Overview

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.

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9781350360389

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Reviews

Soon-Tzu Speechley has broken new ground with this detailed and insightful study of classical architecture on the Malay Peninsula. Considering the style in both its colonial and creolized forms, the book adds substantially to the history of classicism, including our understanding of the architecture of the colonial encounter more generally. * G. A. Bremner, University of Edinburgh, UK * Speechley narrates the long pageant of Malayan architectural history, paying simultaneous attention to political and social milieu, architectural professionalism and client aspirations. In his wide-ranging discourse, he reminds us that in provincial capitals of empire, classicism was everywhere, but classical purity was nowhere. Malayan Classicism succeeds in decoding architectural Babel without the usual distortion of cultural bias. For sure, Speechley belongs to a new generation of architectural historians for whom civilisations did not clash but cleverly conversed, competed and collaborated in the making of cities. * Khoo Salma Nasution, Penang Heritage Trust, Malaysia *

Author Information

Soon-Tzu Speechley is Lecturer in Urban and Cultural Heritage at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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