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CHAPTER 5

HISTORY AND COMPONENTS OF SHOP HOUSES INTRODUCTION OF SHOP HOUSES HISTORY OF SHOP HOUSES STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS EVOLUTION OF SHOP HOUSES EVOLUTION OF SHOP HOUSES IN IPOH

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5.1 Introduction of Shop Houses The definition of a shophouse according to Chen Voon Fee’s Encyclopedia of Malaysian Architecture is a ‘two-storey urban house with a ground floor shop open to the road and living quarters upstairs’.

The shophouses was a unique urban housing form found in Southeast Asian historic cities, such as Penang, Malacca etc. , it is an architectural form that evolved from the blending of the perceptions of

Shop Houses in Ipoh.

[56]

the Chinese merchants and European aesthetics.

And what emerged was a narrow, small scale terraced structure that provides business for a ground floor and residential purpose for an upper floor which accommodate the social needs and business requirements of the early traders,while implementing climatic considerations, that minimised the effect of heat, rain and glare of a tropical climate by using thick,brick walls with high ceilings, a roof with

Shop Houses in Malacca.

ventilation, a shop front with verandah and balcony.

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The typical two storey shophouse, with the ground floor for trading and the first floor for residential use is still a standard feature in the centers of Malaysian towns and cities (Yeang,1992). These buildings are important for the understanding of the city’s social environment, and significant period of the city’s growth as they are the oldest extant urban dwelling in the country.

Ipoh townscape full of old shop houses.

[58]

The design of the old shophouses in the old town centres today is unique to this region only, particularly Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Even though part of the built form can be tracedback to southern China and European countries, the corridor or five-foot-way (kaki lima) is added after 1880s, giving it its unique character.

The early masonry old shophouses built in the 19th century were usually around 6-7 meters wideand 30 meters deep, sometimes extending to 60 meters. The narrow frontage, particularly in Malacca,

Five-foot way.

[59]

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due to the paying of tax according to the width of the façade facing the street during the Dutch period (Too, in Chen, 1998). The plans of the old shophouses are basically divided into several segments that include the courtyard.The number of courtyards relates to the length ofthe old shophouses, whereby the longer it is the more number of courtyards available. The early old shophouses commonly served as

Division of the interior of a shophouse.

shop, residence, stable and animal yard all at the same time (Heritage

[60]

of Malaysia Trust 2003-04).

Roofview of Courtyard in a shop house.

[61]

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5.2 History of Shop Houses The built form of Chinese shop houses was first developed in Malacca and later spread to other Malay states. This was the result of new urban settlements. The shop houses, as a prototype, functioned both for commerce and residence and had always formed part of the urban settlement pattern of the Chinese.

It is believed that merchants dominated the population in the Straits

Connected Shop House Block.

[62]

Settlements while the Cantonese came in a much larger group because of the tin mining boom. The location of the Chinese in Malaysia,according to their ethnic group had likewise influenced their distinctive architectural styles.

Urban Chinese in Malaysia seemed to have congregated within towns along economic lines similar to their practices in Canton, China where traders and the profession also congregated in single narrow lanes or in city sectors. The Chinese urban areas, consists of rows of houses

Cantonese workers in tin mine.

[63]

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larger group because of the tin mining boom. The location of the Chinese in Malaysia,according to their ethnic group had likewise influenced their distinctive architectural styles.

Urban Chinese in Malaysia seemed to have congregated within towns along economic lines similar to their practices in Canton, China where

Nanyang architecture ‘Tong Lou’

traders and the profession also congregated in single narrow lanes or

[64]

in city sectors. The Chinese urban areas, consists of rows of houses nd shop houses built along narrow streets with narrow frontage.

Developed in parallel with the architecture in the Nan Yang region in the 19th century. The shop house had a basic pattern both in the floor plan and elevation, although both of these aspects had evolved over the course of time. The shop house prototypical form later became popular in urban areas where the Chinese formed the majority. This became the general pattern of the Chinese architecture throughout Malaysia in the early 20th century.

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5.3 Structural Components of Shop Houses Shop houses are laid out in rows or blocks. Each block is bounded by a main street (at the front), side lanes and a back lane.

Each block is also joined by a continuous sheltered five-foot walkway (kaki lima) in front to provide shelter from tropical weather conditions.

Regarding to Gurstein, shop house is a shop with a dwelling above.

Shop houses laid in a row..

[65]

Shop houses were usually built as part of a terrace, often with their upper floor overhanging the first storey to form a pedestrian covered arcade. A typical shop house characteristics are as follows: i. Facing a street ii. Built in a row, next to one another along a street, with no gaps or spaces in between iii. Contains a party wall separating shop houses on either side iv. Low rise, 2-3 storey, long and narrow v. 5 foot way

Elements of a shop house.

vi. Multi-functional, combining residential and commercial use

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Main Structural Components of Shop Houses: 6.2.3 Party Wall 6.2.2 Timber Floor Beams

6.2.4 Roof

6.2.1 Five-Foot Way

[67] SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

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5.3.1 Five Foot Way Five foot way is a significant feature of the rainbow shop houses. The front porch or verandah, open at the either end, is a quintessential feature of shop house architecture. Referred to as a “five-foot way” because this was the minimum width required by the building regulations.

