Shophouse Arcade

Shophouse Arcade is an original illustration set in Straits Settlements, Malaysia. It lies in equatorial latitudes, where the climate is tropical rainforest — hot and wet all year.

A joined row of pastel shophouses runs down a street, their ground floors forming one continuous arcaded walkway. Deep cool shade fills the arcade against a white-hot street. Tall louvered shutters line the upper floors above.

Why does every shophouse give up its ground floor to an arcade?

The arcade is a covered public walkway created by giving up the ground floor of every private building — a rule imposed for a climate where sun and sudden downpours are equally punishing. Louvered upper shutters ventilate without letting rain in. Narrow deep plots with shop below and dwelling above are a merchant-town pattern near the equator.

Terpano is a free daily geography puzzle. You study one original illustration, place a pin on a borderless terrain map, and see how close you were. There is no account and no sign-up; progress stays in your own browser. It plays in 11 languages.