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Malaysia's first upside-down house brings a childhood fantasy to life.
Photo: Rumah Terbalik |
When you were a child, did you spend time wondering what it would be
like to walk on the ceiling? If so, you are probably among the millions
who, even as adults, continue to be enchanted by the idea of an
upside-down house.
Worldwide, there are a number of upside-down houses. Some offer
almost an amusement park experience, but many exist simply to turn the
everyday world on end.
Imagine walking down an ordinary street and coming upon an upended
house balanced on a front gable. That’s the experience for visitors to
Rumah Terbalik,
Malaysia’s
first upside-down house. From the outside, it looks exactly like its
neighbors, traditional Sabah village residences. A wheelbarrow leans
against a wall and a sedan is parked in the adjacent carport. All
typical except they are upside down.
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Finishing touches in the living room include a typewriter, coffee cup, soft drink,
even a cigarette in an ashtray.
Photo: Rumah Terbalik |
Inside, a TV, microwave, tables, chairs and sofas dangle above
visitors who navigate the home’s ceilings, steering around light
fixtures and ceiling fans. Playing cards and comic books strewn along
the floor, a cigarette in an ashtray, make it seem as though the family
has just left the room. Even the washing machine and sewing machine hang
overhead. Literally everything in the 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom
home is topsy turvy. But in this house it is the visitors who feel they
are ones turned on end.
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An upside-down car is an everyday occurrence in this topsy-turvy world.
Photo: Rumah Terbalik |
In addition to bringing visitors to the region, Rumah Terbalick’s
creator, Alexander Yee, says he wants to call attention to the long term
impact of unbridled development, which has the potential to turn the
world upside down. “The World Stands on its Head” is actually the name
of
Germany’s upside-down house, while the house in
Poland, built during the Soviet era, was said to be a commentary on Communism and state of the world.
Maybe an upside-down house will prove to be the perfect antidote to an increasingly topsy-turvy world.
By Camilla McLaughlin
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