Architecture/ Contents

Origins of the Malayan bungalow

Khoo Salma Nasution

Although the word 'bungalow' originates from the modest Bengal house—a timber structure with a thatched roof and a veranda built on the ground—the bungalow in Malaysia refers to a much more substantial detached house. As in a Malay village, the Malayan bungalow and its cluster of ancillary buildings were set in a large 'compound' (a word derived from the Malay 'kampong').

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Eighteenth-century bungalows
  • The Anglo-Indian bungalow
  • Local hybrid styles
  • Lifestyles and house styles
Bungalow

The bedroom in the bungalow are large and airy with high ceilings to keep the rooms cool.