In Malaysia, the five foot ways dates back to the time of the Colonial Government, when Stamford Raffles drew up a town plan for his fledging settlement and determined that each house should have a covered passage in his Jackson Town Plan of 1822.

Shuhana and Bashri (2003) consider the five-foot-way as helping to create a continuity and sense of unity to an urban ensemble. It is

Five-Foot Way. [68]

responsive to the hot humid climate and the drenching rain. The human scale of the five-foot-way together with the horizontal or vertical uniformity creates an urban composition that is unique and readily recognizable thus assisting in creating a clear sense of place.

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5.3.2 Timber Floor Beams The floor and beams are built with timber beams which carried the weight of floors and roof, this is an atypical characteristics of the shophouse.

Floors are made of timber planks in the past while reinforced concrete beams and slabs are added on for support in recent years.

The first floor slab is constructed out of timber structure. The timber wall plate were inserted to act as a support for the main beams. Timber floor

Timber Floor Beams.

[69]

joists will then be added onto the beams. Later on, pieces of timber plank will later be added on to the top of the joist. A gap will be left in between all of the timber plank allowing the plank to have enough spaces to expand when the weather is hot.

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5.3.3 Party Walls Origins of the party walls can be traced back to the rural village in southern China. Villages in Kwangtung are often walled, and houses within the community share common party walls.

Party walls are known as load-bearing walls to separate the shop houses from their neighbours. The shop houses are connected with a shared party wall, which bears the weight of the purlins and the tiled roof. Wooden stilts are used as a beam with wooden planks laid on top of it. Party walls

Party walls.

[70]

also act as a barrier to avoid spread of fire, while transferring the weight of the roof to the ground .

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5.3.4 Roof The masonry wall and timber roof is a Chinese English construction compromise combination. The timber roof is a common high pitched roof structure found in most shop houses which creates a space to insulate the rooms below from direct heat.

Jack roof is also applied in the roof. Jack roof is in which a smaller,upper roof overlaps the main larger roof, leaving a space between them, allowing natural draught to enter. This cools the heated roof and reduces the radiation that would otherwise transmit to the room below.

Pitched Roof.

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5.4 Evolution of Shop Houses The shop houses progresses and changes over time due to stylistic

Anthony Too (in Chen 1998) contends that the decorative styles that

and cultural influences. While most of the structural components

typified the facades of Malaysian old shophouses were built from

remains essentially the same, the evolution mostly happens on the

memoryor based on copybooks of styles found in parts of southern

shophouses’ facades. Heights, widths, forms, colours and materials of

China, where European revivalist influence played a major role. The

the facades, the patterns and subdivision of windows are some of the

nouveau riche in both the emerging Malaysian towns and the treaty

different entities.

[72] Evolution of the shop house facades.

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5.5 Evolution of Shop Houses in Ipoh In the core zone of Ipoh, there are a total of 1132 buildings, of which were classified as local heritage. The uniqueness of the shophouses not only lies in its’ facades, but also in the value of its’ overall architectural structure and form which showcases the diversity of the different styles.

Heritage shophouses in Ipoh were classified into six styles since 1880s to 1920s which are the ‘Transitional’ Style, the ‘Neo-Classical’ Style, the ‘Eclectic’ Style. the ‘Art Deco’ Style, the ‘ Early Modern’ Style and the ‘Modern’ Style.

In the analysis which follows, four phases in the development of the six architectural style of shophouses in Ipoh will be identified as : 1) Attap structure 2) Early permanent shophouses 3) Transitional facade shophouses

Ipoh Shop Houses Styles.

[73]

4) Fully Europanized facades

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The earliest shop house phase was to be constructed of wooden posts supporting an Attap roof, open to the street in typical Chinese fashion, the wares are displayed on street-side counters. But due to the major fire in 1892, WJP Hume, the Collector of Land Revenue, constructed buildings in brick which in turn created Old Town’s systematic grid-iron urban layout.

Shop houses were then built of brick, coated with stucco , these buildings

Early Attap Settlements in Ipoh.

[74]

were the earliest permanent shop houses constructed in Ipoh. Typical of the facade of this first permanent type of shop house is the simple arrangement

of

supporting

pillars

and

unhidden,

unadorned

cross beams or breast summers. The distinction emphasised here is that there really is no facade in the earliest shop houses.

Later on, all shop houses start having their upper facade divided into two or three equally sized window openings set into a masonry wall.

Evolution of Upper Facade.

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The initial simple upper floor slowly becomes more elaborate in structure and in ornamentation in the mid 1800s. During this transitional phase, double or triple windows began to acquire Palladian ornamentation, as did the entire facade. The variety of shapes and ornaments on windows during this phase runs a complete range from square topped openings, through all degrees of segmental arched spaces to completely round-headed fanlights. Stucco frames and hoods lined openings,which include not only windows and floor-length doors, but also small round vents positioned between and above windows.

By the early 1900s, the evolution of the facade, from a simple to fortnight arrangement into a Palladian-inspired motif, culminates in an eclectic

Evolution of Shapes and Ornaments of Windows.

[76]

mixtures of Old-Dutch, pattern-book Regency and Venetian arcades.

Aftter 1900s, a fully emerged classicism emerged, the full appearance of unadulterated classical motifs include pediments, venetian arches, rustication,festoons, baroque foliage, consoles, and elaborate false

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