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History - 2
The Architecture of George Town
by Jon Lim |
| Extracts from a paper read at
the Penang Story conference |
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Research Methodology IN ARCHITECTURE, researchers often look to George Town as a city of shophouses, villas and bungalows. A thesis addressing these topics must comprise findings or conclusions that are declared correct from propositions supporting a hypothesis. It should include claims or assertions that may be subdivided to other issues but remain within the general topic. Ultimately, a thesis is an assertion of facts based on a set of conclusive evidence. Caution is necessary to ensure that hypothesis do not shift. An example of 'shifting' premise lies in the enquiry of shophouses and 'five-footways'. This was based on the understanding from Regulation VI of 28th September 1826, by the Committee of Assessors, that the 'five-footways' of shophouses had existed since the early days of the settlement.1 This resulted from a preamble concerning the 'Collection of an Assessment on Houses ...proclaimed in the year 1802, for the purpose of cleaning, draining and repairing the Streets... by the authority of the Honourable the Governor in Council'. Under Rule (vi) and (vii) of Regulation VI, assessment is 'chargeable for the pathway between the House and Drain, when the same is built over by Verandahs or Archways.' (Italics added). It also stipulates that 'Proprietors of Houses and Grounds to leave the regular space of 5 feet, between the House and Drain'. However, Regulation VI was rescinded by Regulation VII of 31st December 1826, which states that, 'Whereas certain Rules and Regulations for the levy of Assessment on Houses and Lands on this Island and Dependency ...to be in force from the 1st day of January next ensuing, the Regulation immediately preceding, denominated Regulation VI of 1826 is hereby rescinded'. (Italics added) In this case, it is therefore not possible to resurrect an idea when clearly there is no premise. According to the official report of the Penang Municipality2 , 'Until 1827 the Committee of Assessors seems to have no legal recognition but in that year a Regulation by the Governor in Council, Prince of Wales Island, mentioned the Committee for the first time'. It is a fact that subsequent regulations passed by the Governor in Council made no reference to 'verandahs' or 'arcades'. For example, Regulation XII of 1839, sub-clause (ii) states that: 'Assessment shall be levied on all dwelling houses, and other buildings within limits of the Towns of George Town, Singapore and Malacca, according to the real annual income thereof, at a rate not exceeding ten percent of such annual values'. (italics added). Here, again, no mention is made on the levy of assessment rates for verandahs and arcades. Research into the architectural history of Penang is still at its infancy and for this reason, local researchers should pursue conservative objectives and within a consultative framework with other scholars. Topics such as the relationship between the development of the architectural profession and architecture has yielded some broad classification of results, e.g. the qualitative work between foreign and local trained architects and inter-personal influences that may exist between them (Lim: 1990). |
| Narratives and Memories From my experience, the collection of oral history often depended on 'third-party' contacts and this constitutes the most tested effort of fieldwork. Respondents, particularly next-of-kin, do not feel the same way as researchers; formal associations often took years before trust and goodwill is yielded. In Penang, this is exacerbated by the pragmatic attitude of descendants who often seem to possess little by way of information. Yet, in a small way, here and there, vital information can be collected without any particular sequence. For instance, the term 'Radio House' was first heard during my conversation with my cousin Mr. Heah Hock Lai. This did not mean much to me until I discovered the term 'sanctuary', which appeared in the attic of houses submitted in the building plans by Chew Eng Eam. It was then that I began to realize that the term 'Radio House' refers to a typology created by Chew. Mr. Khoo Boo Chia, Curator of the Penang Museum, has also provided me with a vital history of pre-war Penang personalities whose buildings matched description of building plans extracted from the Penang Municipality. Conversation with Mr. Khoo Boo Hong, Hon. Secretary of the Trustees of Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi (Penang) led me to discover the commemorative plague of architect Khoo Gee Lee who joined the Khoo Kongsi in 1924. An interview with Mrs. Cory Iversen regarding her late husband, Mr. B.M. Iversen also led to the confirmation of his work at Phua Hin Leong Road. This coincided with the building plans extracted from the Penang Municipality on a separate occasion. Occasionally one 'scores a direct hit' such as in a personal interview with Mr. J.C. Miller, principle of Stark and McNeil, architects. The collection of raw data comprising of identity of architects, building plans and oral history, constitutes a holistic approach to the research field. It then became possible to study about each of these architects from the viewpoint of their building styles; categorising them under 'formerly trained' and 'informally trained' architects and comparison of their works. Some of these premises have been undertaken and studied and has resulted in tentative conclusions. Thus, gradually though the years, it became possible to construct a history of architects and their works |
