Architectures of Tawau

The architecture in Malaysia is very varied, ranging from very old colonial buildings to very modern high-rise buildings. If you travel along the country-side, you will see a lot of Malay houses. They are mainly seen in villages or "kampong" in Bahasa Malaysia. Notice that they are built with stilts below and they have large windows. This is mainly to keep the building cool and the stilts elevate the building to keep them away from floods. Kampong houses are detached houses and they usually have no fences around them.

Tawau still has buildings of pre-war shop houses and wooden houses. The pre-war houses are very old and many have been torn down to make way for newer buildings. However, there are which are worn down and are not making way for progress

Most pre-war houses are rented out at neglible rentals to supposed-to-be poor people but this is not the true scenario now.

Prices of houses differ widely depending on area, State and other factors.

Most houses in Tawau are terraced houses (all connected together) and have very little or neglible land. It is either single storey or double storey. People who can afford will go for those with larger land like semi-detached houses and those who are wealthy will normally own bungalows or detached houses.



	Bugis architecture in Tawau Cultural Carnival 26 March 2006