Urban-Architectural Forms of Historic Southeast Asia

Historic littoral cities and sites of Southeast Asia that grew along the coast, seascapes and the confluence of rivers as evolvements from indigenous settlements linked the dynamism of trade and confluence of cultures, have defied categorisation and characterisation. For the first time, Jahn Kassim and Ibrahim characterise a series of sites whose historic urban-architectural core forms reflecta graded spectrum following past models of indigenous urbanism and architecture. Departing from past thematic discussions on eco-urbanism, the book presents 20 cities and subregions, that represent these themes and their recurring features, historically and formally condensed based on morphological, the urban - architectural, and the iconographical patterns and features. The underlying narrative is that despite apparent diversity and disorder, broad patterns characterise these littoral formations and inflections, and by utilising morphology as a tool, these highly dense, yet cool, green, and bioclimatic urban patterns of the past can contribute towards the reframing of a localised, nuanced and indigenous dimension to sustainability in the planning, architectural and visual expression of the region. The book departs from 16th century onwards, moving through their era of colonial syncretism, and extending to their external grafting and then reverting to pre-classical earlier seeds of cities, where sustainability and identity is rooted to its earliest, and most fundamental patterns of climate and culture. A book that will appeal to scholars, academics, students and practitioners of architecture, Southeast Asia, cultural and urban geography, design, visual arts and urbanism fields.