Essence of Place: Design for the Tropics is the first study of Malaysian architect Eleena Jamil’s work, which forms the platform for a discussion about the importance of place in architecture. Since its inception in 2005, Eleena Jamil Architect (EJA) has earned a reputation as one of Malaysia’s leading practices, with a particular emphasis on rooting projects to place by way of exploring the experiential potential of form, material and construction and a concern for the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. This book contains images of the studio’s work as well as essays by Jamil on the motivations behind, and influences on, her practice – including the importance of place and the vernacular local architecture of Malaysia – and how her work is situated within context-based design as a whole.