| Sources
of Archival Information A major source of archival information were found in the registered architects' list published by the Board of Architects (1927) and the building submission plan in microfilms at the Penang Municipality. In Singapore, this is readily available in microfilm placed with the Central Library, National University Singapore. It is also noted that all Penang architects registered with the Board of Architects in 1927 also became members of the Singapore Society of Architects (MSSA). Their works are often published in the 'Journal of the Institute of Architects Malaya' (incorporated 1931). These architects who are Associate members of the Royal Institute of British Architects have lodged their biodata in the RIBA Nominations papers and therefore, provide useful information about them practising in Penang. Among them are J.C. Miller, C.E. Boutcher, D.M. Craik, and H.A. Neubronner et al. Other sources of information come from annual reports such as the 'Government Civil List', which identify professionals in the Civil Service, and the 'Singapore and Straits Directory' (Singapore and Malayan Directory) that operates from 1850 onwards and various publication of 'Who's Who in Malaya' Use of Archetypes The iconography and archetypes of the bungalow, villa and shophouses of South-East Asia are traditionally used for teaching at the undergraduate level in the National University of Singapore. However, it is not always possible to identify specific archetypes from case studies. An example is the former Government House (c.1808) of Penang, which was modified substantially during the nineteenth century. The original core consists of three chambers arranged in strict symmetry and probably had a flat roof. The archetype or generic form appears to be a pukka house, which is typically found in the military cantonments of India during the nineteenth century. An aerial view of the building reveals that the original core and roof has been extended on all four sides and subsequently rebuilt with a series of hip and lean-to roofs. The elevations are struck with a heavy cornice, which has survived as bands in sections. The base course of the pilasters is elaborately treated with foliated arches, plant and bird forms. The interior of the building is treated with palmer's shell over windows and pediments decorated with military elements over the doorways. A principle annex is the arcade described as the 'military board style', a vernacular term coined for barracks in the Indian cantonments during the nineteenth century. A typical feature of the pukka house is the load bearing capacity in the thick walls, which carry the full weight of the upper chambers and roof. The side chambers show that the floor joists span the shortest distance between walls; however, the joists run lengthways at the centre chamber, by relying on mid-span support provided by two sets of iron beams. This raises the suggestion that the interior was fully gutted out when re-construction of an extensive floor required the internal staircase and gallery to be removed. In this way, the intervention of iron beams substituted for housing the joists in the walls thus avoiding the possibility of creating structural weakness. With an increase of floor area to the original core, an alternative staircase had to be provided. The question whether this was first incorporated in the verandah wing or vestibule can only be clarified from the annual audit reports. This building was possibly the initiative of William Farquhar when he was Governor and in 1859, the government transferred ownership to the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. It then served as a Novitiate and presently as a Domestic Science wing. The morphology of the Government House may be compared with a pukka house that belongs to a Danish merchant in India; it is known as 'The House with The Monkey' (after 1777) in Serampore, India (Neilssen: 1968).3 The latter comprised of three chambers arranged in symmetry. The blockish shape has a principal portico facing one side and a vestibule with a smaller portico over the opposite side. The general plan with front verandah and back vestibule clearly reflects the plan of Farquhar's Government House in Penang. The similarity in the tightly banded cornice, window trimmings and platform are also evident between both houses. From this observation, it may be concluded that the Pukka House is an Anglo-Indian archetype. |
| Stylistic
