Page 398 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

390 USEFUL INFORMATION
Architecture - New Horizons for Tropical Living
Malaysian architecture has developed over the centuries in much the same way as the country’s cuisine, offering variety, colour, flavour and many international influences, yet sharing a uniquely Malaysian identity.
Traditional Architecture Traditional Malay architecture adapts itself to the tropical climate, building on stilts to allow cooling ventilation and using local hardwood fastened without nails and decorated with ornate woodcarvings. Fine examples include the Old Palace of
Seri Menanti (Negeri Sembilan, 1905), the Old Palace at Kuala Kangsar (Perak, 1927) and the kampung houses of Melaka and Terengganu (19th to early 20th centuries). Malaysia Chinese architecture uses traditional Chinese themes, such as Melaka’s 17th century Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, localised Baba Nyonya styles
Rumah Tok Su is an early 20th century traditional Malay house built for a wealthy village headman. It has been renovated and rebuilt in the centre of Alor Setar, Kedah.
like the colourful shophouses and townhouses of Melaka and Penang, and a fusion of Chinese and Western styles shown in elegant early 20th century mansions.
Malaysian Indian architecture is essentially Southern Indian Hindu in style, such as the elaborate Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur, but more austere designs can
be found in Sikh temples and Indian Muslim mosques such as the Masjid India (Kuala Lumpur, 1963).
Sarawak and Sabah are noted for their many styles
of longhouses, entire villages under one roof built with timber or bamboo. Many Orang Ulu longhouses are decorated with delicate symbolic murals. Sabah is also noted for rustic water villages built on stilts along riverbanks and seafronts.
Colonial Styles
The earliest example
of Malaysian colonial architecture is the Portuguese
The Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum in Melaka, a stunning example of Peranakan (Straits Chinese) townhouse architecture dating from the mid-19th century.