Attap Roof

Attap (Malay atap, literally "roof") is the traditional palm-leaf thatch of the Malay world, used on houses in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia. The leaves come mainly from the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), a mangrove palm of tidal rivers and estuaries, which also supplied material for walls. In English the word also describes a whole building type, the attap house or attap dwelling.

Use

Attap covered the steep, gabled roofs of kampong (village) houses raised on posts, from simple huts to substantial houses. Until the 19th century even significant public buildings such as temples were roofed this way. In Brunei's Kampong Ayer, roofs were made of palm leaves, timber or nipa leaves (apong), chosen for their ability to shed rainwater.

Performance

• Heat: attap is a good insulator, keeping interiors cooler than metal sheet.
• Ventilation: the light, open construction of attap houses allowed natural cross-ventilation, a principle reused in modern Singapore buildings such as WOHA's Newton Suites.
• Fire: in heat waves and droughts attap becomes dry and brittle and ignites easily. In densely packed settlements this made fire a constant danger.

Decline in Singapore

Singapore's experience shows how quickly attap disappeared from cities. From the 1950s many attap roofs were replaced with zinc sheet. A series of kampong fires, culminating in the Bukit Ho Swee fire of 25 May 1961, which left more than 16,000 people homeless, became a key argument for moving residents into public flats. Attap- or zinc-roofed houses fell from 34% of Singapore homes in 1970 to 10.8% in 1980.

Today

Attap now survives mainly on heritage and rural buildings. Related palm-leaf thatches include nipa in the Philippines and dhani in Myanmar, both from the same palm.

Sources and gaps

Figures on the current use of attap: published information is limited.