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How a former maternity hospital, clinic and pharmacy became the shining example of heritage restoration in George Town
GEORGE TOWN, June 21 — Fronting the corner of Lebuh Acheh and Carnarvon Street is an imposing British colonial white building with modern touches and Straits Chinese influences.
The architectural style of the imposing double-storey building straddling the corner of two streets is almost similar to that of the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce building, the former Majestic Theatre and Loke Thye Kee building at the junction of Burmah Road and Penang Road.
This is because the building, currently the office of George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI), was designed by the same man – the prominent Straits Chinese architect Chew Eng Eam – back in 1922.
Chew's signature style is evident in the symmetrical facade, decorative pilasters and cornices and louvered windows that reflect a blend of Straits Eclectic architecture and British colonial influences.
The building was originally built to house the Universal Dispensary and a medical clinic for Dr Ong Huck Chye.
There was also a maternity hospital on the second floor of the building.
It is unclear when the maternity hospital, clinic or pharmacy shuttered but a picture taken sometime in the late 1970s to early 1980s showed the main building vacant and in a dilapidated condition while the adjoining building housed a hairdressing salon.
An old photo of the building taken in the 1980s. — Picture courtesy of GTWHI
Sometime in 2002, the main building and its adjoining building, 116 and 118 Lebuh Acheh, were renovated and Penang Heritage Centre moved into the building.
After George Town was jointly inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage Site with Melaka in 2008, the Penang Heritage Centre was renamed as World Heritage Office.
It was only on April 21 in 2010 that GTWHI was formed to manage, safeguard and promote the world heritage site.
The building underwent a massive restoration in 2019, not merely to restore it to its former glory but also as an example of restoration in accordance with heritage guidelines.
The restoration was completed in 2021 and it now serves as the office for GTWHI and also as a model for heritage restoration.
GTWHI Senior Cultural Heritage Officer Ng Xin Yi said the restoration took longer to complete due to the pandemic but they managed to keep the costs low, at RM1.8 million for both 116 and 118, to show that restoration costs of heritage buildings can be kept reasonably low.
She also said some of the features in the restored office were intentionally left exposed, such as the steel beams installed to stabilise the structure, as a showcase of best practices in restoration.
The ground floor of the office also features a mosaic of different colourful tiles of varying designs and patterns, similar to those found in many of the pre-war buildings all around George Town.
Materials used for the restoration were also kept strictly as near to the original heritage materials as possible: lime wash to paint the walls to ensure breathability, timber for the wood flooring on the second floor and the staircase, stone for the stoop below the staircase and terracotta tiles for the roof and floors.
The building underwent a massive restoration in 2019, not merely to restore it to its former glory but also as an example of restoration in accordance with heritage guidelines. — Picture courtesy of GTWHI
'This building is a model for other building owners to see how they can apply these features to their buildings,' she said.
Interestingly, due to George Town being originally swampy before the British cleared it, walls of pre-war houses in the inner city tend to 'sweat' from dampness that leads to mould and peeling paint.
Xin Yi said the way to resolve this is to install an aeration model on the ground between the inner walls to allow moisture to escape.
The aeration model, similar to a narrow drain, will run alongside the length of the inner walls so that moisture will drip down instead of being trapped on the walls.
In GTWHI's office, several panels of display glass were installed on top of the aeration drainage system to showcase how it was done.
GTWHI's building is listed as a Category II heritage building and it is one of the eight buildings that will open their doors to the public for the Historic Building Open House programme during heritage celebrations on July 7.
GTWHI Manager of the Department of Cultural Heritage Research and Development Ng Boon Nee said GTWHI will be open to the public for a visit and they will be taken on a tour of the building on that day.
Similarly, the public can visit the seven other historic buildings under the programme and community volunteers will give guided tours of the buildings while explaining the significance of the organisation and buildings.
'The open house programme is to raise awareness, appreciation of local heritage and to promote storytelling and community engagement,' Boon Nee said.
She said the aim of the programme is to empower the community to be able to continue with guided tours of their respective historic buildings as a way to generate income to maintain the buildings.
'We want them to be self-sustainable and this is also a way to encourage dialogue and foster cultural exchange,' she said.
