Malaysia

Sejarah Melayu

earliest record of Malaysia

Sultan Mansur Shah's palace

Istana Balai Besar in Kota Bharu

Oldest surviving example of traditional Malay palace; built in 1844

Sri Menanti Palace

Last Malay timber palace built in 1902 to 1908. Known for its Minangkabau influence and the silang gunting or gable horns

South-east Asia gable horns

some of which can be seen on the roof tops of traditional Malay buildings in the Malay peninsula

Masjid Kampung Laut (Nilarn Puri, Kelantan)

Architectural influence might have been originated from Java, Indonesia

Masjid Agung (Royal Mosque of Demak)

• Prototype for the various mosques built throughout Malaysia during the Majapahit empire in Java

• Built in 1480

• Sumatra in Indonesia

• South of Thailand

Two major influences

Encompasses Johore, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan

Influenced by Bugis architecture with staggered gabled ends, large side openings, decoration on top of gable ends, Anjung (entrance hall) at the side of the front house, timber pillars buried deep into the soil

Limas Bugis

hip-gabled roof with inclinations; could also be hipped or pyramidal

head of a lizard

Bugis art is known for using the motif of the

Bumbung Panjang with Serambi

(steep and high-gable end roof with attached covered verandah)

Layered Atap Meru (Pyramidal roof)

with several layers showing hierarchy as a way to distinguish importance in the area

Demang Abdul Ghani: Melacca architecture with Chinese influence

Negeri Sembilan architecture

distinguished by the buffalo horn roof shape of the Minangkabau influence from Indonesia

A simple house with Minangkabau style in Negeri Sembilan

A chief's house in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Bumbung Panjang

Rumah Bujang

bachelor's house. Smallest and simplest house with gabled roof

Limas Potong Perak

typical Perak hip-gabled roof house with Dutch influence

Rumah Tiang Enam

similar to Rumah Bujang; house with 6 pillars. The name was derived from the main supporting structure which carries the load of the roof and other nonstructural members

Rumah Tiang Dua Belas

larger version of Rumah Tiang Enam; house with 12 pillars

Pemeleh

fascia board on both sides of the gable ends forming an upside-down V-shaped roof edge cover.

Bumbung Panjang (Gabled Roof)

Found in Malacca and Terangganu

'Bumbung Limas' (Root with four sloping sides)

'Bumbung Minangkabau' (High gable-end roof)

Surau

small mosque used for daily prayers and to learn the Koran

Madrasah

Arabic word for Islamic schools. Children use this to learn the Koran and Malay language in Arabic alphabets

Wakaf

built in a kampung (community) as a communal meeting and resting place

Kampung

• Traditionally a compound of a wealthy person; a collection of houses to two and can denote a single house with a compound

• Another old term used to describe a compound in relationship to the inhabitants of a mosque

• In modern times, used to describe a village settlement

• Measured based on the distance where Muslim prayer calls can be heard

serambi

• reception area

• located on the front side facing a public street or garden

• May consisted of only a raised platform without walls and runs along the whole or part of the rumah ibu

Rumah ibu

• main part of the house and the sleeping area

• largest area of the house and usually has no partitions.

• Usually has no full height solid walls. Partitions are only used during night-time to separate sleeping areas (hanging cloth or temporary carved panel partitions)

• Better ventilations and cooling of the entire house

Rumah dapur

• kitchen and dining area

• located at the rear and opposite to the serambi.

• A place where female members congregate and usually women proceed straight to the back entrance without going to the
  serambi

• Used primarily for cooking and sometime for dining

Selang

• a walkway joining the rumah ibu and rumah dapur

• Also a favorite place for socializing

Courtyard

• a Malaccan house concept which is an open interior space joining the main house and the kitchen

• Courtyards are on raised cement platforms

• Washing and drying activities carried out here

Pitched roof

protection from rain and good shading from glare and direct sunlight; also allows windows to be left open for good ventilation

Living creatures

Decorative motifs rarely used after the prevalence of Islam which prohibits the use of these in decoration

Floral motifs

Decorative motifs most widely used in architectural decoration and does not contradict Islamic principles

Calligraphic elements

decorative motif taken in the form of Arabic characters, verses from Koran and Jawi, a local Arabic writing. Usually placed at higher positions on the well and above the human body to be seen clearly

shophouses

First developed in Malacca and later on to Penang and other states.

