Analysis of Facade Typology of “Dutch” Shophouses in

Analysis of Facade Typology of “Dutch” Shophouses in Melaka
Robert C.M. Weebers (1), Yahaya Ahmad (2) and Zuraini M.A. (3).
1.
2.
3.
PhD Candidate, Faculty of Built Environment, University of
Malaya, Malaysia. (robertweebers@myjaring.net)
Associate Professor, Deputy Dean Research and Post Graduate, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Malaysia
(yahaya@um.edu.my)
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Built Environment, University Malaya,
Malaysia. (zuraini_mdali@um.edu.my)
Abstract
Shophouses in Melaka are not totally “Dutch” in design and decoration.
The 37 shophouses, which belong to this study, have Dutch, Chinese and
Portuguese architectural and decorative influences. Dutch characteristics are the
door and rectangular window in two halves. Others have a door in one piece with a
rectangular window and a window, small or large, in the façade of the first floor.
The width of the facade was introduced by the Dutch.
Chinese architectural characteristics of the shophouses are the simple and very
functional form. Some Chinese decorative elements of shophouses are: a fire wall
in the form of a “cat crawling” square ventilation holes and an indoor screen.
As of the eighteenth century Portuguese influences are also seen in the shophouses
in the gable endings.
It can also be argued that the design of the façade is not after any “Dutch” design
but that these kind of facades are commonly found in the Southeast Asia region.
Keywords: Southeast Asia, Dutch, heritage, shop houses
1
1.
Introduction
Melaka has some very characteristic buildings among these are shophouses these
buildings were designed by Dutch government officials, traders, or private persons.
The construction of the houses was most probably done by (Chinese) craftsmen
who introduced their own architectural elements. (Laurens Vis 1988:14)
According to Laurens Vis (1988:116) some houses in Melaka have been
highlighted to show the features of the Dutch architecture overseas. It appears that
the seventeenth-century houses have been established according to the Dutch
building traditions. Plastering of the walls, the ridge turning parallel to the street so
the façades are at the side of the house and the addition of galleries in that period
are the main addition in that period. As of the eighteenth century, the houses are
influenced by local features, with Melaka, as in the former Ceylon, a Portuguese
influence can be observed in the gable endings.
These “Dutch” shophouses can be divided in three types: A, B and C on the
following characteristics.
Type A: Door in two halves or in one part on the right hand-side in the façade of
the house. Window in two halves or in one part on the left hand-side of
the door. One window on the first floor.
Type B: Door in two halves or in one part on the left hand-side in the front of
the house. Window in two halves or in part on the right hand-side of the
door. One window on the first floor.
Type C: Door, in two halves, in the middle of the façade of the house. Two windows on each side of the door and two windows on the first floor.
Figure 1: Types of shophouses
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers
The location of the shophouses are in the following streets:
Dutch Shophouses
Street
Numbers
Quantity
Not Even
Jalan Bukit Cina
75,95
2
2
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
(Heerenstraat)
Even
6,8,24,26,34,38,46,5
4,56,66,68,72,120.
13
Jalan Hang Jebat
(Jonkerstraat)
Not even
7,61,163,183.
Not even
29c
Jalan Hang Kasturi
(Tweede Brugwal Straat)
(Second Cross Street)
Even
2,6,10,16
Jalan Kubu
Even
8,12,16c.
Even
142
Jalan Tengkera
4
1
4
3
1
Not even
83, 177, 217, 219,
251, 255, 257, 259,
263
9
37
Figure 2: Table of the streets and numbers of the shophouses
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers
3
JALAN KUBU
JALAN TENGKERA
JALAN HANG JABAT
(JONKERSTRAAT)
JALAN HANG
KASTURI
JALAN BUKIT
C INA
JALAN TUN TAN
CHENG LOCK
(HEERENSTRAAT)
Figure 3: The Core and Buffer zones in Melaka.
Source: Nomination Dossier for Registration of Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca: Melaka
and George Town, p.11.
2.
Design
The characteristics of these “Dutch” shophouses in Melaka are that they are two
stories high. They have a narrow front due to the tax levied on the width of the
façade by the Dutch government of Melaka. This was a typical “Dutch” feature
because some houses in the Netherlands have narrow façades as well. This is
because of tax reasons too. The façade of these shophouses is between 3.64 and
6.09 meters wide and between 6.00 and 8.00 meters high. They have a covered
walkway in front of the house.
The distinctive features of the shophouses are: on the ground floor there is a
rectangular window and a door which are both either in two parts or in one part.
On the first floor there are either one, two, three windows or one large window.
All two stories
All narrow Front
Between 3.64 - 6.09 meters width
4
Height
All covered walkway or front
porch
Decorative elements
Materials
Between 6.00 - 8.00 meters
Between 3.64 - 6.09 meters
Beams, hinges, wall anchors, hardwood framing,
louvered windows, tile roofing and terracotta
floor tiles.
