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Indigenous Architecture of the Peninsula and Borneo

Lecture 1

Sukhjit Kaur Sidhu

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Lecture Outline

Understanding Vernacular

Orang Asli forest dwelling

The Austronesian house

The kampong

The basic Malay house

Types of Malay House

Coastal and riverine settlements

Traditional houses of Sabah and Sarawak

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Vernacular refers to type of architecture which is indigenous to a specific time or

place (not imported or copied from elsewhere).

It is most often applied to residential buildings.

Function of the building is the dominant factor.

Uses local materials.

designed by an amateur without any training in design.

DEFINITION

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INFLUENCES

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NEEDS

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-The way of life, and the way

people use their shelters

becomes a great influence on

the building form.

-The size of the family units, who

shares which space, how food is

prepared and eaten,

interactions affect the layout

and size of the dwellings.

CULTURE

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Cold climates

-High thermal mass/insulation.

-Sealed to prevent heat loss

-Small openings

Warm climates

-Use of lighter materials

-Allows cross-ventilation

CLIMATE

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Orang Asli forest dwellings

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- The Malay term Orang Asli means

original people.

- Malay Peninsula- at least 18 dinstict

groups- comprising 100,000 people.

- There are 3 main groups:

- The Negritos in the North

- The Senoi mainly in the

centre

- The Proto-Malays in the

South.

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- Their dwellings were designed for

basic shelter, not for the storing of

material goods.

- House building never required

professional skills.

- Every able-bodied male was capable of

constructing his own house before he

married.

- House structures have evolved only

minimally over the centuries, from

nomadic to semi-permanent

settlements.

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- Cengal and petaling are used for the

standing poles because they are not

vulnerable to termites.

- Poles are driven into the ground to a

depth of 40 cm measured from elbow to

fingertips.

- Edge beams and roof joists are lashed

to the standing poles with rotan (cane)

- Atap (thatch) roofs from palms that are

woven.

- Bamboo is commonly used for thewalls.

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The Austronesian House

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- The Malay Peninsula and Vietnam were reached in a movement back from the Western

Islands of Indonesia sometime after 1000 BCE.

- Linguistic evidence suggests that Proto-Austronesian, the modern Austronesian dialect,

developed on the island of Taiwan by 4000BCE.

- From Taiwan they migrated down through the Philippines around 3000BCE, and thence

into western and eastern Indonesia.

- The Austronesians were clearly accomplished and daring seafarers.

- Astronesians proceeded to displace existing Australoid populations in South East Asia.

- Australoids specialized in hunting, gathering, fishing and cultivation.

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1. Post Construction is the most

characteristic and pervasive of

architectural features shared by the

Austronesians.

2. The extension of the rafters at thegable ends to form decorative gable

finials in the shape of crossed horns

known in Malay as silang gunting or

open scissors.

3. Another distinctive aspect of design,

prominent in Indonesia and beyond,is the extension of the ridge line of

the roofsupported by outward-

sloping gable ends and sometimes

combined by a curvature of the roof.

HOUSE POSTS AND GABLE HORNS

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The thatched roof of the Bidayuh community headhouse (pangah) in Sarawak (1) and

of a typical hill tribe house in North Vietnam (2) dominate the entire house structure.

The steep overhang shelters the house from the rain and keeps away glare from the

tropical sun.

COMMON ROOF STYLES

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The Malay House in Langkawi, Kedah (3), and the Bugis house in Sulawesi, Indonesia

(4), have high pitched roofs. This is an efficient way of allowing rainwater to run off

the roof.

COMMON ROOF STYLES

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The roof style of the Minangkabau-style Negeri Sembilan house (5) is

believed to be influenced by the

Sumatran house from Indonesia (6).

The ancestors of the people from

Negeri Sembilan came from the

Minangkabau region.

COMMON ROOF STYLES

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- In Kelantan, the use of (1) Thai roof

tiles and (2) heavier wood wall

panels in the Thai style are common.

- Louvered shutters (3) may have

been borrowed from the Portuguesewhose historical presence dates

back a few centuries.

- The courtyard (4) arrangement of

some Melaka houses may also show

Portuguese, or possibly Chinese

influence.

FOREIGN INFLUENCES ON HOUSE DESIGN

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The Kampong

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The Kampong

- The Malay Village (kampong) is

situated near the source of the

villagers livelihood.

- Fishing villages are found close to

the sea while inland villages are

usually located near paddy fields or

small holdings of rubber trees and

oil palms.

- The houses in fishing villages are

usually more densely grouped than

inland kampongs.

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The Kampong

- A kampong comprises several Malay houses and their compounds.

- The houses are usually organized in family clusters, each house being occupied by a family

and each cluster belonging to related families.

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The Kampong

- There are no physical boundaries, such as fences.

- Life in the kampong focuses not only on the individual household but also on the

community.

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The Kampong

- The public buildings comprise the mosque/surau, cemetery, school and shop, which are

seen as communal rather than formal public spaces.

