RESHAPING A COLONIAL BUILT HERITAGE IN A CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE

THE SHOPHOUSE RESHAPING A COLONIAL BUILT HERITAGE IN A CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE
SPR IN
G 2020
M ASTER
TH ESIS
Tutor Scarlett Hessian
KARINE TOO DESIGNER
In Malaysia’s context, colonial ver- nacular architecture can inform us on building better and more sustainable housing.
Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, has been crucially expanding these past two decades and its urban development is reaching a point of no return, prioritizing quantity of housing over quality of living. Aiming at becoming a futuristic city, it is losing its multi- cultural background and is in- creasingly becoming a Non-Place (Augé, M, 1992). This project digs in the past and looks at colonial vernacular architecture in order to develop a new typlogy of housing that would better suit Malaysia’s current way of living.
abstract
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contents
abstract
introduction
background
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what ? why ?
motivation15
fieldwork35
research17
conclusion78
literature references81
image references81
This project aims at introducing a new version of the traditional Ma- laysian shophouses with a specific focus on its sustainable qualities.
The Malaysian Shophouses was introduced when the country was colonized. I am therefore exploring the colonial vernacular architecture of the shophouse to suggest a new design that fits with our contempo- rary Malaysia.
what ? Having mixed origins, I always had a curiosity towards products of varied influences. I had the chance to live in various parts of the world and built up my own understanding of design.
In my written assignment, I focused on the influences of colonized countries in the shaping of “exotic design” in Europe.
I tried to prove that, without ak- nowledging it, Europeans drew inspirations in exotic countries and allowed themselves in taking over their ressources, crafts, techniques and materiality.
The work was essentially based on understanding the colonial heritage from the East to the West. The es- say made me realize that colonial- ism has shaped our cross-cultural world and that instead of complete- ly rejecting it, I should push myself in analysing it in order to offer my personal interpretation of it.
I therefore decided to flip side and understand the colonial heritage in the East through the study case of the Malaysian shophouse.
why ?
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The cultural context in which Ma- laysia is today is very much contro- versial. Although it has long been its strength, the country is struggling with its mixed cultural identity. Colonization united natives among themselves, they had the tools to build up a promosing future for the country. Unfortunately, decoloni- zation has put in place a corrupted government that failed at preserv- ing Malaysia’s richest assets; its cultural diversity.
My goal is not to celebrate the foundations of colonialism. I will briefly explain how it participated in shaping the country’s architectural style. I am also drawing attention to the richness that lies beyond the shophouse’s historical value. In that sense, I am promoting a new model of housing for future development in Kuala Lumpur in favour of a more livable and human scale city.
historical, cultural & social context
Kuala Lumpur has increasingly ex- panded in thirty years. Unfortunate- ly no real urban plan has ever been established leading up to the quick development of an ecclectic city with out of scale mega structure.
As a critic to the forthcoming developments, I have decided to focus on the last area of the city where traditionnal shophouses are still standing up against redevelop- ment : Chinatown.
urban context
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Figure 4 : photo taken in Chinatown, PNB 118 (world’s second tallest building) behind Chinatow’s oldest tea house.
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“Chinatown is a world of trades and wares, of shops and facades, of smells and foods, of lights and festivals, and of bazaars and markets”
(Bristow Steve, 1994)
Figure 5: photo taken in Chinatown, the kitchen of a street food vendor
Chinatown is Kuala Lumpur’s historical center and has evolved from a shanty town into a bustling enclave over a cen- tury and is now threatened to be demol- ished.
Exploring the origins of Chinatown was, for me, a way of rediscovering the history of Kuala Lumpur itself. To walk through the streets and lanes of the area is to walk through the opening chapters of Kuala Lumpur’s history.
Chinatown is a living museum and there- fore an important aspect of the cultural heritage of Malaysia. I have been familiar with the streets for so many years thanks to my father’s habits of moving around by foot, and have witnessed the changes that had occurred over the years. Yet it is the only place in the city which feels familiar and untouched every time I come back to Kuala Lumpur.
