Glossary
Ag.
Acting
A.R.I.B.A
Associate of Royal Institute of British Architect
B.R
British Resident
C.D
Chief Draughtsman
C.M.G
Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
C.R.E
Chief Resident Engineer
C.S.G
Chief Secretary to Government
Ch. Sec
Chief Secretary
D.A
Duty Allowance
D.O
District Officer
D.P.W
Director of Public Works
D.S.O
Distinguished Service Order Companion
D.Y.M.M
Duli Yang Maha Mulia (His Royal Highness)
Ex. Eng.
Executive Engineer
F.S
Federal Secretary
F.M.S
Federated Malay States
F.M.S.R
Federated Malay States Railways
F.M.S.V.F
Federated Malay States Volunteer Force
F.R.I.B.A
Fellow of Royal Institute of British Architect
F.S
Federal Secretary
G.A
Government Architect
G.C.V.O
Knight/Dame Grand Cross
G.E
Government Engineer
G.M.R
General Manager Railways
H.C
High Commissioner
H.H
His Highness
H.E
His Excellency
H.O
Health Officer
K.C.V.O
Knight/Dame Commander
M.C.K.K
Malay College Kuala Kangsar
M.I.C.E
Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers
M.S.V.R
Malay States Volunteer Rifles
P.P
Perak Pioneer
P.W.D
Public Works Department
R.E
Resident Engineer
R.E.R
Resident Engineer for Railways
R.I.B.A
Royal Institute of British Architects
S.E
State Engineer
S.G
Secretary to Government
S.G.R
Selangor Government Railways
S.R
Secretary to Resident
S.S.A.F.A
Sailors, Soldiers and Air Force Association
T.O.L
Temporary Occupancy Licence
T.O.M
Times of Malaya, a Perak Newspaper Publication
U.F.M.S.V.F
Unfederated Malay States Volunteer Force
U.S
Under Secretary
Allied Forces
The big four Allied powers of World War II were England (Great Britain, the United Kingdom), the United States of America, the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R., Russia), and France. Other allied nations included Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa and Yugoslavia. United States of America joined the Allied Forces after the bombing of its naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii on 7th December 1941.
Almarhum
Title for a deceased Muslim Man.
Attap
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.
Balustrade
A railing supported by balusters, especially an ornamental parapet on a balcony, bridge, or terrace.
Chatri
Mughal-inspired kiosks or spires
Contractor
A person or company that undertakes a contract to provide materials or labor to perform a service or do a job.
Cornice
An ornamental molding around the wall of a room just below the ceiling
Courtyard
An unroofed area that is completely or mostly enclosed by the walls of a large building
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
Dentils
(in classical architecture) one of a number of small, rectangular blocks resembling teeth and used as a decoration under the soffit of a cornice.
Doulton Tiles
Ceramic tiles produced by Doulton
Draughtsman also spelled as Draftsman
A person who makes detailed technical plans or drawings
Edwardian Boroque Style
The architectural style of many public buildings in the British Empire built during the reign of King Edward (1901-1910)
Entablatures
A horizontal continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze and cornice
Face-Brick
Exposed brickwork
Flemish Gable
A gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. Also known as a Dutch gable
F.M.S Construction
An in-house construction arm established by the Federated Malay States to carry out government projects.
Foundation Stone
A stone laid at a ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction of a building.
Istana Hinggap
Town Palace
Jelutong
A type of timber
Kempetai
Military Police Corps was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not a conventional military police, but more of a secret police.
Latrine
A communal toilet.
Meh rap / Mihrab
A niche in the wall of a mosque, at the point nearest to Mecca, toward which the congregation faces to pray.
Mersaille Tiles
Interlocking clay tiles. Patented in France in 1874 and was the first clay press.
Mezzanine
A low story between two others in a building, typically between the ground and first floors
Minaret
A tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.
Minstrel
A medieval singer or musician, especially one who sang or recited lyric or heroic poetry to a musical accompaniment for the nobility
Munshi
Persian word for Teacher. Originally used for a contractor, writer or secretary, and later used in the Mughal Empire and British India for native language teachers or secretaries employed by Europeans.
Nathir (Nazir)
A native court official in India who serves processes, acts as treasurer, and performs other similar duties. Any of various officials in Muslim countries
Pediment
The triangular upper part of the front of a building in classical style, typically surmounting a portico of columns.
