Southeast Asian Spatial Histories and Historiographies

Abstract

The texts and scholarly works regarding architecture and urban spaces in Southeast Asia are based on varying premises and contexts. In this work, this spatial historiography is re-examined in relation to its scope and subject matter. The roles that colonial and national frameworks have played in most of these writings historically, especially, must be scrutinized for how they frame formal descriptions and arguments. The two conditions continue to haunt and undergird contemporary writing on the various subfields related to architecture, landscape, urban planning and design. This essay aims to take stock of the different forms of spatial writing about the region, but also to appreciate how future writing may expand beyond these two themes.