is added which has
steps leading to it.
 In the central section is a room and
separating the main house and the kitchen
is a passage called ‘selang’.

10.8.3 Selangor Long Roofed House

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 The Selangor house dating back more than 60 years can still be found in the federal
capital of Kuala Lumpur.
 These houses closely resemble those in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan due to their
historical ties.
 This type of house is also known as the Long Roofed House as the roof consists of a
long, straight horizontal ridge and at the ends of the roof are the gable ends made from
double-layered wood.
 The main house stands on 12 main
posts, that is, 6 long posts and 6 shorter
posts for the inner verandah.
 The house is made up of three
components, that is, main house, central
section and kitchen.
 The main house comprises a verandah,
front room and room.
 It is made up of the extended verandah,
room and central passage, which connect
the main house to the kitchen. The most attractive of these houses are an open jutting
verandah which serves as a reception room.
 The visitor will not enter the house but is welcomed on the landing or under the porch.

10.8.4 Pahang Long Roofed House

 Architecturally, traditional houses in Pahang have more common with those of the west
coast states, perhaps because the Bugis, a seafaring people from Sulawesi built many of
the earliest houses.
 The traditional Malay house in Pahang is known as ‘Rumah Serambi Pahang’. This
particular type is increasingly becoming extinct.
 However, it can still be found in several villages in Pahang. The houses are typically
lower to the ground, use smaller
timbers and are less elaborately
carved but it has a long roof
where the gable ends are edged
with carvings.
 It is composed of the main
house and kitchen and in
between is a passage. The
kitchen was design with a jack
roof to allow smoke to escape
while cooking.
 It is also includes several other sections. At the front is the verandah followed by the
main house, which includes 2 other sections, a raised platform and a living area.

10.9 How has the traditional vernacular Malay house being modernized?

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 Nowadays, most of the traditional vernacular Malay houses are being transforming into
modern Malay house throughout the modernization period.
 The Malay houses were modernized due to the stress from urban redevelopment and
sociality changes. The new Malay houses has different spatial layout also the used of
construction materials and technique.
 The Malay houses in the kampong bharu has transformed the roof, wall, pillar and
window. The external environment has also changed is hardly to see high and tall trees
only short trees are planted there due to the limited space of the compound.
 The short and small trees also blocked most of the natural airflow passes through the
house. Besides the changes of external environment, the interior of Malay houses was
transformed into more walls to divide the rooms and spaces.
 The cross ventilation and natural air movement were reduced due to the mass
partitioning walls inside the house.
 The roof is the most significant feature because the Malay house were categorized based
on their roof types.

Colonial Malay House Modern Malay House

 The Malay house in the kampong mostly used bumbung panjang compared than the
other 3 types of roof. This is because the type of roof is easier to construct and cheaper.
 The long gable steep roof has become gentler for the sloping degrees and regarding the
tebar layar on the gable ends of the roof were modified the design or closed with wall
panels.
 Traditionally, attap or wooden shingles were the main materials of the roof but generally
now modern construction materials were often used than the traditional materials.
 Besides the transformation of roof, the walls and the openings also modified due to
introduction of new architecture during the colonization period.
 The traditional wall is made by bamboo and the traditional arrangements of wallboard
were totally modified.
 The shuttered windows on the wall are one of the significant features to show the
characteristic of Malay house.
 The facade of the Malay house can be separated into 3 parts, the carved wooden panels
providing better ventilation mostly at the top part above the window, while the window
or adjustable louvers always built at the middle and bottom parts.
 There are some Malay house walls still using the timber board but in the modern
construction brick walls has replaced the traditional bamboo or timber board wall is due
to the maintenance and long lasting problems.

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