As a child I lived in a kampung by the sea in Singapore. Palm trees, dirt roads, chickens, bamboo and atap and rusted iron roofs. In 1974 I revisited, photographing the brilliantly simple timber dwellings that were perfectly suited to the climate. Villages like these have now gone.

This simple family dwelling was not designed to regulations. It does not have a specified street setback, mandatory 2.4 meter ceiling heights and the correct number of rooms. It is not constrained within the prejudice of neighbourhood character. It was built without drawings and arose from direct need, not from the speculation of others. It was built with simple uncomplicated materials and its design is an evolution of precedent and the skills of its builders tailored to the specific location.

This dwelling sits on a mirror smooth cool cement floor and is framed with slender posts and beams, with sawn timber plank walls and shuttered windows without glass. Between the walls and the steeply pitched roofs is a meter or so of open vertical timber slats for ventilation. These village dwellings were simple to build and were cool and comfortable in the tropical heat and humidity. The children and grandchildren of its residents are most likely now living in high density apartments designed precisely to regulation and kept comfortable by air-conditioning.

As a child I lived in a kampung by the sea in Singapore. Palm trees, dirt roads, chickens, bamboo and atap and rusted iron roofs. In 1974 I revisited, photographing the brilliantly simple timber dwellings that were perfectly suited to the climate. Villages like these have now gone.

This simple family dwelling was not designed to regulations. It does not have a specified street setback, mandatory 2.4 meter ceiling heights and the correct number of rooms. It is not constrained within the prejudice of neighbourhood character. It was built without drawings and arose from direct need, not from the speculation of others. It was built with simple uncomplicated materials and its design is an evolution of precedent and the skills of its builders tailored to the specific location.

This dwelling sits on a mirror smooth cool cement floor and is framed with slender posts and beams, with sawn timber plank walls and shuttered windows without glass. Between the walls and the steeply pitched roofs is a meter or so of open vertical timber slats for ventilation. These village dwellings were simple to build and were cool and comfortable in the tropical heat and humidity. The children and grandchildren of its residents are most likely now living in high density apartments designed precisely to regulation and kept comfortable by air-conditioning.