This paper highlights a case study, its critical issues and the processes encountered in the evolution and development of its urbanised grammar. In deriving a localised language in which traditional forms are fused and transmuted into masonry architecture, the case study of the "Istana Negara" Palace is a case in point. The issues triggered within the design process, including how to represent a universal Malaysian identity reflecting Malay Asian character with Islamic vocabulary are explored. The difficulties and realities of transmuting and integrating such vocabulary to express and configure public masonry buildings are discussed. As an icon for the city, the palace must reconcile its scale with a clear localised vocabulary to fulfil the symbolic nature of the design. The conflicts and dichotomies encountered include three aspects: 1) The dome vs pitch form as an icon for the city (from afar) and the need for a strong roof silhouette 2) the local grammar and language including the pedestal and architrave vocabulary and elements 3) the difficulty of proportionate form. The research points to the necessity and urgency of developing a set of compositional rules and elements of the language of Malay urban architectural identity derived from the essences of tradition and regional form.

The paper reports on a basic classification based on formal and morphological similarities of large vernacular buildings across the Malay region, based on their frontages; with the aim of developing a universal regional language and set of rules of local architecture for urban and multi-storeys typologies. Generally, seen as idiosyncratic and individualistic, Malay regional palaces and mansions across different states and regions under former Sultanates, exhibit different vocabularies, yet have underlying similarities. While form and architecture may arise from the local technology and construction methods of the era, aesthetic expressions of these palaces recall formal archetypes which can be described, and characterised, regardless of location. Focusing on palaces in Malaysia and East Sumatran region from the late 1800s onwards, recurring forms of a Malay-Classical language are observed and classified into generic morphologies of frontages. The aim is towards formal taxonomy that can represent a more inclusive architectural identity of the region, rather than identities based on nations. By defining the ‘generic’ and the ‘variant’, significant palaces across the Malay region are discussed and positioned within a classification based on a range of generic archetypes. Variants include cases which have absorbed external influences yet retain the essences of local form, while some examples, refer to elements that have modernised been yet represent the last offshoot or branch of the same region. To identify generic rules and frameworks of design, the regional roots of form, including frontages, for public buildings is crucial for urbanscape and the urgency of developing guidelines and a set of compositional rules and language of urban architecture derived from the essences of tradition and past forms.

This paper highlights a case study, its critical issues and the processes encountered in the evolution and development of its urbanised grammar. In deriving a localised language in which traditional forms are fused and transmuted into masonry architecture, the case study of the "Istana Negara" Palace is a case in point. The issues triggered within the design process, including how to represent a universal Malaysian identity reflecting Malay Asian character with Islamic vocabulary are explored. The difficulties and realities of transmuting and integrating such vocabulary to express and configure public masonry buildings are discussed. As an icon for the city, the palace must reconcile its scale with a clear localised vocabulary to fulfil the symbolic nature of the design. The conflicts and dichotomies encountered include three aspects: 1) The dome vs pitch form as an icon for the city (from afar) and the need for a strong roof silhouette 2) the local grammar and language including the pedestal and architrave vocabulary and elements 3) the difficulty of proportionate form. The research points to the necessity and urgency of developing a set of compositional rules and elements of the language of Malay urban architectural identity derived from the essences of tradition and regional form.

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As modernization and urbanization grow, there has been a rising interest in townships with historical elements in their urban landscape. The identification and classification of Malay architectural language are crucial to architects seeking to instill history and culture into the new design. The paper traced the characterizations of classicality in Malay architecture through a thorough study of palaces and aristocrat buildings in Malaysia. Morphological analysis of 50 case studies was mapped but only six palaces from different sites and eras were marked as samples in this paper. The focus of the study not only on their origins, typology, history, and stylistic characters but also on the proportions and elemental attributes of the frontal façade. These case studies were selected as sentinels or samples of successive evolutionary phases in classical Malay architecture which had a huge gap and carried different historical evolutions. It was argued that while the earlier palaces reflected all Malay style attributes, the later expression reflected the cultural pressure of globalization via colonialism diffused from colonial institutions. The study extracted the five parameters of the Malay classical architecture, whereby it was found that even under such pressure, certain features were still maintained to root the identity of the Malays and later developed as new city urbanscape.