The importance of Singgora roof tiles on traditional and contemporary building / Wan Aida Annadwa Mohd Asri and Murni Zainal

Singgora roof tiles were so popular back then because the shape was very eye- catching and lightweight. Other than that, Singgora roof tiles can absorb water during rainy days and able to give cooling effect to the internal house during the day while making occupants feel comfortable. It also has a longer lifespan than organic roofs which decompose quickly and are flammable. But nowadays, the demand of Singgora roof tiles is decreased. One of the main factors is due to emergence of modern architectural materials such as cement roof tile that replacing Singgora roof tiles. The objective of the study is to know the importance usages of Singgora roof tiles in traditional and contemporary buildings in Kelantan and identify the decreasing factors of Singgora roof tiles. The qualitative method was conducted by doing site observation and interviewing Mohamad Salleh, the owner of Singgora Homestay at Pasir Hor, Kelantan and Noraini Hj Jusoh, the owner of Craft Atap Singhora factory, a Singgora factory in Bachok, Kelantan. Four buildings (both traditional and contemporary buildings) constructed with Singgora roof tiles were chosen. The buildings are i) Istana Tengku Nik at Terengganu, ii) Istana Jahar at Kota Bharu, Kelantan, iii) Masjid Kampung Laut, Tumpat, Kelantan and iv) Istana Syarqiyyah at Terengganu. There are four stages of Singgora tiles process. The properties of Singgora tiles itself, Singgora tiles has small scale industry and people’s perceptions towards Singgora tiles are the three major factors that contributes on declining of Singgora tile’s demand.