Measured Drawings - Loke Mansion @ 273A Medan Tunku, Kuala Lumpur

MEASURED DRAWINGS l BSC3203

LOKE MANSION l 273A MEDAN TUNKU, KUALA LUMPUR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) IN ARCHITECTURE DESIGN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING AND DESIGN

LECTURER: MDM ATIRAH HAZWAH ASSIGNMENT DONE BY: IBRAHIM BIN YAHAYA 012008010092 MOHD SHAZMIE BIN MOHD ROSZALAN BOSADCITYF11100001 MOHD KHALEL HASSAN BOSADCITYF11010001

INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF PROJECT: LOKE MANSION SCOPE OF STUDIES WORK DELEGATIONS TABLE OF CONTENT

OWNER OF THE BUILDING THE ARCHITECT/DESIGNER ARCHITECTURAL STYLES CLOSING DRAWINGS

This project is to complete the subject Measured Drawing (BSC 3203). As part of completion of the Bachelor Of Science (Honors) In Architectural Design.

INTRODUCTION

Due to shortage of class members, this time the team is form with only three members. But this is not the obstacle at all for us to complete the task given. It has even drove us harder to complete the job. we were spirited and nothing has ever let us down in doing this assignment.

Though there were a lot of unexpected obstacles and setback, we were all very composed and insanely relax all the way through.

In this assignment we are required to investigate an old building. We have to choose one building that has a significant history. A building that can be used to learnt something from its history, from the architecture and from the way it has stand to survive time.

Quite frequent, we have chosen a few building for our list of choiuces. There are a lot of old building in kuala Lumpur that has a quite good architecture and interesting history that needed to be studied. For example we went to the old BPR building. we also went to the old Istana Negara, Colesseum in Jaan TAR etc.

These are very interesting building with known fact of history. They have also stand time to witness the growth of Kuala Lumpur. Infact the they are the buildings that defined Kuala Lumpur.

But sadly, there are not much written info can be found for us to refer to. To make it worse, the responsible agencies are just a waste of time for us to visit. We went to all agencies in Kuala Lumpur to get infos for all the building we wanted to study. All that we got was rejections, hold, divertions etc. Quite typical to the Malaysian Government agencies as many people have told us.

Key Plan of Wilayah Pesekutuan Kuala Lumpur

There are so many stories that we have heard about this building. However looking for a written fact is as tough as all the other old buildings in Kuala Lumpur.

As we have thought, there are so limited info that we can get from any of the authorities which supposedly responsible on the old buildings in Kuala Lumpur.From the stories we heard, infos are abundents. But looking for one that is opened for share is hard. it seems like the parties which done research on this building is not ready to make available to the public.

However none of the problems has torned us down. thans to our lecturer who has been very understanding and supportive to us ll the way through. Even that we had gone back t her for a few times to change our subject. Thank you Madam Atirah Hazwah.

Mr. Kumar, the guard said that Loke Mansion was the first building in Kuala Lumpur to have electricity

SITE

BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT: LOKE MANSION

Rescued from the brink of dereliction by the law firm Cheang & Ariff, Loke Mansion was once the home of self-made tin tycoon Loke Yew, although the original part of the structure was built in the 1860s by another rich merchant Cheow Ah Yeok. The Japanese high command also set up base here in 1942. After years of neglect, the mansion has been beautifully restored; it’s possible to gain access by appointment only, although there’s nothing to stop you walking by and admiring the whitewashed exterior.

Loke Mansion is an old villa located in the Medan Tunku area. The building that meant to be a palace for the person who built it.That is why this building so magnificent.

It has a very significant history to the development of Malaysia indeed. So this building is highly regarded as historically valuable. In that case we decided to go further with our investigation on this building.

The Loke Mansion located at No. 273A, Jalan Medan Tuanku, was built by Loke Yew over 12 years from 1892, the year he bought over the residence of tin miner and leader of the Cantonese community, Cheow Ah Yoke. The mansion should not be confused with Loke Hall, Kuala Lumpur (which is now occupied by Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia or PAM) or Loke Villa at Gurney Drive in Penang.

The Loke Mansion in its present form was completed in 1904 and was part of the former sprawling 11-acre Loke Estate. The Cheow home which was built between 1860 and 1862 with the famous Ching dynasty "Painted Gate" has been incorporated into the rear portion of the current Loke Mansion. Loke made sure his mansion became one of the most prestigious residences in Asia and was reputedly the first residence in Malaya to receive electricity. His family lived there until the 1930s. The Loke Mansion was renovated and partially restored in late 2007 by the law firm Cheang and Ariff, who have leased the property from its owner.

