Colonial-Vernacular Houses of Java, Malaya, and Singapore in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

This study reviews the spatial and formal translations across indigenous vernacular and European colonial architecture in the formation and development of two nineteenth-century colonial-era house forms: first, the Compound House as it was called in building drawings, and the equivalent single story...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:URI:https://journals.openedition.org/abe,
Autor principal: Tajudeen, Imran bin
Formato: Article ou chapitre numérique
Lenguaje:Anglais
Publicado: ABE Journal 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Descripción
Sumario:This study reviews the spatial and formal translations across indigenous vernacular and European colonial architecture in the formation and development of two nineteenth-century colonial-era house forms: first, the Compound House as it was called in building drawings, and the equivalent single story, raised-floor form, the Rumah Limas, in British Malaya (today’s Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore); and second, the Indies-style town residence (Indische woonhuis), which is related to, but distinguishable from, the larger, eighteenth-century country house (Indische landhuis) in Java. The discussion moves beyond the typical focus on climatic adaptation and style to consider a number of striking parallels in the interior layout and formal composition of these colonial-vernacular house forms with Malay, Sundanese (West Java) and Javanese customary house traditions, including Javanese urban dwellings. In addition, two key spatial-formal translations and their related architectural nomenclature are reviewed: the neo-Palladian portico as Malay anjung/surong, and the Javanese pringgitan or transition terrace as voorgalerij. Through these considerations, different narratives emerge that supplement or problematize the focus on Europeans in the colonies in existing studies.