Malaysian House:
Multi-generational Living Under One Roof
Project: Family House
The most praiseworthy core value of Malaysian culture is the importance of family in life. It is our culture that generations of a family live together under one roof, and that is where we call it our home. It is the base where a family begins, where we cherish life together.
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A house is not just a house when it is filled with love. Our tradition of multi-generational living has made the society more loving and compassionate. Despite modernisation and change of lifestyle, it is significant that we still embrace this remarkable value. It is our identity that we should cherish. With elements of traditional Malay architecture and adaptation to tropical climate, this house is proposed with an aim to cultivate family togetherness and improve intergenerational understanding among family members of multi generations. This is a house that reflects the identity of traditional local Malay house, modified to meet the modern lifestyle and needs. It is a welcoming, relaxed and comfortable living environment, a place where everyone enjoys staying together.
Design Approaches
The design adapts the elements of traditional Malay architecture, such as louvered doors and window panels, which are widely used here to celebrate the natural daylight and breeze. Louvered clerestory windows are used to allow natural ventilation into the rooms. Light shelves are installed above clerestory windows to bring in more daylight. This house is designed to be as open as possible to reconnect human and nature, while reducing electrical energy needed for ventilation and lighting.
