Malay Traditional House Interior

CHARACTERISTIC
Raised on timber stilts
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.
The shapes and sizes differ

CLIMATE
Due to heavy monsoon rains,
the roofs of the Malay
vernacular houses are very
steep.
Some houses have used
timber stilts to elevate the
building above the ground
level. The warm climate also
effects the style of the Malay
vernacular architecture.
For ventilation purposes,
many buildings have large
openings on the sides and
grilles are provided at high
level in gable ends. Houses
raised on stilts are provided
with better natural
ventilation.

MATERIAL RESOURCES
Malaysia has a tropical
climate, building
materials such as
timber, rattan, tree
roots, bamboo and
leaves are easily
available from the
tropical forests.
In a traditional Malay
house, timber is used
for the building
structures, rattan and
tree roots are used for
tieing up joints
whereas bamboo and

MALAY WAY OF LIFE (CULTURE &

RELIGION)
In the Malay culture, buildings such as
houses and palaces that are highly
hand-crafted and beautifully patterned
and decorated reflect the building
owners high status.
As Muslims, the Malays have adopted
the Islamic principles of orientation of
mosques, particularly the prayer halls
which have to be designed and faced
towards Mecca.
In other cases, some of the traditional
Malay houses have floors at different
levels, indicating the room functions.
The verandah floor is raised lower than
the living room floor. This is not only
indicating the room functions but also
giving a sense of spatial transition in
the building.

Johore Five Roofed House

The traditional Malay House in
Johore well known as Rumah
Limas Bugis or Bugis Five-Roofed
House.
The house style is influenced by
the Bugis of Sulawesi, Indonesia.
It is easily recognized by the long
ridged roof, which is joined to four
ridges, which project outwards to
the four edges of the roof.
The special about it is the edge of
the roof is decorated with
carvings.

 The materials used for

construct Rumah Limas
Bugis include Cengal,
Keranji, Penak and
Meranti wood that can
easily found in Malaysia.
The layout design of
traditional Malay house in
Johor consists of the
verandah, which is
connected to the front room
(anjung). The verandah
always used as a living area
for the family. It is separated
from the main house (rumah
ibu) by a wall.
The main house and kitchen
are separated by a passage
called ruang selar or
selasar.

Malacca Long Roofed House

The only traditional Malay
housed which can be recognized
by its glazed and multi-coloured
tiles on the staircases which are
imported from Europe and
China.
Also has attic, and colourful
exterior, a house found only in
villages in Melaka.
Flowers are a common motif.
The house evinces a mixture of
architectural influences, which
mainly adopted from the
traditional Chinese house.