Since Kuala Lumpur has decided to become a futuristic city, many historical places have been substituted by massive glass towers designed and funded by for- eign influences. Chinatown is threatened to undergo the same changes.
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Figures 6 and 7 (above) : photos taken in Chinatown that shows the local identity. A fruit vendor in the street and a motobike food vendor.
Figure 8 : photo taken in Chinatown. The 5 foot walkway in front of the shophouses.
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Chinatown is nestled in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and is a hive of Chinese culture and commerce whose origins date back to the city’s earliest times. Yet intriguing, it is a basic and unpretentious place to be that brings you back to what Kuala Lumpur used to be twenty years ago, the Kuala Lumpur of my childhood. It is with great nostalgia that I have decided to dig into the history and the understanding of how this area was born.
The streets of Chinatown are the oldest in Kuala Lumpur and are a few hundred meters away from the city’s birthplace, the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, from which Kuala Lumpur, “muddy river” derives its name.
In 1857, the land was discovered by a Raja and his mining laborers for its “tin” properties. The area quickly de- veloped into a thriving shanty town and the population swelled with poor, industrious immigrants from China, lured by the prospect of opportunity and wealth. One man, Yap Ah Loy, gained influence and developed the mining town that was mainly made up of mud walled atap roofed houses separated by narrow alleys barely four meters wide.
After a fire destroyed the whole town in 1881, he was advised, by the new British Administration, to rebuilt the town in a permanent form and therefore laid out streets and constructed roads to the prin- cipal mining areas. He even opened a brickyard in the area and new buildings were constructed with bricks and tiles. It was then that the streets of today’s Chinatown took shape.
The British administration intro- duced many regulations con- cerning street width, drainage and access to back alleys. Single storey buildings soon made way for structures with two or three floors. The newly rich miners and traders hired immigrant Chinese builders and craftsmen to put up shophous- es and the wealth and status of the rich merchants were reflected in the architecture. It soon became fashionable to include elements of neoclassical architecture that had been introduced by the colonizing culture.
a bit of history
Figure 10 : Shophouses, Chinatown in 1925
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project statement My strategy is to work on a site in Chinatown and implement new rows of shophouses that cele- brates the vernacular in a sustain- able and modern way.
To achieve this, I have decided to go through a thorough anal- ysis of the Malaysian traditional shophouse in order to understand what could be replicated in my proposal.
I based my entire approach on believing that analyzing and understanding colonial vernac- ular architecture could help me preserve historical, cultural and local architectural values as well as building a better and more sustainable typology of houses in Malaysia.
I believe that exploring vernacular architecture can help us tackle various challenges the world is facing today.
Climate change lies amongst them. It is, in fact, crucial to un- derstand how to make the best use of local and natural resources in order to build in sustainable ways.
It is also a way of coming back to the origins of a culture. Vernacu- lar architecture is the product of sharing building techniques and construction know how among people through various genera- tions. Such as History, knowledge was transferred from elder to younger leading the construction practices of the different cultures to flourish for centuries (Piesik, 2017).
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theory My research mainly focused on the traditionnal shophouse and I have spent a lot of time analyzing its main features.
I have started working on the shophouse layout and facades while I was still in Denmark (the drawings) and have completed my research with information tak- en from a very useful book that I have found in Kuala Lumpur. It was written by Tan Yeow Wooi and has a specific focus on the Penang Shophouses (Tan Yeow Wooi, 2015), but it gave me a full under- standing of traditional shophous- es in general.
From there, I visited Melaka, a neighborhood city that has well preserved its cultural heritage, and tried to cross informations from my theoritical research and my site research.
process
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1. Granite step 2. Internal drain outlet 3. Granite edge 4. Terracotta tiles 5. Comb door 6. Pillar 7. Corbel 8. Bressummer beam 9. Air vent 10. Lower wall under shutters
11. Louvred shutters 12. Roof beam under eave 13. Column head 14. U-V shaped terracotta tiles 15. Gable end 16. Roof ridge 17. Batten 18. Purlin 19. Ceilling 20. Hall partition 21. Party wall 22. Granite paved air well sink 23. Wooden staircase 24. Timber joists 25. Timber floorboards 26. Wall cabinet
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Figure 11 : the traditional shophouse, axo- nometric view, the layout
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A shophouse is a very com- mon urban building with multiple functions – residen- tial, commercial or mixed use. Historically, shophouses were arranged with a shop or busi- ness premises on the ground floor (that was often a family business) and accommo- dation above. In that sense, it was very convenient and secure for the shop owner to have its business and house under the same roof.
