The Penang House and the Straits Architect, 1887-1941
The mercantile communities of the Straits of Malacca were patrons of a distinctive architecture which flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Western advances in technology combined with Eastern tastes, craftsmanship and local ways of building to create distinctive habitats appropriate to the tropical climate. As the island's wealth grew, the buildings constructed by military engineers for the British East India Company were surpassed in size and beauty by the grand homes of the colonial and local elite.
European architects such as Henry Alfred Neubronner, James Stark, John McNeill, Charles Geoffrey Boutcher, David McLeod Craik and Joseph Charles Miller were pioneers in the practice of modern architecture in early twentieth-century Penang, laying the foundations for future generations of local architects. The development of Straits architecture is succinctly expressed in the evolution of the Penang house. More than just a home, the house in this mercantile community was a statement of wealth, influence and cultural affiliations. With the inscription of George Town to the UNESCO World Heritage List, the heritage of the Penang house noted for its architectural flair, inventiveness and stylistic diversity is now world-renowned. This lavishly illustrated book is an important landmark study of a glorious chapter in Malaysia's architectural history.
RM110.00
Out of stock
Description
The mercantile communities of the Straits of Malacca were patrons of a distinctive architecture which flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Western advances in technology combined with Eastern tastes, craftsmanship and local ways of building to create distinctive habitats appropriate to the tropical climate. As the island’s wealth grew, the buildings constructed by military engineers for the British East India Company were surpassed in size and beauty by the grand homes of the colonial and local elite.
European architects such as Henry Alfred Neubronner, James Stark, John McNeill, Charles Geoffrey Boutcher, David McLeod Craik and Joseph Charles Miller were pioneers in the practice of modern architecture in early twentieth-century Penang, laying the foundations for future generations of local architects. The development of Straits architecture is succinctly expressed in the evolution of the Penang house. More than just a home, the house in this mercantile community was a statement of wealth, influence and cultural affiliations. With the inscription of George Town to the UNESCO World Heritage List, the heritage of the Penang house noted for its architectural flair, inventiveness and stylistic diversity is now world-renowned. This lavishly illustrated book is an important landmark study of a glorious chapter in Malaysia’s architectural history.
Publisher: Areca Books
Hardback
2015
ISBN: 9789675719196
Related products
-
Eric Quah Retrospective
Eric Quah’s early works, like those of his contemporaries in Penang in the 1960s, has a style and content which was romantic, because like most...RM120.00 -
PIPE’ 10: Penang International Print Exhibition 2010
PIPE’ 10 is a compilation book of print arts featured in the Penang International Print Exhibition 2010 (PIPE 2010) The exhibition covered a...RM50.00 -
The Sara Saga
The decades from the 1930s to the 1960s were hugely important in the making of modern Asia They saw the tumultuous transition from colonial rule...RM40.00 -
Malaysian Cooking: A Master Cook Reveals Her Best Recipes
Cook spicy and fragrant dishes with this innovative and easy-to-follow Malaysian Cookbook Carol Selva Rajah, a well respected authority and...RM47.00