Where heritage meets hospitality

FROM Vietnam to Chiang Mai, from Yogyakarta to Guangzhou, architect Hijjas Kasturi was extraordinarily busy criss-crossing the region last year.

His mission: to buy furniture, household fittings, wood carvings, doors, tiles, antiques. You name it, it is on his list.

‘It was fascinating. We discovered many types of old material still being made by hand,’ he said, showing off a tile from Vietnam that was made using a technique similar to batik block printing.

His purchases are for a new project in Penang. He has bought 15 old shophouses in the heritage zone of Penang’s capital city George Town, and is refurbishing them into a small luxury hotel.

The Hotel Penaga, to be open by Christmas, has stirred excitement because Singapore-born Mr Hijjas, 75, is one of Malaysia’s leading architects, whose elegant skyscrapers have won admiration for their beauty.

His company has built lofty buildings like the Maybank Tower, the Securities Commission building, and Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

The Penang project, however, is different from Mr Hijjas’ previous undertakings. First, it will be owned by the Hijjas family, and secondly, it will be built on a much smaller scale compared with the architect’s earlier works.

It is a boost to George Town, which has fallen into decline over the past decade, losing its lustre as the Pearl of the Orient. Rent control measures imposed in 1948 meant redevelopment was unprofitable, and many of the 12,000 rent-controlled buildings fell into disrepair.

But abolishing the measures did not reverse the city’s fortunes either. After rent control was lifted in 1997, many residents were forced out by soaring rents. The iconic shophouses were abandoned and George Town took on an air of neglect.

In 2008, it received a new lease on life when, along with Malacca, it was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. There is now a sense of rejuvenation as old shophouses are being bought up and turned into cafes, shops, and guesthouses.

Dr Andrew Aeria, a Penang activist and university lecturer, attributes this revival to the sense of certainty brought about by the Unesco listing.

‘Previously, people didn’t know which way the development was going. The heritage way, or more high-rises? Now that there’s certainty, people are willing to invest,’ he said.

At the end of last year, an Australian hotelier opened The Straits Collection – a heritage hotel housed in a series of pre-war shophouses. Just before that, an Edwardian Anglo-Malay bungalow, Clove Hall, was opened as a luxury hotel after refurbishment.

Mr Hijjas said with George Town’s revival, his family believed it was a good place for a long-term investment. As he put it: ‘Penang is such a magical place.’

It all started when he and his wife wanted to expand their artist-in-residence programme to Penang. For the past 15 years, they have sponsored one Malaysian and one Australian artist each year for a year’s stay at their sprawling estate, Rimbun Dahan, in rural Selangor.

They were hunting for one shophouse, and ended up buying 15 in a triangular block bordered by Hutton Lane, Clarke Street and Jalan Transfer. The 1950s-era lots used to house small businesses like coffee shops and mechanics’ workshops.

They decided that a hotel would provide the best returns for their impulse buy. The project will have 32 rooms, and maintain every bit of the old-world charm while keeping to strict environmental standards.

Mr Hijjas’s son Suyani Hijjas, who is overseeing the project, said the 15 shops were bought for RM4.8 million (S$2 million), and refurbishment will cost another RM10 million.

The first block of five houses is almost ready and looks wonderful. The houses will be rented out as double-storey suites with a living room, kitchen, a garden jacuzzi and two huge bedrooms with balconies.

The other two blocks will house guest rooms, a restaurant, and a spa. The backlanes that once separated the three blocks will become a lush garden with a pool.

‘We want to keep the charm that’s inherited with the buildings. Where we have to redesign the old for comfort, we are mindful not to destroy its essence,’ said Mr Hijjas.

To comply with the green building index, as much as 70 per cent of the wood is recycled, as well as the roof tiles. A rainwater harvesting system and solar panels to power LED lights will be installed.

Mr Hijjas hopes the hotel will provide the income for their cultural programmes as the arts are a long-time passion of his – almost as long as his love for buildings: ‘I had always wanted to be an architect. It comes from the fascination with buildings, and our family built our own house in the Malay farm near Geylang.’

The architect grew up poor in Singapore, but won a Colombo Plan scholarship to study architecture in Australia. He worked at the Housing Board before leaving for Malaysia in the 1960s to start an architecture school.

‘Culture is important. We can live to survive but there must be more to life than that. It must have richness,’ he said.

The Hotel Penaga will embody this philosophy through its artworks and an artists programme: ‘After all, that’s how it started.’

Source : Straits Times – 22 Mar 2010