This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 26, 2022 - January 1, 2023

Malaysia is not only rich in culture but also in architecture. To ensure some of the country’s older buildings remain relevant, innovators, architects and designers have made efforts to repurpose them. This exercise is called adaptive reuse, which is the act or process of reusing existing buildings for a purpose other than what they were originally built for. The upcycling of existing structures and their components helps reduce carbon emissions and save energy, which lowers the amount of natural resources needed to build a similar structure from scratch. The following are examples of reused and repurposed buildings in Malaysia.

A coffee shop with an event space, Caffé Diem is situated among a row of refurbished pre-war shophouses in Pekan Cina in Alor Setar, Kedah. Caffé Diem was established in May 2013 by Jackie Loo. Kedah-based architecture firm Azimin Architect and several contractors commenced restoration works on the building in 2014.

The building was originally a prison during the British occupation in the 1800s. The prison was relocated to its current premises on Jalan Sultanah in 1941, while the building in Pekan Cina eventually became budget lodgings for labourers. It was later sold to a private owner from Penang, who lived there and rented out the rest of the space. Years later, the building was leased to Caffé Diem, which was initially located in a nearby shophouse. 

Today, the 2-storey building houses a coffee bar and an enclosed courtyard-concept café called the Perahu Room on the ground floor. This space has a real perahu (a local boat) hanging from its ceiling.

On the first floor, the prison rooms were converted into a large single room with three bay windows overlooking the internal courtyard. This space, which was named the Tunku Room and has photos of Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, decorating its walls, is used for private functions. The master bedroom, which was once the home of the former owner, is now a private dining room called the China Room.

Chocha, which in the Hakka dialect means “sit” and “tea”, is a restaurant-café-cum-coworking space located in a century-old 2-storey shophouse in Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

Chocha Foodstore was co-founded by architects and MentahMatter Design Consultancy co-founders Penny Ng and Shin Chang. 

The original building was constructed in the 1920s and has housed different businesses. In the late 1960s, Mah Lian Hotel was set up ostensibly as a hotel but it was actually operating a brothel. It was later shut down and the building left abandoned for years.

When Chocha Foodstore moved in, the “Mah Lian Hotel” signage was retained to preserve the history of the place. The outside walls are adorned with tiny vintage mosaic tiles. The building’s structure was also retained but the partitions for the 14 rooms in the building were removed.

Today, the building houses two eateries — Chocha Foodstore on the ground floor, which offers Malaysian cuisine with a special twist; and Botak Liquor on the first floor, which is a garden-concept bar.

Hotel Puri is a 3-storey boutique hotel located on Jonker Street in Melaka. The Peranakan-style heritage shophouse, which the hotel occupies, is managed by Puri Hotel Management Sdn Bhd.

The building was built in 1822 and bought over by Tan Kim Seng in 1840 to be used as his home. The house was then rebuilt by his grandson Tan Jiak Choo at a cost of 14,000 Straits Settlement Dollars in 1876. The outdoor compound was used as a stable for the Tan family’s horses and a parking area for horse carriages.

Refurbishment works to transform the building into a hotel started in the mid-2000s. The building was reinstated by preserving the original structure, together with its carved doorways, windows and partitions. In addition, the mosaic floor and wall tiles and marble were cleaned and polished. 

Hotel Puri offers 10 types of rooms, including standard twin rooms and family suites. It also has a garden café and conference facilities that can accommodate up to 100 people.

Penang Harmony Centre is a multi-cultural community hub set in an existing timber bungalow. The bungalow, formerly known as Wickham Lodge, was commissioned by Sir Henry Alexander Wickham, the explorer known for bringing the Hevea Brasiliensis rubber tree from Santarem, Brazil, to British Malaya in 1876. The Malay-style wooden lodge was completed in 1880 and used by Wickham as a holiday residence. After his passing in 1928, it was abandoned.

The bungalow was later used as a state government office called Institut Integriti Negeri Pulau Pinang. The idea for Penang Harmony Centre was first proposed in 2017 by then Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng as a facility for all communities to hold gatherings. BETA was in charge of the design of the project, which was completed in November 2019.

The main building was originally a 4,300 sq ft colonial-era Malay-style state government bungalow with a verandah featuring lattices in a ketupat-weave motif. Its annex building is a 2,800 sq ft community hall that was built when BETA took charge of repurposing the site. 

Today, Penang Harmony Centre has an administrative office, a meeting room, discussion areas, a multipurpose community hall and a children’s play area, among others. Penang Harmony Centre was the winner of The Edge Malaysia - PAM Green Excellence Award 2021.

Located on Wayang Street in Kuching, Sarawak, The Marian Boutique Lodging House is a heritage boutique hotel that was once a lodging house for church members. 

The original building was a mansion belonging to the late Ong Ewe Hai, whose father migrated from China to Singapore in the first half of the 19th century. The house was completed in 1885 and had been the Ong’s family home for three generations before it was sold to the Anglican Mission and turned into a boarding house in 1933.

When the Diocesan took over in 1968, the building was operated as a Diocesan guesthouse until 2012 when Urban Village Sdn Bhd — project conceptualiser, proposer, tenant, main contractor and interior designer — came into the picture and renovations for The Marian Boutique Lodging House began. Today, the Marian comprises 40 rooms, including standard rooms, family rooms and a 2-bedroom apartment. 

Adjacent to the Marian is Kantin at The Granary, situated behind a row of pre-war shophouses. The space is a naturally ventilated dining hall that was once an old warehouse. The space occupied by The Granary was a hanging garden and courtyard that fronted the mansion in the 1880s. It was also once a playground, a warehouse to store produce and a car repair workshop. 

According to IDC Architects’ website, the existing brick walls and timber structure were exposed to create textures that showcased the building’s past use. New elements and recycled building components were inserted into the existing structures of the building. Today, The Granary consists of a bar, a lounge area for live performances, a dining area as well as a purpose-built kitchen. The Marian was one of the winners of The Edge Malaysia Excellence in Conservation & Adaptive Reuse Award 2022.

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