4__

CHAPTER 4

BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF SITE HISTORY OF IPOH HISTORY OF OLD TOWN AND NEW TOWN ANALYSIS OF OLD TOWN AND NEW TOWN SITE PLAN SITE ANALYSIS GENIUS LOCI OF OLD TOWN AND NEW TOWN

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4.1 History of Ipoh Ipoh is the capital city of the Perak state, Malaysia. The word Ipoh means dart poisons - the Orang Asli used the poisonous latex of pokok ipoh to smear their blowpipe darts for hunting.

The town is situated at in the heart of Kinta Valley, previously one of the richest tin ore in the world. Legend has it that Ipoh was founded by a Malay Chief named Tok Dato Panglima Kinta after losing his territory and entered Kinta River. Early settlements of Ipoh consist of

Map of Old Ipoh Town.

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many kampungs and villages that was setup at the Kinta riverbank.

The Kinta Valley had seen small-scale Malay mining in about 1880 before the influx of Chinese immigrants that transformed the industry.

The Mandailing Malays came from earlier settlement in Selangor after the civil war there between 1867 and 1873 while the increased popu-

Chinese TIn Mining Workers.

lation of Chinese in Ipoh was the result of direct immigrant from China.

[43]

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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Subsequently, the growth of Ipoh started to accelerate in the thirtyyear period from 1884 when Kinta Tin Rush began. From a small riverine kampong, Ipoh quickly grew into the second largest town in the Federated Malaya States, after Kuala Lumpur. But in 1986, the tin mining industry withered along with the collapse of tin prices worldwide.

On 27 May 1988, it was granted city status by the Sultan of Perak,

Photo of Ipoh Town in the 2000s.

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Sultan Azlan Shah. It is divided naturally by the Kinta River into two main townships - Ipoh Old Town and Ipoh New Town. Both Ipoh Old Town and New Town is now registered as a heritage area.

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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Padang

Jalan Sultan Idris Shah

K

in

ta

Market

R

iv

er

OLD TOWN

NEW TOWN

Site Plan Ipoh New Town and Old Town.

Kinta

River

Jalan Sultan Iskandar

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IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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4.2 History of Old Town and New Town The old town of Ipoh began to be laid out on the west bank of the river by the Dato Panglima Kinta in 1886 by dividing the land into lots and selling them off to the Chinese.

In 1892, a fire destroyed about half of the dwellings of wood and attap.

Old Attap Dwellings in Ipoh.

Rebuilding were then commenced and taken charge by WJP Hume,

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the Collector of Land Revenue, to realign,straighten and widen the streets and metal them, redraw and allocate the property lots, build brick drains, plant shade tress, introduce and develop street lighting and construct buildings in brick which in turn created Old Town’s systematic grid-iron urban layout.

The grid-iron urban layout also relates muchly to the Railway Station.

Expansion of Chinese Shop Houses in Ipoh.

This relationship is indicative of the important role transportation

[47]

played in Ipoh’s development. Historically, as a tin mining town, the transportation of tin was a primary focus.

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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Parallel with the growth of the tin mining enterprise was the gradual expansion of the “Old Town” southwards, here we find Chinese - style shophouses with stucco mouldings, combined with pitched Chinese tiled roof in bright colours.

The major development in Ipoh between 1905 and 1914 was the physical extension of the urban area due to overcrowding in the Old

Flooding from the Kinta River in 1900s.

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Town and the continued risk of flooding from the Kinta River. As part of this process of expansion, the Hugh Low Bridge was widened and strengthened and a new bridge, Birch Bridge, joining Brewster Road was opened in 1907.

By 1925, the “ Old Town” of Ipoh had extended southwards to form the “New Town”, with two major streets, Hugh Low Street ( Jalan Sultan Iskandar) and Brewster Road ( Jalan Sultan Idris Shah), running parallel to each other north to south with arterial roads arching out in

Birch bridge was built in 1907 to connect Old Town and New Town.

[49]

an east-west direction.

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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4.3 Analysis of Old Town and New Town Ipoh consists of many layers of development, each with its own unique building types. The era of pre-independence had colonial shop houses while we can see more modernized form in the postindependence era.

In terms of typography, in the past, Ipoh faced major flooding problems, this resulted in New Town’s streets being built at a higher level as compared to the streets in Old Town. The topography of Old Town pans out as a gradual slope towards the Kinta River. New Town’s topography is generally flat.

In terms of urban blocks, Old Town has more low-rise buildings and pre-war shop houses. On the other hand, there are more mid-rise buildings and rectilinear forms in New Town.

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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4.3.1 Urban Form 4.3.1a Shop Houses Whether in Old Town or New Town, shop houses are seen along the roads throughout Ipoh. Shop houses in New Town and Old Town differ in terms of design. Traditionally, families will manage business changes induced many to modify their shop houses for different

Shop Houses typlogy in Ipoh.

usages and activities. Despite that, the exterior is usually unchanged.

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below whilst domestic activities are carried out upstairs. Now, lifestyle

4.3.1b Civic/ Monumental With post-war modernization,medium and high-rise blocks began to emerge in both Old Town and New Town. Mid rise structures consists of more than five storeys, deviating from the traditional typology of low-rise shop house blocks. In New Town, the majority of residential

Modernized buildings in Ipoh.

apartment, offices and shopping malls fall under this category.

[51]

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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4.3.1c Hybrid Blocks Hybrid blocks are defined as former shop house block with at least one lot having undergone modifications, such that it is no longer conforms to the shop house block morphology. Some were built higher, serving as offices, clan associations or even hotels. These selective transformations turn an entire block of shop houses into a mix of different building forms.

Hybrid Blocks in Ipoh [52]

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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JLN

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45

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF SITE

JLN

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4.4 Site Plan

AT

AAF

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JLN

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CHAPTER 4

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SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN, JALAN TAYLORS SUBANG JAYA, 47500 SUBANG JAYA, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA.

E)

[53] Site Plan

METHODS OF DOCUMENTATION AND MEASURED DRAWINGS (ARC60305/ARC2323/ARC1215)

MEASURING AND DOCUMENTING SEVEN UNIT OF TWO STOREY SHOPHOUSES WITH BALCONY ON 116 - 128, JALAN SULTAN ISKANDAR, 30000 IPOH, PERAK, MALAYSIA.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1

10

DOCUMENTATION DRAWING MARCH 2016

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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4.5 Site Analysis The Rainbow Shop House is located along the main road of Ipoh New Town, Jalan Sultan Iskandar, crossing with Jalan Datuk Onn Jaafar. The shop houses faces the main road, allowing good accessibility and circulation. In addition, the wide entrance receives ample sunlight into the shop houses.

Jalan Su

ltan Iska

ndar Shop house massing on site.

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The building form are of hybrid blocks as some of the former shop house blocks undergone modifications, such that it no longer conforms to the original shop house block morphology that is still intact as those of the Rainbow Shop House . Some were modified and built higher up to until 5 storeys, while some maintained the height, the facade was modernized.

Jalan Sultan Iskandar

Site Section.

[55]

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX

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4.6 Genius Loci of New Town and Old Town

IPOH RAINBOW SHOP HOUSES

TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY 2016 MEASURED DRAWING GROUP SIX