Penang Shimbun
A newspaper during WWII
Penghulu
Chief of a native settlement
Pinang Gazette
A Penang based newspaper
Preparatory School
A preparatory school or prep school is a student selective primary school that caters primarily for children up to approximately the age of 13.
P.W.D Factory
An industrial factory initiated by C.E Spooner to provide materials for the construction of public buildings in Kuala Lumpur. Located at Brickfields. Bricks, tiles, sawn timber and cast iron.
Queen Anne Revival Style
A revived form of English Boroque architectural style during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714)
Reinforced Concrete
Concrete in which wire mesh or steel bars are embedded to increase its tensile strength.
Rikisha
Alternative form of a rickshaw
Rinderpest
Also cattle plague or steppe murrain was a viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo and some other species of even-toed ungulates. The world was officially declared free from rinderpest in 2011.
Rumah Kutai
A traditional Malay house found along the banks Perak River. Kutai means old. Traditional long roof with a gable end. Walls and floor are made entirely of bamboo matting, which allow natural ventilation and reduce glare.
Sanitary Board Kuala Lumpur
A board relating to health or the protection of health. Kuala Lumpur’s Sanitary Board management was under the control the chairman, who is generally an officer of class III of the civil service. The board sits about once a month, consisting the Chairman, the Government Architect, the Executive Engineers, the Health Officer, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and two European and two Native Unofficial Members.The recommendations of the board are adopted and government sanction applied for when nessary. Although this is not always granted, the Resident differs in the matter. Sanitary Board Kuala Lumpur became Kuala Lumpur Municipal and today Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur City Council).
Saracenic Architecture
Saracenic means a Muslim, especially in the period of the crucades. Saracens meaning, an Arab. Islamic architecture chiefly of mosques and tombs and characterized by decorated surfaces, bulbous domes and horseshoe, pointed, and multifoil arches. Moorish architecture. Though description is incorrect.
Saracenic architecture, or as it is sometimes called Mahomedan architecture, prevails in all places where Islam is, or has been, predominant. There are many variations of the style and each country where it is found has its own differences of detail. We find it not only in the East, but in Spain, Turkey and North Africa. It has developed from the Babylonian, through the Assyrian, Persian and Byzantine styles. Exquisite colour decoration, the pointed arch, highly ornamental columns and a profusion of domes are the common features of Saracenic architecture. This style is extremely fascinating and is particularly suite to bright sunshine and a Mahomedan environment, in the same way that the more sever Classic and Gothic style reflect western thought and greyer skies.
The Saracenic, includes the Arabesque and Moorish styles. The Arabesque is marked by the prevalence of intricate, geometrical ornament of great beauty which has probably arisen as a result of the Islamic ban of the human and animal reforms for decorative purposes. The Alhambra, in Spain, is one of the most famous of all Saracenic structures. It was erected during the 14th century and is Moorish in design. Moorish influence is, in most cases, easily detected by the presence of the horseshoe arch.
The Indian Styles
The original architectural styles of India also show signs of Babylonian influences but the later styles recall the triumphs of Alexander and the 13th century Mahomedan invasion. European and Saracenic art were introduced into India by these conquests and refined all succeeding architectural forms.
The Indian races united their architectural elements with great artistic skill and in the Taj Mahal at Agra, we see one of the most beautiful buildings in existence. The Taj Mahal is the most exquisite example of oriental architecture.
Seriah
Seraya. timber of the Shorea family. Widely used commercially.
Shewing
Archaic. Verb. Noun. 1. Show
Superstructure
A structure built on top of something else. The part of a building above its foundations.
Spire
A tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building.
Sprandrils
Spandrel, space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure
The Straits dollar was the currency of the Straits Settlements from 1904 until 1939. At the same time, it was also used in the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei, and British North Borneo
Swan and MacLaren
A leading architectural firm establish through the Partnership of Swan and Maclaren based in Singapore.
Tender Recommendation
An evaluation of tender and preferred bidder selection.
Tiffin
A light meal, especially lunch.
Tracing
Architectural drawing
Type Plan
Typical Plan
Victorian Style
Buildings built during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Zincographing
A planographic printing process that used zinc plates