Through a broad range of case studies spanning from imperial monuments to rural residences, Malayan Classicism puts forward a fundamentally new understanding of classical architecture in the Asian colonial context.
Across Malaysia and Singapore, thousands of historic buildings are richly ornamented with motifs drawn from Ancient Greece and Rome - as plump volutes, lush acanthus leaves, and neat rows of dentils decorate mosques, palaces, government buildings and innumerable terraced shophouses. These classical details jostle with ideas drawn from other architectural traditions from across Asia in a style that is unique to the region.
Presenting the first comprehensive account of what was, prior to World War II, Malaya’s most widespread architectural style, Malayan Classicism explores how the classical architecture of the British Empire was transmitted, translated, and transformed in the hands of local builders and architects. Addressing a critical gap in the scholarship, this book charts the metamorphosis of an imperial language of power into a local vernacular style, and provides a new way of reading classical architecture in a post-colonial context that will be applicable throughout the Global South.
By:
Soon-Tzu Speechley (University of Melbourne Australia)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781350360341
ISBN 10: 1350360341
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 22 February 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction 1. Columns and Capitals: Colonial Power and Malaya’s Capital Cities British Classicism in Nineteenth-Century Penang and Singapore Capital Ideas: Building Indo-Saracenic Kuala Lumpur Variations on a Theme: The Spread of Imperial Capitalism in British Malaya 2. A Classical Education: The Architecture of Schools in British Malaya St Joseph’s Institution, Singapore The Tao Nan Chinese School, Singapore The Malay College, Kuala Kangsar, The Malay Free School at Jalan Sultan, Singapore The Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur 3. Classical Monuments for the Modern Sultan: Royal Patronage of Classical Architecture in the Johor Sultanate The Istana Besar at Johor Bahru The Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque Sultan Ibrahim’s Banqueting Hall The Muar Mosque 4. Coarsened or Cosmopolitan? Re-reading Malaya’s Vernacular Classicism A Diverse Profession An Emerging Vernacular: Shophouses before the Twentieth Century Nascent Eclecticism A Consolidated Style New Accents, New Languages: From Art Deco to Modernism 5. Vestal Versions: Malaya’s Temples of Commerce Early Warehouses and Godowns European Banks and Trading Houses The Maritime Gateways of Empire The China Building, Boat Quay 6. Decline and Fall? The Supreme Court, Empress Place, and the Kallang Aerodrome Monumental Translation Imperial Monuments, Colonial Labour Modernity in Antiquity: The Materiality of the Supreme Court Trial by Media: Critical Backlash to the Supreme Court in the Colonial Press Grand Designs: Ward’s Unrealised Civic District Taking Flight: The Kallang Aerodrome Conclusion: Translations and Transitions Bibliography Index
Soon-Tzu Speechley is Lecturer in Urban and Cultural Heritage at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
