Responsive Privacy of Coastal Malay Homes in Riau in Implementing Islamic Law Towards the Environment

¹ Universitas Sumatera Utara, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, 20155 Medan, Indonesia
² Universitas Lancang Kuning, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, 28261 Pekanbaru, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: boby@unilak.ac.id

Abstract

Situated at the intersection of Malay cultural heritage and Islamic architectural ethics, the coastal Malay house of Riau remains underexplored as a living model of spatial order and sharia-oriented daily life. This study addresses that gap by investigating how spatial relationship patterns and thresholds in traditional Riau Malay houses embody visual privacy principles in Islamic architecture and facilitate occupants' religious practices. Using a qualitative methodology, we conducted detailed field measurements and systematic observations of selected lineage-related coastal houses, examining room configurations, door placements, and residents' everyday activities. The findings reveal a clear hierarchy of privacy articulated through sequential zones: front, middle, connecting, and rear rooms, where doors act as decisive physical and symbolic boundaries that enable flexible changes of function while safeguarding modesty and separation of genders. These spatial arrangements support and structure worship, family interaction, and sharia-compliant behavior, demonstrating that architectural form and religious practice are mutually reinforcing. The study contributes to the documentation and interpretation of Riau Malay coastal architecture as an Islamic-informed vernacular typology and provides a conceptual and empirical basis for integrating privacy-based spatial logic into contemporary housing design for Muslim communities in coastal and culturally sensitive environments.