Attap dwelling
Encyclopedia
An attap dwelling is traditional housing found in the kampongs of Brunei
, Indonesia
, Malaysia and Singapore
. Named after the attap palm
, which provides the wattle for the walls, and the leaves with which their roofs are thatched, these dwellings can range from huts to substantial houses. Until the nineteenth century even significant public buildings such as temple
s were built in this manner. The attap dwelling was used as the inspiration for the natural cross ventilation system for Newtown Suites, by WOHA
Architects, Singapore.
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Named after the attap palm
Nypa fruticans
Nypa fruticans, known as the attap palm , nipa palm , and mangrove palm or buah atap , buah nipah , dừa nước , Ging Pol in Sinhala in Sri Lanka and gol pata , dani . It is the only palm considered a mangrove in the Mangroves Biome...
, which provides the wattle for the walls, and the leaves with which their roofs are thatched, these dwellings can range from huts to substantial houses. Until the nineteenth century even significant public buildings such as temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s were built in this manner. The attap dwelling was used as the inspiration for the natural cross ventilation system for Newtown Suites, by WOHA
WOHA
WOHA is a Singapore based multidisciplinary design and architecture firm, founded by Wong Mun Summ & Richard Hassell in 1994. The firm has been said not to have a fixed language or style, and, instead, to let each project evolve around a set of objectives and strategies that emerge from within the...
Architects, Singapore.