Modernization of the Vernacular Malay House In Kampong Bharu, Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

Kampong Baharu (KB), literally meaning "New Village", is located in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It came into existence in 1899 as a reserved area only for ethnic Malays. Over time, urban growth resulted in the settlement losing its agricultural value and now it is a unique preserved housing area for Malays. Many vernacular Malay houses that were built in the 1900s still exist in KB. These houses were not original vernacular houses and were transformed and modernized into unique typologies that lie between the traditional and modern typologies.This study defines these houses as 'modern' vernacular Malay houses and attempts to explore the typologies of such houses built during the 1900s in KB. More than 100 vernacular Malay houses in KB were investigated and analyzed with respect to three major elements of order of the traditional Malay house elevation: roof, wall and pillar. As a result of this study, several representative 'modern' vernacular typologies were proposed. It is important to document these typologies because they demonstrate how traditional vernacular Malay houses were transformed into modern houses through the modernization process.

Continuation and Transformation of Traditional Elements in Colonial Vernacular Houses in Kampong Bharu, Malaysia

“…The traditional vernacular house in Malaysia has a unique hierarchical order of a front-to-rear space layout: anjung-serambi-rumah ibu-dapur (Chen, 1998;Lim, 1987;Ariffin, 2001;Ju et al, 2012). In this house however, being a full two-storey structure, spaces are distributed across two levels in this case while still preserving the traditional hierarchical order.…”

“…Traditional Malay houses are generally characterized by a raised floor due to the hot and humid tropical climate (Ju et al, 2012). Only a small built up area makes up the ground level, which comprises a small office, intended as a hobby room for the master of the house.…”

“…Many vernacular Malay houses that were built in the 1900s still exist in Kampong Bharu. According to previous research by the author (Ju et al, 2012), there were four major types of vernacular houses that existed in Kampong Bharu: traditional vernacular houses type I -Bumbung Panjang, traditional vernacular houses type II -Bumbung Perak, colonial vernacular houses and modern vernacular houses.…”

“…In the author's precedent study (Ju et al, 2012), vernacular houses in Kampong Bharu can be classified into four major types: the traditional vernacular house type I (Bumbung Panjang style), the traditional vernacular house type II (Bumbung Perak style), the colonial vernacular house, and the modern vernacular house. Of these four types, the colonial vernacular house refers to vernacular houses that were influenced mainly by European architecture.…”

“…Many vernacular Malay houses that were built in the 1900s still exist in Kampong Bharu. According to previous research by the author (Ju et al, 2012), there were four major types of vernacular houses that existed in Kampong Bharu: traditional vernacular houses type I -Bumbung Panjang, traditional vernacular houses type II -Bumbung Perak, colonial vernacular houses and modern vernacular houses.The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify colonial vernacular houses among the four types which originated from the early period of colonization and later evolved into an eclectic style due to the social, ethnic and cultural changes occurring in colonial Malaysia. To achieve this, the paper conducts case studies on five colonial vernacular houses in Kampong Bharu.…”