Sino-Portuguese architecture


Sino-Portuguese architecture , also known as Chinese Baroque, Straits eclectic architecture, or simply, Peranakan house is an Asian hybrid style incorporating Chinese and Portuguese architectural styles. It is common in urban centers where Chinese settlers lived in southern China and the Peranakans of the Malay Peninsula, with examples found across present day Peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand, Singapore, Macau, Vietnam and Hainan.

Sino-Portuguese history in Phuket

The old town in Phuket has a history as the center of a tin mining and trading province. In the era of Western imperialism, after 1511, Portuguese settlers came to Phuket and to the trade port of Malacca. The settlers brought Western culture with them, as well as science, religion, and their own architectural styles. Portuguese settlers employed Chinese workers to build their houses and establishments. These structures mixed Portuguese and Chinese art styles together, giving rise to Sino-Portuguese architecture.

Sino-Portuguese style

The characteristics of Sino-Portuguese architecture is a mix of European and Chinese styles or simply colonial architecture. These older buildings were built by the Chinese. The building has the design in Chinese format, but the structure is Portuguese. Typically, the building is a one or two storey mixed commercial-residential building. The wall has strength due to the weight of the tiles on the roof. The roof is clad in curved tiles of Chinese provenance.

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