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MALAY House
MALAY House
VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE
Early Malay houses can be described as raised on timber stilts and made of materials which were easily available from the
tropical forests such as timber, bamboo, rattan, tree roots and leaves
. Usually the houses have pitched roofs, verandahs or porches in front, high ceilings and lots of big openings for
ventilation purposes
Although these characteristics are particularly common in all Malay houses throughout the Peninsular Malaysia, their
shapes and sizes differ from state to state.
Through many decades, the Malay architecture has been influenced by
Indonesian Bugis, riau and Java from the south; Siamese, British, Arab and
Indian from the north; Portuguese, Dutch, Acheh, Minangkabau from the
west; and Southern Chinese from the east.
Due to this fact, the Malay vernacular architecture have modified their styles in order
to adapt to these influences. For example, some houses in Kelantan state have a kind
of roof which is similar to that of Southern Thailand. This kind of roof style is totally
different from the ones in the Negeri Sembilan state which have been greatly
influenced by the Minangkabau of Indonesia.
Factors that govern the styles of the Malay vernacular architecture:
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