Essence of Place: Design for the Tropics

Essence of Place: Design for the Tropics is the first study of Malaysian architect Eleena Jamil’s work, which forms the platform for a discussion about the importance of place in architecture. Since its inception in 2005, Eleena Jamil Architect (EJA) has earned a reputation as one of Malaysia’s leading practices, with a particular emphasis on rooting projects to place by way of exploring the experiential potential of form, material and construction and a concern for the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. This book contains images of the studio’s work as well as essays by Jamil on the motivations behind, and influences on, her practice – including the importance of place and the vernacular local architecture of Malaysia – and how her work is situated within context-based design as a whole.

Essence of Place: Design for the Tropics provides an insightful look into the works of Malaysia-based practice led by Eleena Jamil.  Featuring fifteen projects spanning from 2010-2020, the book explores ways in which physical data such as geography, people, and materials and aspects of memory relating to tradition, culture, and history have shaped her work and contextual approach to architecture. The influences of an architectural education in the UK are explored, as well as design thinking shaped by an understanding of the past as present within the context of Malaysia and Southeast Asia. The book is divided into six sections to describe the motivating ideas and different aspects of her practice’s concern. Each section begins with a short essay written by Eleena to set the background for built case study projects. The essays are titled Grounding Architecture, About Making, Bamboo, Typology and Environment, the Outdoor Room and Connective Possibilities. 

The first essay, Grounding Architecture, argues for a connection to specificities of place as an alternative to universal architecture solutions where places slowly ceased to be distinct and became anonymous nonentities. About Making brings forth the importance of vernacular innovation and how cultural continuity and environmental awareness embodied in the form of making that is rooted in local methods can offer valuable insights into reimagining modern building practices. This approach is easier to apply to small-scale and self-initiated projects, especially ones that utilise natural materials such as timber and bamboo. The latter is the focus of the third essay, which delves into the use of its natural culms as modern building material.  The fourth essay, Typology and Environment, explores the “inherent order of place” that can manifest itself in typologies. It argues that learning from past building types with features driven by natural and passive environmental systems can lead to a distinctive architectural language for the tropics. Also found in them are design qualities such as “outdoor rooms” or courtyards and indeterminacy in spatial planning. How these qualities can allow connections to be made to place is explored in the remaining sections of the book.

Supporting the essays above are case study projects such as the Bamboo Playhouse, Desa Mahkota School and Sepang House, completed by Eleena’s practice. Each project is presented with a short description accompanied by coloured photographs, sketches and drawings.