Entry 4: Islamic VS Malay Architecture

What is Malaysian architecture?
What is Malay architecture?
What is Islamic architecture?

To be honest, the first thing comes in to my mind to define Malay architecture is about Rumah Panjang and Rumah Melayu. For Islamic architecture, i'll rather put mosque into this category. The common element to differentiate this two architectural styles is that Malay architecture is more to a edgy kind of structure whereas the Islamic architecture is commonly with a dome design.


As you can see the image below, the mosque represents an Islamic architecture and the Rumah Melayu represents the Malay architecture. Mosque with dome and minaret is a common design element for Islamic architecture, slanted and edgy rooftop with plenty of windows are the elements of Malay architecture design.

 They both have their own characteristics which can easily be differentiate and the features the obtain have their own purposes and meanings too.

Here are a few features which carry symbolic and iconic design elements.

As you can see below, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque as the national mosque in Kuala Lumpur, it is an Islamic architecture that is a typical design for mostly all the mosque that we can usually see.

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque 

The interior of the mosque is mostly designed with glass where the sunlight can go through it. The columns which located inside the mosque had played an important role to hold the structure up without any wall structure. The pros of these features are they will make the interior broader and spacious

Interior of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque.

Then, the Rumah Melayu which have all the features as the Malay Architecture design style. It has numbers of windows, long and triangular rooftop, and it rises up from the ground.

Rumah Melayu, Malaysia

As a conclusion, Malay architecture which is locally based in vernacular Malaysian architecture whereby the Islamic architecture is a combination of local and foreign elements on the design. 

That's all for today! Stay tuned for the next post!

Reference:

About Religion, 2016. Parts of Mosque. 25th February. Retrieved from http://islam.about.com/od/mosques/tp/architecture_parts.htm

The Review of Mosque Architecture, n.d. Morphological components of the Mosque. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjavtjq7JnNAhUOSI8KHQhsDAoQFgglMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.umsl.edu%2F~naumannj%2FGeography%2520PowerPoint%2520Slides%2Farchitecture%2520page%2FA%2520Review%2520of%2520Mosque%2520Architecture.doc&usg=AFQjCNE4kn5Q9ugYX5do_fZ7fD1pSPGvGA&sig2=I9ZjSdRUxkmRG3aGEZ7ULg&bvm=bv.124088155,d.c2I

J.Y Lim, n.d. The Traditional Malay House. Retrieved from http://unossc1.undp.org/GSSDAcademy/SIE/Docs/Vol4/Malay_house.pdf