Malaysian architecture is very much influenced by her long history of the Malay civilisations, colonialism and the modernisation. Throughout the years, as a developing country, Malaysia has experienced economic booming that has brought many architectural advancements in the country.
As a tropical nation, the vernacular architecture in Malaysia has been shaped by the tropical surroundings, as well as the cultures and lifestyles of the Malays, the natives of Malaysia. The general tropical architecture perceived as a responsive and adapted to the surrounding environment and climate. The bioclimatic considerations have always been part of the architectural elements that emphasise the thermal comfort, durability and sustainability factors. These are coined in the very recent movement of green and sustainable architecture, which technically been adopted in the region for centuries!
This is the unique feature of the Malay vernacular architecture, that encompasses beyond the traditional house architecture, but also includes the mosques, palaces, urban and settlement design and public spaces. The Malay architecture has general features and characteristics but varies across the states in Malaysia. The similar Malay architecture feature can also be found in neighbouring Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, which are collectively known as the Austronesian architecture.
In Malaysia, you may find the collective Malay vernacular houses from various the Malaysian states in the same compound area known as the Malaysian Mini Park in Melaka, where the sample houses are built and displayed in an arranged setting. Otherwise, you may travel across the country and found many of this architecture are being kept and well-preserved in the real kampung (village) setting.
Apart from the indigenous architecture, Malaysia is also blessed with the culture derived from the Chinese Mainland and Indian subcontinent with the influx of immigrants from these two regions. Came as early as the 15th century, the Chinese culture, particularly from Southern China is mainly visible in major Malaysian cities. This is prevalent with the shophouse architecture in the urban setting, a hybrid architectural feat that embodies Chinese, colonial and tropical influences. They have also brought in the Buddhism religious architecture, in the form of temples, pagodas and statues.
The Indian culture in Malaysia is the predominantly Tamil culture of South India origin. They first came in as labours and traders during the British colonial era and have attributed to the religious architecture of Hinduism. This can be seen in many former plantation areas and town, with the famous one, would be the Batu Caves Temple, carved in a limestone cave located in the north skirt of Kuala Lumpur, dedicated to the Lord Murugan.
With the long colonialism history, much architectural heritage in Malaysia traced back to this period. Beginning with the Portuguese, Dutch and British, each colonial power has left their footprint in terms of architectural legacies. The remnants of the Portuguese and Dutch are prevalent in the historic city of Melaka, where many forts, buildings and churches were built. The architecture portrays the European colonial style with the tropical influence.
While the British set the longest period of colonialism until the independence of this country in 1957. Unlike in most other colonies, the British had introduced a peculiar colonial architecture that was inspired by the Mughal architecture in India, as well as the neoclassical and Art Deco styles. The Mughal style architecture is profound in Kuala Lumpur, as the many civic buildings in the old quarters are modelled after this.
Moved on to the 20th century, with the wave of independence, was a turning point for Malaysia, with the introduction of internationalism, in the wake of finding own identity through architecture. This can be seen in the 1960s with the much civic building have not only been built with the modernist approaches but had also imparted many regional and vernacular elements. This can be seen in many pioneer modernist buildings such as the National Mosque, Parliament House and the National Museum.
In the late 1980s to 1990s, many post-modernism buildings emerged in the country, along with the rapid industrialisation period. The epitome of Malaysian architectural scene was the construction of mega construction projects in the late 1990s, that saw the completion of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the new administrative centre of Putrajaya and the very own Malaysian icon, Petronas Twin Towers.
Today, many buildings are built and crafted the city skyline with various modern and contemporary expressions. This has included the green and sustainable architecture that promotes the effective and ingenious methods of design and construction process. Many buildings have adopted the movement and have continued imparted the local and vernacular essence into the building.
