A comparative study of spatial integration between three Malay traditional houses / Nurul Wahidah Zainuddin

A comfortable home is one that can meet all of a person's needs. Regardless of that, the major problem in most houses around the country is that house users, their necessities, and the surroundings change rapidly over time. As for the traditional houses, it is much easier to change the house layout due to the architectural technology of traditional Malay architecture, which uses flexibility in its construction methods. Therefore, this study aims to deepen the understanding of the spatial configuration that could be found in our traditional houses. As for that, "Space Syntax theory" is used in this paper to analyse the relationship between spaces in a few types of traditional houses that have differences in terms of the number of rooms in the house and the arrangement of the house plan in states around North Malaysia. According to the findings of this study, nested space, multiple entrances for each space, selective connectivity, and integration could enable the houses to create a wide range of spatial configurations. The adaptability of the Malay traditional houses is enabled by their flexible spatial configuration.