HERITAGE CONSERVATION IN RAPIDLY GROWING ASIAN CITIES

A Malaysian Case Study - A Photo Essay

BY AGNIESHKA KIERA

1. Penang, Malasia, once a thriving international port city, now popular tourist destination, where visitors are drawn not only to its clean beaches and picturesque shoreline

...but also to its heritage, especially that of historic quarter, George Town (Town Hall)

The surviving colonial heritage embodied in such buildings as the Community Hall ...

... the industrial heritage represented by buildings such as Railway workshops and Railway Station with its landmark Clock Tower (apparently the only station in the world without a railway line)...

...and the industrial/representative buildings in the port area, all provide evidence of the city's once prosperous past and thriving international trade, where...

....visitors were always welcome as important contributors to the city's viability and diverse activities, ...

... and where hotels formed part of a traditional streetscape in terms of form and function, and together with the Chinese shop-houses, cafes and other uses added to the multiplicity of activities in the historic city centre.

George Town remains most of all a vibrant and evolving inner city district. Its streets still reflect the diversity of its population, where Chinese and Indian temples...

... and mosques coexist with each other, and ...

... where the temples, houses and shops form part of the streetscape and street life.

The commercial district of George Town show the flexibility and ease with which the traditional means of transportation, pedestrians and bechucs mix with the more technologically advanced traffic.

The well maintained, up market type of the old shop-houses forming the main street frontage ...

...coexist with the more humble quarters facing the internal laneways ...

... and informal street trade activities.

Inner city living is part of the long tradition of George Town, and despite the appeal of modern housing the historic residential quarters continue to be occupied and progressively restored.

The mix of many small businesses and street vendors also continues to be a preferable form of commercial activity in the inner city and ...

...continue a traditional way of conducting business, where even siesta break does not deter potential customers from looking for a bargain. The traditional codes of behaviour still works in George Town - the customers are waiting politely for the vendor to wake up in order to be served.

George Town's foreshore has been traditionally important for many reasons: for walking and passive recreation by day ...

...while being transformed into a informal and busy food market and eating out place by night.

There is however increasing evidence modern threats to the urban heritage of the Malaysian historic cities of George Town and Malacca, including the traditional way of life. While tourism is the growing industry and source of employment to local population, it has its price. One of them is replacemnt of the traditional trade with the tourist orientated businesses. Yet the art gallery selling mass produced craft closed down for the day due to slow business...

... while the black smith shop on the opposite side of the same street is not only busy with the work load (no time for siesta) but proves to be also a popular tourist attraction. Note residence above the workshop.

Increasingly modern functions are being introduced to the historic areas. The Malacca's historic inner city area contains some buildings, which historically offered oul nurturing, spiritual facilities ...

... but now coexist with the economic reality of tourism drawn to historic centres to experience and appreciate their heritage (including spiritual) values ...

... not totally irrelevant to the traditional city centre context.

The other threat to viability of the historic centre is increasing motor traffic on the streets not designed to carry such high and ever increasing volumes of motorcars, replacing pedestrians and pedestrian orientated uses.

Cars are not only taking over the road and verges, but also are introducing a barrier between the street and the traditionally shared private/public interactive space of George Town's streets i.e. the shopfronts' arcades and commercial activities inside the buildings and the street.

While in Malacca the arcades still perform their traditional function as a shared public/private space and as pedestrian walkways.

... in George Town due to the reduced pedestrian use of the streets taken over by vehicular traffic, any shops have been closed off from the street to face quieter internal courtyards while the covered walkways have been taken over by motorcyclists as parking alleys.

One of the local Council's, government funded, solutions is to turn some of the streets into pedestrian malls ...

... or slowing down vehicular traffic by such traffic calming measures as tree planting integrated with parking bays which narrow the street and create pedestrian friendly thoroughfares (Cambell Street).

Despite these measures some already run down shops and long uncared for residential premises are closing down while landlords hope to benefit from the anticipated development boom once the restrictive Rent Act is lifted in 2000.

But significant changes to the George Town heritage have been set in place since the 1970s. The small grained urban fabric and human scale of the area have been eroded in places by the replacement of the original terraces by out of scale and character buildings. These are still facilitated by the permissible plot ratio of 3.5 to 5.0 with no guidelines or process to help retain the old character.

The new out of scale, spot infill buildings introduce a visually alien element, blocking the views and impacting on the traditional streetscape ...

... not only adding to the deterioration of the surviving, uncared for buildings and drastically changing the streetscape character, but also reducing the traditionally mixed uses (shop + accomodation) with a single function (usually an office).

The large scale new buildings fit better in the streets where large buildings existed originally, such as near the port, and where the streets were built wider to accomodate the port related traffic. This shows how the townscape issues can be resolved sucessfully, where the new reflects the scale and character of the old.

... while attempts to conserve the more significant individual heritage buildings whithout conserving their context and without the stylistic integration of the existing and the new buildings in the vicinity, often result in a failure on both fronts.

While new tourist hotels are important for the economy, care should be taken that these do not extend to the George Town foreshore as many tourists will come to Penang not only for its clean beaches, but also to experience the city's unique heritage. Thus the strategies for more hotel developments and conservation of George Town complement each other.

The rising pressure on more development such as the planned construction of a large scale motorway around the foreshore and more hotel development closer to the city puts its heritage qualities represented by such buildings as this old club and its coastal setting at risk.

The view of George Town - although the modern high rise developments continue to progressively encircle the area, a substantial part of it remains intact. It is important to conserve George Town not only for cultural, but also for economic and social reasons as it remains a vital component of urban structure and economy of Penang.

... and to avoid such intrusion like this one which apart from visual impact threatens the viability or even survival and upgrading of the traditional residential areas.

The new high rise developments also impact on the former colonial edifices and the once sprawling public green areas representing not only heritage values of state significance, but also public identification with and attachment to those places.

Facadism is rarely an acceptable solution. While this may preserve the face of an old building, the scale of a high rise tower behind tends to reduce the old facade to an entry porch, diminishing its significance, eliminating its traditional uses. Much better could be expected of the est of George Town where not only the character of the area, but also its social fabric and the traditional uses need to be protected and conserved.

There is hope - it is not too late to save George Town from destruction. The June 1999 UNESCO International conference provided a catalyst for local community to take action in order to raise the international public awarness of the threats to their city and seek assistance in finding a viable future for this significant historic city. The conference attendants and members of the community painting the banner "save George Town".

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is heritage conservation important to any community?
2. How are heritage qualities retained in the middle of urban development
3. Can heritage improve an urban economy?