Development Sources of building plans such as from the Penang Municipality have the potential to trace the stylistic development of architects and this can be categorized between the works of 'formally' (RIBA) and 'informally-trained' architects (MSIA). The firm of Stark and McNeil, Architects, Civil Engineers and Surveyors provides a rich documentation of architectural development such as shophouses and other urban forms of George Town. Among the earliest examples of shophouses during the early twentieth century is located at the corner of Pitt and Chulia Street. Designed in 1912 by C.W. Barnett, an ex-civil engineer from the Municipality and John Stark, an ex-civil engineer from Swan & Maclaren, Singapore, they formed a partnership under the style of Barnett &Stark in 1907. The engineers obviously preferred replicating the style of great arcades that appeared in the Government Building Complex (1889 -1904) between King Edward Place and Downing Street However, the style of the firm (Stark & McNeil) began to set a new tone with the entrance of the RIBA architects during the 1920's. Architect C.E. Boutcher, ARIBA, an ex-PWD architect from Alor Star, Kedah joined the firm in 1926. That year, he designed two blocks of shophouses at the corner of Macalister Road, Irving Road and Krian Road. The robust massing that comprises of bay windows set between stout piers and ornamented with block rosette and guttae are noteworthy. The entrance portal at the 'five-footways' is ornamented by a pediment door head and delicate wooden lattices. This unusual rendition of masses and voids that survives today is probably the most dramatic in terms of ordering urban spaces. Another partner of the firm was architect J.C. Miller, ARIBA, who designed three blocks of shophouses in the vicinity of Pitt Street in 1934, 1937 and 1940 for the Mohammedan and Hindu Endowment Board. The first block is bounded between Buckingham and Pitt Streets. This three-storey complex displays an Italian Palazzo style, featuring a careful arrangement of square windows and ornate arcades. The roofscape and form are extravagant and unusual in the urban context of an Asian bazaar such as Pitt Street; this obviously reflects the paternal association shared between the endowment board and colonial architects. In 1937, Miller designed a modernist block of shops and flats at the corner of Pitt and Ah Quee Street. This is located opposite Buckingham Street. This four-storey pile is unusually severe and treated with a horizontal gravitas. Elements like ribbon windows and spandrels are contrasted with staircase cores, which cantilever and rise above the parapet with pointed breeze-blocks in an Art Decor manner. This building, likewise, portrays the avant garde and modernist movement of the 1930's. Miller also designed other modernist buildings such as the Jual Murah (Penang Cloth Bazaar; reopened 1937) in Penang Road and various cabarets and amusement parks. However, a more satisfying urban statement is found in his modernist block of shophouses designed in 1940 at the corner of Ah Quee Street and Pitt Lane. This 'pink looking' landmark that is seen today, captures a dynamic sculptural quality, and comprises of horizontal lines in the main elevation and project a vertical mass on the side, bearing Art Decor elements. In terms of post-view, it is observed that the firm of Stark & McNeil provides an unusual track record of architectural expression that achieves design in the landmark class through the pioneering spirit of the firm. |
| After Thoughts George Town, Penang deserves much more attention and appreciation through the promotion and fruits of research in Architecture and the Arts. Various research methodologies and interpretation of hypothesis and theoretical framework has been established and cautioned. A broad base of research has been formed through knowledge of architects and archetypes gleaned from oral history and archival data; this is generally available and collaboration between researchers is possible. But this knowledge cannot stand alone but must be used to help conservation program succeed and save our precious buildings.# from "Typologies of Historical Exploration: Constructing History from Research Methodology, Documents, Narratives and Memories". by Jon Lim Senior Fellow, National University of Singapore Paper read at The Penang Story Conference *********** ENDNOTES 1 MALAYA LAW REVIEW, The Regulation of Prince of Wales Island, Singapore and Malacca 1825-1833, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 248-350. 2 PENANG PAST & PRESENT 1786-1963, Chp II The Birth of Municipal Administration, published by City Council of George Town, 1966, p. 1. 3 Sten Nilsson European Architecture in India 1750-1850, Faber and Faber, London, 1968. p. 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY Jon S.H. Lim. Colonial Architecture and Architects of George Town and Singapore between 1786 and 1942. (Five Volumes). National University of Singapore (1990) Jon S.H. Lim. European Touch - The Leong Yin Keang Mansion. The STAR, Section Two, January 10th 2002. p 5. Jon S.H. Lim. The George Town Garden House. Pulau Pinang, Vol 3. No. 1 (1991) pp 24-29. Jon S.H. Lim. Houses By Asian Architects in Pre-War George Town. Architecture Journal 1992, National University of Singapore, School of Architecture. pp56-73 Jon S.H. Lim. Architecture of the Sri Mutiara, Penang (1890-1990), A centennial publication booklet published by the Yang Di Pertua Negeri, Pulau Pinang. Jon Lim, Typologies of Historical Exploration: Constructing History from Research Methodology, Documents, Narratives and Memories. |
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