Bricks
Floor tiles (terracotta) roof tiles
Figure 4: Characteristics of the shop houses
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers
The majority of the 37 “Dutch” shophouses (25) have the door on the right and the
window on the left (Type A). 10 shop houses have the door on the left and the
window on the right (Type B) and only one type (Type C) (2) has the door in the
middle of the façade with on either side a window. The shophouse in Melaka has a
façade which is between 3.64 and 6.09 meters wide. The height is between 6.00
and 8.00 meters.
Figure 5: Shop house
on Jalan Tun Tan Cheng
Lock 56
Source: Robert C. M. Weebers
The door in two halves was also a feature in some houses in the Netherlands which
were used as shops. (Haan/Haagsma 1990:66) In the winter, the door would be
closed, with warmer weather it would be open and everyone could walk in or out
from the street, or from the house into the street. The effect was that the street
became an extension of the house. In the shophouses of type A1 and B2 the
rectangular window has two outward (downward and upward) turning wooden
shutters. The bottom part would be used to place merchandise on. In front of the
window a rattan screen was sometimes placed. This made it possible to look into
the street without being seen.
5
According to Johannes Widodo “Ordinary Chinese in Melaka lived in small row
houses made of brick. The front of the house was a two storey building used
mainly as a shop, the front terrace was an indispensable part of each dwelling unit,
and was not open to its adjacent units. This early typology of dwelling could be
found everywhere within the old core of coastal settlements all over Southeast
Asia”. (Widodo 2004:100)
3.
Typology
The types of shophouses are to be divided in types: A, B and C.
Main
Type
Sub
Description, Streets and Graphics.
Types
A
A1
A1 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the righthand side and a rectangular window on the left-hand side.
Both in two halves. And one window on the first floor.
Jalan Hang Kasturi
10
16
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
56
6
A2
A2 has in the façade on the ground floor a door in two halves
on the right hand-side and on the left hand-side a rectangular
window and one window on the first floor.
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
61
A3
120
A3 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the
right-hand side and a rectangular window in two halves
on the left-hand side and one window on the first floor.
Jalan Tengkera
83
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
46
A4
72
A4 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the righthand side a rectangular window on the left-hand side and one
7
window on the first floor.
Jalan Bukit Cina
95
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
7
24
26
Jalan Hang Kasturi
2
6
8
Jalan Kubu
8
16c
Jalan Tengkera
142
A5
177
259
A5 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the righthand side a rectangular window on the left- hand side and two
windows on the first floor.
Jalan Bukit Cina
Jalan Tengkera
217
A6
257
75
A6 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the righthand side a rectangular window on the left-hand side and one
window with on each side two smaller ones on the first floor.
9
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
163
A7
A7 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the righthand side a rectangular window on the left hand side and on
the first floor, which is made entirely out of wood, one
window.
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
Jalan Tengkera
183
219
Total
25
B
B1
B1 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the lefthand side and a rectangular window on the right-hand side
both in two halves and one window on the first floor.
10
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
6
B2
8
54
B2 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the lefthand side and a rectangular window on the right-hand side and
one window on the first floor.
Jalan Tengkera
263
Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
34
B3
38
66
68
B3 has in the façade on the ground floor a door on the lefthand side and a rectangular window on the right-hand side and
a very big window on the first floor.
11
Jalan Kubu
Jalan Hang Jebat
12
29c
Total
10
C
C1
C1 has in the façade on the ground floor a door in two halves
on the right-hand side and a window on each side of the door
and two windows on the first floor.
Jalan Tengkera
251
255
Total
2
Grand Total
37
Figure 6: Shop houses in Melaka
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers
4.
Building Materials
The houses are built of yellow coloured bricks which could have been baked
locally.1 (Ancient Ceylon 1996:7/11) They are Dutch in design: rectangular in size,
quite light, not so high and not very thick. The walls are one brick deep. The walls
at the outside of the house are plastered. It is possible to date the houses by the
materials used: bricks used in the 17th and 18th centuries are placed with lime mortar
1
According to Encik Iesnordin. Curator of the Architecture Museum in Melaka.
12
(lime mixed with sand) (Ancient Ceylon 1996:113/123). Bricks placed in the 20th
century would have cement.2
The sloping roofs are covered with tiles. These were, sometimes, taken as ballast
on the ships which came from the Netherlands or they were locally made. (Ancient
Ceylon 1996:7) Lastly there are the typically terracotta tiles in the walkway in
front of the house.
5.
a.
Decorative
Dutch Decorative Influences
Decorative elements of Dutch origin in the shophouses are the door and
rectangular window on the ground floor in two halves and the window on the first
floor. The frames of these windows are made of hardwood. In the window
foldable, downward and upward turning shutters, are placed were merchandise
could be exhibited for sale.3 On the first floor there are outward turnings, shutters
in the windows which are made of timber.
Figure 7: A house in the Netherlands with a window with shutters on the ground floor. Source:
Painting: De zeven werken van barmartigheid, Meester van Alkmaar, First half of the 16th
century. Source: Architectuur van Erasmus, 1990. p.66.
Other decorative elements are the iron hinges on the doors and windows. These
hinges are Dutch in design and allow the windows to open inward or outward.
