"Fully illustrated by full-colour photographs and three-demensional drawings, this book documents the architecture of the traditional Malay house, giving details of the various housetypes, the construction system, the climatic design and the adaptations to the social and cultural needs of the Malays".--BOOKJACKET.

This description of the traditional Malay house shows that it is not only a highly ordered process of building, but also a cultural artefact in its own right, and introduces the reader to the beliefs that underlie its construction.

The Malay house is defined and described in the Malaysian context . Underlying principles or rules that make up the· house are derived from the analysis of its physical, spatial and functional elements and the variations that these elements exhibit. Tho rules are tested in the reconstruction of the Malay house. Changes based on hypothetical cases are then introduced to find out how the house would transform under these new sets of requirements. It is found that it is possible for a person, having not seen a Malay house prior to this, to reconstruct one based on the rules stated in this work. It is also found that new systems have to be added to the existing systems in the Malay house to meet the requirements for change. The addition of new systems however, do not mean the destruction of the tradition. It is hoped that this prototype would be the basis for further research in the Malay house.