13-20 feet; length at least twice or thrice its width

width and length of shophouses

terraced houses

Long, narrow, attached houses with internal air wells and courtyards

link houses

another word for terraced houses

Tua Peh Kong

Most are dedicated to ______ (the Hokkien God of Prosperity), it being the most popular Chinese god in Malaysia

Khoo Kongsi

• Public buildings used by cultural and ethnic groups for social and ritual activities

• Same purpose as temples with additional facilities for social interaction and public ceremonies (theater and porticos)

Straits Eclectic

• Most popular Chinese-Malaya styles

• Dates back from the 15th century when Chinese came to Straits settlement (Malacca)

• Spread to Penang, Singapore, and later to whole of Malaysia

• Developed during the colonial period and turned into a combination of Chinese architecture, Malay building traditions, and European influence (English and Dutch Renaissance with Mediterranean influences)

terraced houses and shophouses

examples of straits eclectic

Utilitarian

simple wooden shutters with minimum decoration

Neo classical

Elaborate Greek and Roman columns with ornate architectural decors

Art Deco/Art Modern

simplified lines/ geometric patterns

Post World War Two

no ornamentation, utilitarian

Chinese Baroque

• Introduced by Chinese immigrants

• Purer in form that Straits Eclectic

• Direct copies of architectural traditions of Southern China

• Buddhist and Confucian temples, Kongsis, Courtyard mansions

Sino-Malay Palladian Style

• Applied to freestanding Chinese houses or bungalows with Malay architectural tradition, European architectural style and Chinese architectural traditions

• Raised floors and high ceilings

A Famosa Fort (Malacca, 1511)

• Architects: Portuguese military engineers under Alfonso de Albuquerque.

• Details: Laterite stone fortress; bastions, ramparts, and gatehouses; only Porta de Santiago remains. Saved from full demolition by Stamford Raffles.

• Significance: Oldest surviving European military structure in Southeast Asia.

Stadthuys (Malacca, 1650)

• Architects: Dutch engineers (modeled on Hoorn Town Hall, Netherlands).

• Details: Dutch gables, thick masonry, terracotta roof tiles, bright red laterite plaster.

• Significance: Oldest Dutch colonial building in Asia; Malacca's administrative heart.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Kuala Lumpur, 1897)

• Architect: A.B. Hubback.

• Details: Indo-Saracenic; onion domes, chhatris, horseshoe arches, clocktower;
  red brick with white plaster bands.

• Significance: Colonial civic icon, now backdrop for Independence Square.

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (1910)

• Architect: A.B. Hubback.

• Details: Indo-Saracenic/Moorish Revival; pointed arches, domes, loggias.

• Significance: Landmark transport hub; tropical adaptation of Anglo-Indian railway style.

Ipoh Railway Station (1917)

• Architect: A.B. Hubback.

• Details: Edwardian
  Baroque with central dome and colonnades.

• Significance: Nicknamed the "Taj Mahal of Ipoh," tied to tin-mining prosperity.

Carcosa Seri Negara (Kuala Lumpur, 1896)

• Architect: Arthur Charles Norman.

• Details: Colonial mansion with verandahs and high ceilings for tropical ventilation.

• Significance: Residence of the British High Commissioner.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion, Penang, 1880s-1890s)

• Architects: Chinese artisans commissioned by Cheong Fatt Tze.

• Details: Southern Chinese courtyard house, indigo limewash, stained glass, cast-iron columns, feng shui alignment.