Shophouses are normally built in rows or terraces with an interconnecting five-foot sheltered way at the front. They are usually two or three storeys high with a narrow front (between 5 to 7m wide) and deep rear (between 18 to 40m). The overall building has been thought to function with tropical weather conditions. Like traditional Malay hous- es (Attap), there’s a natural passive cooling system put in place (ventilated doors, ce- ramic air vent, courtyard etc.).
A strong link between the ex- terior and the interior there- fore exists so that the weath- er is a major element in the building’s history. Today, with the existence of air condition- ning, new buildings no longer breathe.
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Figure 12 : series of traditional shophouses, axonometric views
The evolution of the shop- house reflects a fusion of cultural influences from many parts of the globe, including the Malay archipelago, India, China and Europe. The combi- nation of elements has helped create a unique architecture and the changes in the build- ing reflected the introduction of new technologies and influences of global traditions, fashions and building tech- niques over different time periods.
All my research is based on the evolution of shophous- es in two specific cities in Malaysia. Unlike Kuala Lumpur,
early style
art deco style
early modern style
Penang and Melaka strove at preserving their cultural heritage making it easier to analyze the vernacular.
Six main styles have been defined by Historians, each of them refer to a change of ex- ternal appearance and height of the shophouse especial- ly in the facades. Until the 1920s, the internal hierarchy and use of spaces did not change much over time.
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the early style 1790 - 1950 Shophouses were initially de- signed to suit the humid environ- ment and to protect the inhabi- tants from the tropical heat and rain.
The early shophouses were modest in size and height and were mainly built from timber. When brick was introduced, they were built with lime mortar and protected lime plaster, and the floor was laid with terracotta tiles on bare lime concrete. All these materials are breathable and allowed the natural cool ground moisture to rise and cool the rooms. With the ventilation, these materials kept the inside of the buildings both cool and dry (Tan Yeow Wooi, 2015, p9).
roof
five foot way flooring
U shapped terracotta roof tiles on timber battens, from ridge to eave Overhanging pitched roof, battens supported on timber beam at eave
Timber beam column to column Full width timber panels or louvred shutters below beam and above low wall Terracotta sill to protect shutters Low brick wall above bressummer beam Brick cornice to protect bressummer beam Bressummer beam column to column
Commercial blocks: Removable vertical timber paneling creates a large opening Lattice for ventilation above door height
Residential: Brick wall with central door and two square shutter openings
Granite drain bridge, steps, edge Terracotta Floor tiles
Figure 13: the early style shophouse, axonometric view
Figure 14: the early style shophouse’s facade
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the southern chinese eclectic Style 1840s-1910s This typology of Shophouses was mainly designed base on the pre- vious shophouse with influences from the South of China.
It has introduced the comb door, waist shaped air vents above the lower façade windows and green ceramic ventilation tiles to the low wall above the front beam. This is also the time when two houses were joined together with some enclosed walkways on the first floor, leaving some space for an airwell for light, for heat to escape and rain to cool the interior. This is the typology of house that I am getting inspire for my proposal (Tan Yeow Wooi, 2015, p11).
roof
five foot way flooring
Roof ridge U shapped terracotta roof tiles on timber battens, from ridge to eave Overhanging pitched roof, battens supported on timber beam at eave
Column head Timber beam column to column Decorate panel or louvre below wall plate Full width timber louvred shutters Terracotta sill to protect shutters Low brick wall above bressummer beam Brick cornice to protect bressummer beam Bressummer beam column to column Granite corbel brackets
Commercial blocks: Removable vertical timber paneling creates a large opening Lattice for ventilation above door height
Residential Brick wall with central door and two square shutter openings Two square shutter openings plus air vents
Five foot wat flooring Granite drain bridge, steps, edge Terracotta Floor tiles
Figure 15: the southern chinese eclectic shophouse, axonometric view
Figure 16: tthe southern chinese eclectic shophouse’s facade
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the early strait eclectic style 1890 – 1920s Thanks to the resulting of import and export trade, the tin mining and rubber business was flour- ishing. Private Europeans archi- tects took advantage of the good situation bringing with them ma- terials, decorative elements and design ideas found in their home- lands. Many vernacular buildings began to accommodate elements of Western architecture and led to the Strait Eclectic Style.
