Malay Houses

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 moulded and colourfully tiled.

 

Origins of Villa Sentosa

Villa Sentosa is constructed in the late 1920s by the late Tuan Hj, Hashim bin Dato Demang Hj. Abdul Ghani and later converted to a private living museum. Villa Sentosa is located by the Melaka River in Kampung Morten, which is the only Malay Village in Melaka city. Constructed mainly in timber, the remarkable thing is that Villa Sentosa did not have a single nail. There are four rooms and an equal number of halls, a long kitchen, a porch and a backyard that faces some of the other 100 traditional Malay houses in Kampung Morten which are smaller than and not as grand as Villa Sentosa. Generally, the spaces in Malay houses are multifunctional and the use of spaces changes at different times of the day and year. Minimal partitions or interior walls are built into the house to allow flexible use of space for both good ventilation and lighting of the interiors. To further increase the flexibility of the house, minimal furniture is placed and most activities are carried out on the floor. Inside the house, nothing much has changed since the 1920s, appealing collection of costumes, Malay embroidery, furniture, muskets and a collection of interesting mementos. Ultimately, Villa Sentosa is an example of how the rich Malay family lived in the 1920s.

 

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.

The traditional Malay house is geared towards providing effective ventilation, taking into account the aspects as listed above. 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.

 

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.

 

Typical Building Plans, Its Layout and Functional Designs

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.

1. Planning Layout

Site Planning

Two main criteria of the Malay house are:

a) 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.

b) 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.

b) Orientation

Traditional Malay houses are often oriented to face Mecca (i.e. in an east-west direction) for religious reasons. The east-west orientation minimizes areas exposed to solar radiation. This orientation also suits the wind patterns in Malaysia (north-east and south-west).

2. Building Layout

For traditional Malay house, the body level is the most vital area for ventilation for comfort. 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:

a) The elongated open plans of the traditional Malay house allow easy passage of air, assuring cross ventilation is achieved.

b) 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.

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. Figure 5 depicts the ventilation approaches from openings as well as other design element in order to achieve thermal comfort. The design characteristics of the openings are as follow:

a) Having many full length openable windows and doors at body level to allow cross ventilation.

b) 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.

c) The position of windows of the Malay house can be found at all panels of the house, especially at living and dining areas.

4. Roof Elements

a) Roof spaces in the traditional Malay house are properly ventilated by the provision of ventilation joints and panels in the roof construction.

b) No ceiling panel is used, assuring no air blockage.

c) Ventilated roof space that helps to cool the house.