Black and white bungalows are white-painted

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

s, in a style once commonly used to house European

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

and

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

families in tropical climate

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

, typically the

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

n colonies of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

in the nineteenth century. The term 'black and white' refers to the dark timber beams and whitewashed walls usually found in these buildings. Such houses typically have a pitched roof with wide overhanging eaves due to the rainy tropical condition, and the high roof also allows for good ventilation that draws in cooling air. The ground floor is generally open and spacious, often tiled for coolness. The building may have large verandahs, and some have elevated foundations similar to that of a traditional Malay house. Only about 500 of these bungalows remain on the island of Singapore.

History

Burkill Hall in Singapore Botanic Gardens

In Malaysia and Singapore, bungalows such as these were built from the 19th century until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

for the wealthy expatriate families, the leading commercial firm as well as the Public Works Department and the British Armed Forces. This style of houses adopted elements of the British

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

, Arts and Crafts movement and later

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

designs but adapted to suit the tropical environment of these countries as well as providing for an airy and spacious family home. Its popularity in the early 20th century has been attributed to

Regent Alfred John Bidwell Regent Alfred John Bidwell, or R. A. J. Bidwell, was an English-born architect noted for his colonial era buildings in Singapore. His best-known works include the Raffles Hotel and the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore, and Sultan A ...

. His design for W. Patchitt House at Cluny Road in 1903 spurred on a trend for building houses in such style, which peaked in popularity just after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Most of these houses were built within a short span of around 25 years between 1903-1928. There was brief resurgence in such buildings just before the World War II due to a need to accommodate an increase in military personnel in Singapore.

Atbara house

The Atbara House is one of the many remaining black and white houses unique to Singapore. It is the previous French embassy to Singapore, built in 1898 by Regent Alfred John Bidwell. The Atbara house was used for colonial management, unlike other Black and White Houses which were mostly used to house European colonial and wealthy expatriate families or for military purposes. The Atbara House consists of a strong mixture of indigenous Indian and Malay vernacular design mixed with roof and construction methods adapted from colonial source.

Present day

Large numbers of these colonial era mansions were built but many have since been demolished due to the need for space for modern developments. Around 500 of these houses remain in Singapore, many of these are owned by the government but leased for private uses, often to the expatriate communities. Many of these still serve as residences and, with some have been renovated and converted into commercial buildings such as restaurants and bars.

Cultural references

The Black and White Singaporean House is referred to in

Kevin Kwan Kevin Kwan (born ) is a Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels ''Crazy Rich Asians'', '' China Rich Girlfriend'', and '' Rich People Problems''. His latest book, '' Sex and Vanity'', was released in June 2020. In 2014, ...

's 2013 satiric novel "

Crazy Rich Asians ''Crazy Rich Asians'' is a satirical 2013 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience". He claimed the novel was loosely based on hi ...

References

External links

Example photos from Flickr
Bungalow architecture House styles British colonial architecture Architecture in Malaysia Architecture in Singapore Houses in Myanmar {{-