The biggest difference with the other shophouse is the aban- donment of the first floor faacde full width row of shutters above the low wall in favor of full height shutters. They were in pairs or tripartite arrangement influenced by the neoclassical European windows. To this extent, the shut- ters provided maximum ventila- tion by reducing wall space. The same shutters are framed by a decorative brick and plaster. (Tan Yeow Wooi, 2015, p13).
roof
five foot way flooring
Roof ridge U or V shapped terracotta roof tiles on timber battens, from ridge to eave Overhanging pitched roof with stepped terra- cotta soffit or wxposed underside of beams, battens and tiles
Column head Timber beam column to column Flat wall panel below wall plate Full height timber framed openings with fanlight and door height louvred shutters Raised plaster frame or architrave with central keystone at the top Low brick wall above bressummer beam Brick cornice to protect bressummer beam Bressummer beam column to column Granite corbel brackets
Commercial blocks: Removable vertical timber paneling creates a large opening Lattice for ventilation above door height
Residential Brick wall with central door and two square shutter openings Two square shutter openings plus air vents
Granite drain bridge, steps, edge Terracotta Floor tiles
Figure 17: the early strait eclectic shophouse, axonometric view
Figure 18: the early strait eclectic shophouse’s facade
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late straits eclectic style 1910s-1930s This type of Shophouse is the most eclectic creation in which Chinese vernacular and West- ern architectural styles were fusionned. Decorative features became bolder and more three dimensional. The Greek and Roman influenced egg and dart pattern harmonized seamlessly with decorative Chinese flora and fauna seen in decorative stuccowork. Portland cement was introduced in construction and finishes. Reinforced con- crete replaced masonry columns and timber beams. Decorative tiles coming from Portugal or the Netherlands were now placed on the façade (Tan Yeow Wooi, 2015, p15).
roof
five foot way flooring
Fire break wall between units V shapped terracotta roof tiles on timber battens, from ridge to eave Overhanging pitched roof with stepped terracotta soffit or Projecting ferroconcrete overhang supported on brackets acted as wide gutter
Capital and console bracket Full height brick wall with openings Full height timber framed openings with internal balustrade, glazed fanlight Decorative plasterworks Cornice to protect bressummer beam with egg and dart motif Bressummer I beam column to column Moulded decorative brackets
Commercial blocks: Removable vertical timber paneling creates a large opening Lattice for ventilation above door height
Residential Brick wall with central carved door and solid inner door Two square shutter openings plus decorative air vents Dado panel below window with ceramic majolica tiles
Granite drain bridge, steps, edge Cement tiles
Figure 19: the late strait eclectic shophouse, axonometric view
Figure 20: the late strait eclectic shophouse’s facade
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art deco style 1930-1960s The clean surfaces, geomet- ric and linear expression of the façade shows a drastic change in the evolution of the shophouse. The Art Deco style was very pop- ular and adapted to the tropical style; coloured glass windows with steel frames were intro- duced. Shanghai plaster replaced the lime plaster (Tan Yeow Wooi, 2015, p17).
roof
five foot way flooring
Fire break wall between units V shapped Marseille or terracotta roof tiles
Brickwork with Shanghai plaster finish decorated with horizontal or vertical lines Dated on the centre of the façade Air vents – horizontall slots divided by raised bands of masonry Typically metal framed windows with sea green coloured glass Low wall above the bressummer beam becomes a place for the business name or date
Ground Floor Commercial blocks: Timber or metail folding panels Metal grille for ventilation above door…