House design preferences of malay housewives in Bandar Tenggara, Johor

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and determine Malay housewives’ house design preferences in the context of Malaysia. Malay housewives are married women regardless of their working status. They are overwhelmed by their roles and routine in taking care of their families and home. However, studies on housewives’ design preference of housing in Malaysia are scarce. Three objectives were developed for this research i.e, to recognize Malay housewives’ roles at home as the home manager and house design decision maker; to understand prominent patterns of Malay housewives’ daily activities at home; and to identify the housing design attributes preferred by Malay housewives. The investigation employed a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. It used a single instrument of self-administered survey questionnaire consisting of structured and semi-structured questions. The sampling technique used was simple random sampling involving 135 respondents from a suburban terraced residential area in Taman Anggerik, Bandar Tenggara, Johor, Malaysia. Methods of analysis employed in this research were content analysis for qualitative data and simple descriptive statistics such as frequencies and cross tabulation for quantitative data. Both types of data were merged during the analysis and interpretation processes. The results suggest that both full-time and working housewives remain the home manager, and they are the main decision makers for house design, particularly on the interior. The significant difference between the two groups of housewives is that working housewives tend to have higher opportunity in selecting house type and its location. Their significant activities at home are influenced by their religious ritual and way of life such as praying and preparation of meals. House attributes preferred are related to enhancing their spiritual needs such as preferring a nature setting and respecting certain religious requirements. Preferred house images of the housewives are inclined more towards modern design. The research also found that the living area and kitchen are the two most important spaces for Malay housewives. In conclusion, Malay housewives should be given more opportunity to participate in house design development, mainly on house interior, because of their significant role in home managing and their concern with the design of their houses. This is to ensure their house design more relevant to their preferences. The study is potentially useful for participatory house design approaches in Malaysia, in order to accommodate the design expectation of Malay housewives.