• Significance: Straits Eclectic domestic icon; UNESCO heritage conservation award.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion (Penang, late 19th c.)

• Architects: Chinese craftsmen with imported European fittings.

• Details: Stucco ornamentation, encaustic tiles, cast-iron railings, opulent
  Peranakan interiors.

• Significance: Showpiece of Straits
  Chinese affluence and cultural hybridity.

Kellie's Castle (Perak, 1905-1926)

• Architect: Commissioned by William Kellie Smith; design by European contractors.

• Details: Unfinished Indo-Saracenic/colonial mansion; towers, arches, mix of Moorish and European details.

• Significance: Romantic colonial folly, symbol of ambition and incompletion.

Stadium Merdeka (Kuala Lumpur, 1957)

• Architect: Stanley Edward Jewkes (PWD).

• Details: Reinforced concrete, cantilevered roof, modernist functionalist design.

• Significance: Site of Independence Proclamation on August 31, 1957.

Parliament House (Kuala Lumpur, 1963)

• Architect: Ivor Shipley (PWD).

• Details: Modernist tower with brise-soleil + low assembly podium.

• Significance: Symbol of Malaysia's democratic governance.

National Museum (Kuala Lumpur, 1963)

• Architect: Ho Kok Hoe.

• Details: Modernist base with vernacular Malay roof (bumbung panjang); historical murals on façade.

• Significance: Nation-building cultural institution.

KOMTAR Tower (Penang, 1986)

• Architect: Lim Chong Keat.

• Details: Brutalist-modernist cylindrical concrete tower; urban renewal centerpiece.

• Significance: Penang's modernist icon, tallest building in Malaysia at the time.

Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur, 1998)

• Architect: César Pelli & Associates.

• Details: Postmodern Islamic geometry; eight-pointed star plan (Rub el Hizb); stainless steel + glass façade; skybridge.

• Significance: Tallest buildings in the world (1998-2004); Malaysian global identity marker.

Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower, 1995)

• Architect: Kumpulan Senireka Sdn Bhd.

• Details: 421m communications tower; Islamic motifs in interiors.

• Significance: Major modern landmark and symbol of KL.

Putrajaya Civic Complexes (1990s-2000s)

• Perdana Putra (Prime Minister's Office,1999) - PWD Malaysia; Mughal/Islamic dome, monumental scale.

• Putra Bridge, Seri Perdana, government ministries - blend of Islamic motifs, Moorish details, and postmodern monumentalism.

• Significance: Planned administrative capital;

• expression of Malaysian Islamic identity in government architecture.

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (Kuching, 2009)

• Architects: Konsortium Kumpulan Seni Reka Sdn Bhd + Design Team.

• Details: Nine-pointed star roof form referencing Borneo motifs; modern steel structure.

• Significance: Combines state identity with futuristic monumental design.

The Exchange 106 (Kuala Lumpur, 2019)

• Architects: Mulia Group + PNB.

• Details: 492m glass-clad supertall skyscraper in TRX financial district.

• Significance: Contemporary global finance hub architecture.

Katil / Katil Balai

wooden bed sometimes four-poster with mosquito net (kelambu); katil balai used in weddings.

Bangku / Bangku Panjang

wooden bench or long seat for verandas

Gobok

storage chest or cabinet for clothes/textiles

Almira

cabinet (introduced later, during colonial influence).

Meja / Dulang Berkaki

small tables or elevated trays for dining or display

Tepak Sirih

betel set, central in Malay living rooms; symbolizes welcome, diplomacy, and hospitality

Pahar

pedestal tray, used for ceremonial offerings.

Keris (dagger) & keris stand

displayed as heritage and symbols of lineage

Labu Sayong

earthenware water jar, both practical and decorative

Tempayan

large ceramic jar, often imported from China, used for water or as prestige display

Raga Rotan

woven rattan basket, for storage or ritual