Over the door or windows, in the outside wall, small rectangular of semi-circular
2
According to Encik Iesnordin.. Curator of the Architecture Museum in Melaka.
According to the British Lime Association: Lime mortars have high water retention, creating
an improved bond as there is more contact between unit and mortar. Retention of water in
mortar improves carbonation in pure lime mortars and results in best conditions for early
hydration of cement lime mortars thus reducing cracking and water penetration into hardened
mortar joints.
13
vents are placed (Measured drawings, Northwest, 2001:290). Sometimes these
houses have iron wall anchors in the outside walls of the houses mostly on the
level of the first floor. These were put there to secure the beams which were in the
walls on the inside of the house. The doors and windows have heavy hardwood
framing.
Big hinges (Figure 8a and 8b), wall anchors (Figure 8c and 8d) heavy hardwood framing
(Figure 8e), louvered windows (Figure 8f), tile roofing (Figure 8g) and the terracotta
tiles (Figure 8h).
Figure 8a
Big
Hinges
Figure 8b
Big Hinges
Figure 8e
Heavy
Hardwood
Framing
Figure 8c
Wall
anchors
Figure 8f
Louvered
Windows
Figure 8d
Wall
anchors
Figure 8g
Tile
Roofing
Figure 8h
Terracotta
floor Tiles
Figure 8: Dutch decorative elements
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers
Ornamentation was minimal most occurring in the form of cornices. The reason
could be that the owners or construction workers could not afford elaborate
ornamentation (Measured drawings. Northwest. 2001:30). The walls were
plastered white.
b.
Chinese Architectural and Decorative Influences
Chinese architectural characteristics of the shophouses are the simple and very
functional form. Gable roofs are by far the most commonly found type in
Malaysia, although examples of hipped and half-hipped examples are also to be
found. (Kohl 1986:2)
The Chinese decorative elements of the shop houses were the Chinese-style front
pitched façade roofs which gave way to the gable façade. In front of the shop
houses a covered passageway of ca. five feet was constructed during the British
period, which was subsequently named “the five foot way”. The inhabitants of the
houses had the upper floors extended over the walkway or by blocking the entire
walkway to create more private space. (Building Analysis on Jonkerstraat 2001:51)
14
Other Chinese decorative elements of shophouses are: a fire wall in the form of a
“cat crawling”4, (Knapp 1986:41) square ventilation holes and an indoor screen.
(Raja Nafida 2008:308)
For these types of houses the materials used are: timber, mortar and terracotta.
(Measured drawing Southwest Facade 2001:115)
Figure 9a: Side-gable
With “cat crawling”
on Jalan Hang Jebat
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers
6.
Figure 9b: Air vents
on Jalan Hang Jebat
Source: Robert C.M. Weebers.
Significance and Authenticity
The shop houses in Melaka meet the requirement of authenticity as was decided at
the first session of the World Heritage Committee in 1977. Paragraph 9: “In
addition, the property should meet the test of authenticity in design, materials,
workmanship and setting; authenticity does not limit consideration to original
form and structure but includes all subsequent modifications and additions, over
the course of time, which in themselves possess artistic or historical values.”
(ICOMOS 2008:43)
The requirements for significance according to Icomos (ICOMOS 2008:27) are
that a property should “be an outstanding example of a type of building or
architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a)
significant stage(s) in human history”. These shophouses were built during periods
where the Dutch and the English ruled over Melaka. Apparently Dutch influences
were still noticeable during English times.
Authentic and significant about the shophouses in Melaka are that these are two
stories high with decorative elements like doors and windows in two halves.
Materials used are the Dutch bricks: rectangular in size, quite light, not so high and
4
A cat crawling is a
circular, rounded style roof
15
not very thick. The plaster on the walls the hardwood framing of the windows, wall
anchors and hinges of doors and windows. The setting is in the historic city of
Melaka.
7.
Conclusion
The findings of this paper are that the 37 shophouses in the “Dutch” style in
Melaka which are not totally “Dutch” in design and decoration.
Some have Dutch characteristics like the door and rectangular window in two
halves. Others have the door in one piece with a rectangular window and a
window, small or large, in the façade of the first floor. The width of the façade was
introduced by the Dutch.
Decorative elements of Dutch origin are beams, hinges, wall anchors, hardwood
framing, louvered windows, tile roofing and terracotta floor tiles.
Other Dutch influences are the plastering of the walls, the turning of the ridge
parallel to the street so the façades are at the side of the house and the addition of
galleries.
Chinese architectural characteristics of the shop houses are the simple and very
functional form. Chinese decorative elements are a fire wall (side gable) in the
form of a “cat crawling”, square ventilation holes and an indoor screen.
It can also be argued that the design of the façade is not after any “Dutch” design
but that these kinds of facades are commonly found in the Southeast Asia region.
As of the eighteenth century Portuguese influences are also seen in the shophouses in the gable endings.
According to Incomes (ICOMOS 2008:27 a property should “be an outstanding
example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or
landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history”. That is
certainly the case with these 37 “Dutch” shophouses in Melaka.
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