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The Kampong

- The comparatively random layout of a Malay kampong, and the lack of physical barriers,

gives the kampong an informal and open atmosphere which is conducive to communal

activities such as visiting neighbours and gotong-royong (sharing work with others in the

community)

- The Malay House encourages the concept of sharing and cooperation and preference for

community intimacy.

- Its wide, open veranda, large windows, minimal partitions and open spaces below the

house foster neighbourliness.

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The Basic Malay House

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CULTURE-Sitting and doing

almost everything

on the floor (sleeps,

eats and prays).

-Taking off onesshoes/washing of

the feet upon

entering the house.

-Reception of guest and

division of male and

female area

-The need to roll out

mat for visitors.

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NEEDS-Roofing and insulation

for heavy rain.

-Raising the floor level

to accommodate for

flooding, safety

against animals and

cleanliness of floor.

-Flexibility to

accommodate for

growth of the house.

-Adequate natural

vegetation in the

surrounding to

provide for a cooler

micro-climate

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CHARACTERISTICS-Timber House (post and lintel

structure)

-Raised on stilts

-Free Standing

-Wooden / Bamboo walls

-Thatched roof (attap made from

nipah)

-Windows plentiful (low level, oftendown to the floor-sill level)

-Minimal interior partitions

openness.

-Hierarchy of floor levels.

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The Basic Malay House Sequence/Terminology:

Anjung:covered entrance porch

where the stairs lead up

to.

Serambigantung:

veranda, where guest are

entertained.

Rumah ibu:

core /main house having

the highest floor level.

Selung/Selang:

closed walkway used to

link the rumahdapur and

the rumah ibu.

RumahDapur:

kitchen, usually at theback of the house, and

lowest floor level. Prep.

of food, cooking , eating

and washing. Women

folk often group here to

chat.

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Depending on the financial

capacity, it is possible to start a

home with a single unit first either

with Rumah Dapur or Rumah Ibu.

When there is enough savings, thenthe main part could be built or

acquired from another house that

does not require it anymore.

The system is one that is flexible

that rooms could be added onto the

main structure as the needs andfamily grows.

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The Minangkabau House

Region:

Negeri Sembilan, originating

from Sumatra.

Feature:i. Basic rectangular form

ii. Curved roof, ridge is the

lowest in the middle and

slopes upwards at the ends.

iii. Does not have a rumah

tangga, entry is direct into the

main house.

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The Perak House

Locally known as RumahKutai (old

house)

Region:

Settlements along the middle andlower reaches of the Perak River.

Feature:

i. The basic building units are

normally linked by an intermediate

bay called Selang.ii. Steep roof with slight change of

pitch.

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The Kedah House

Locally known as Rumah

BumbungPanjang

Region:

Kedah, Perlis

Feature:

i. Main approach to the house is

usually from the gable end

instead of the eave-side.

ii. Main floor is raised higherabove ground, compared to the

other types, for carrying out

activities beneath (related to rice

farming / fishing)

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The Kelantan & Terengganu HouseRegion:

East Coast Kelantan,

Trengganu.

Feature:

i. Sharp elaboratedexterior profiles.

ii. Excellent decorative

works

iii. Variety of materials

used.

iv. Decorative fasciaboard at each gable

end.

v. Flat clay roofing

tiles.

vi. Few external

windows.

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Coastal & Riverine Settlements

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Generally thereare two kinds of

waterfront

settlements:

-Houses built on

rafts (rumahrakit).

-Houses on stilts

(rumah tiang

seribu)

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Rumah Rakit (Raft Houses)

-Made of dried bamboo

- The house is tied to the raft to

hold it in position and the raft

is anchored to the sea bed tokeep it from being swept away

by strong currents.

- Rumah rakit dwellers often

have a floating fish farm

nearby.

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Traditional Houses of Sabah and

Sarawak

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Traditional House of Sabah

There are two major types: Communal longhouse (eg. Rungus

longhouse and Murut longhouse)

Individual houses (eg. Bajau house,

Bonggi house, Bamboo house, and

Lotud house)

Despite the diverse ethnic groups,

generally they share similar

dwelling features:

1. Houses built on stilts

2. Pitch roofs

3. Well ventilated

4. Constructed of timber and

other local materials.

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The Murut Longhouse- Consists of several family apartments (sulap) at the rear of the

house and a communal verandah (saloh) at the front.

- Each sulap contains an earthen fireplace and a sleeping area for a

couple and their unmarried daughters.

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The Individual House 1:The Bajau House (an open

plan concept

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The IndividualHouse 2:

The Bamboo House

(adapting to the

environment.

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The Individual House 3:The Lotud House: A

symbolic, ordered

space.

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Longhouses of Sarawak-Different

longhouses inSarawak share

similar spatial

organisation,

several families

accommodated

under one roof.

-Each family has its

own private

unit but shares

communal areas.

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Longhouses of Sarawak

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Longhouses of Sarawak

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The End

Sukhjit Kaur Sidhu

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