Rebuilding The Kedah Traditional House

I was really surprise to see a new rebuild of rumah traditional Kedah on my visit to the north side of Malaysia. This traditional house of Kedah is located in Alor Star and had been restructured by 'Anak Arshad Architect', a well known architect firm in Kedah.Above is the original picture of this house when first 'Anak Arshad' bought it. It was very old and for me it needs more then a spirit to made it alive back! From the picture I can tell that it is almost impossible to rebuild it, but 'Anak Arshad' dare to take the challenge.From the outside of the house, i can see this house still remain it's original structure but most of the wall parts is new. Below we can see the artistry of welcoming by using slippers (wooden steps from old railways).This slippers were bought somewhere in Alor Star, and I really like it!The wooden stairs were nicely done with original style in structuring the slanting post. This is the entrance of this house, the transparent yellow glass on the left and right side of the entrance is such an interesting part of this house.Below is the welcome settee area, classic wooden chair and round wooden table in between. Here goes some picture of this house and some memories of Alor Star town.Although this is a traditional house, it is completely equipped with modern facilities, this nice pantry was located at a corner in the living area, what a perfect composition in the combination of modern and traditional.The living area is also using additional lighting.This is the access to the room area, as we can see this house is full of traditional motifs at the top of the window and doors, it was named 'Kekisi'.The 'Kekisi' is one of the important part of a Malay traditional house, it is like a must and kekisi has it own function for the house.Usually kekisi will be located on the top of a window or door, the reason is to let wind pass through a room or any part of the house. This is the way for to keep this house in low temperature. Other than that kekisi also decorates the house with motifs that creates identity of the house.Below is the close up of the transparent yellow glass. This glass is textured by classic motifs and it is also has it's own function for the house. It is to makes the house glow by using natural lighting, without electricity back in the old days our designers create solutions to lighten up interiors and also to keep the house in cool temperature.This is called 'Tiang Tunjuk Langit'. It is a wooden post as the structure part of traditional Kedah house. This house need four tiang tunjuk langit to hold the roof of this house. This post is the original part from the old house. The bathroom really create calm mood, when I entered this area i feel so cosy with the combination of modern tiles and woody wall part of it. Terracotta canister also decorates this bathroom.Equipped with water heater.This is one of an Malay aesthetic that remain and still standing in this millennium years. Credits and big applause should be given to 'Anak Arshad Architect' for efforts in keeping this valuable memories to be seen by the next generations. And the most impressively this house is used for homestay, if you guys wish to stay a couple of night in Alor Star just inform me for contacts. Anyway thanks for viewer of fcendvsyu design blog for always supporting this design blog. Have a nice day!