In project, we are trrying to not limit ourselves to certain limitation of scope. Despite all the obstacles that we were facing. We tried to dig and investigate the building from every possible angle that we could.

SCOPE OF STUDIES

We tried to look at the building from the point of historical significant. We are trying our berst to portay the building as how it was intended to function during the first time it was designed and erected. Taokey Loke must have certain intention when he decided to buy the building and renovated it to his need. We believe that he had some vision that he tried to achieve with this building. considering the amount of time and money he spent on this building alone.

In Architectural wise, we were trying to investigate what this building meant.This is very obvious when the architectural features of this building is quite hard to tell from the first glance. But let no first impression get you confused. The outer look doesn’t always tell what it has inside. The fusion of west and east architectural collided very well in this building.

Also we are going to look at the significant of how this building has contributes to the development of Kuala Lumpur. It is quite fascinating to know that this building was once owned by the person who has his hand in founding and developing the Kuala Lumpur city. The heart of Malaysia.

Since there were only three of us in this class/group, quite frequently to say that we did all the work together. we did all the work ourselves.

We went to the site together, took picture shot, surveying and measuring interviewing some people etc. We did all ourselves.

However, some post production works has to be divided accordingly. Mr. Ibrahim is an expert of CAD. he handles the production of drawings.

Mr. Shazmie is an expert of Sketchup 3D software. He did the 3D drawings presented in this report. While Mr. Mohd Khalel is responsible in the research and graphics.

The report is done by all three of us together.

WORK DELEGATION

BUILT in 1860, the earlier part of Loke Mansion in Kuala Lumpur was built by a rich Chinese merchant, Cheow Ah Yeok, who was a close friend of China Capitan Yap Ah Loy. Then, in 1892, the property was acquired by his friend Loke Yew, hence the name. The resourceful young man had arrived as a penniless immigrant from China but eventually built his wealth on tin.

OWNER OF THE BUILDING THE ARCHITECT/DESIGNER

Loke Mansion was one of the first residences to have electricity in Malaya. It also hosted quite a few grand parties and dignitaries during its heyday. Loke Yew’s son, the cinema magnate Datuk Loke Wan Tho, was born in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Loke Yew passed away in 1917 but the family stayed on till the 1930s.

Loke Yew has been travelling to many parts of the world during his time. Most of it were to Europe. It’s from there he got the inspiration to renovate the house to the style he wanted. He got really fascinated with the new europian architecture style at that time.

Came back to Malaya he tries to renovate his house to the style and incorporated with a few more styles that he wanted. including the one ha was rooted to, the Chinese architectural style.

Loke Yew's descendants lived in the mansion until the 1930s. Today, the mansion and the grounds are all that is left of the sprawling Loke Yew estate.

Loke Yew was born In Guangdong Province in 1845. Though wealthy, he was not ostentatious in his habits. He was a thrifty man who found his fortunes in tin -mining when he came to Malaya. Loke Yew bought the house from a tin miner, Cheow Ah Yook and he took 12 years to renovate the mansion.

Cheow was one of the first wealthy men to move out of the old market square, which consisted of mostly wooden huts then. It was said that he entertained the King of Siam in his house.

Loke Yew was also a philantropist, industrialist, planter and leader of the Chinese community. As a philantropist, he was remembered for giving rice to the poor during World War 1. He co-founded Victoria Institution, one of Malaysia's premier educational institutions. In tribute to his vast contributions to society, a street name, Jalan LokeYew in Kuala Lumpur is named after him.

Loke Yew died on 24 February,1917 in Kuala Lumpur from malaria During World War 2 the mansion served as the head quarters of the Japanese Occupation forces. During the Emergency of 1948, it was the training school for the Police, CID and Special Branch. Later it housed an art gallery and music conservatory and fell vacant again in 2000.

It was later bought by Datuk Loh Siew Cheang, the owner of Cheang and Ariff law firm. Datuk Loh has been doing extensive and significant refurbishment works ever since.

Tawkey Loke Yew

However, the challenge to refurbish the Loke Mansion and Loh’s passion for design proved too strong. Besides, it was for a worthy cause as it would mean contributing towards the preservation of Malaysia’s architectural heritage.

In November 2007, the firm moved to its new premises amidst the noisy ongoing construction work. It’s been almost a year since work started on the Loke Mansion and it’ll be a couple more months before all the finer details are completed. But things are finally looking up as the building is “restored” to its former glory albeit with a few modern touches by Loh. While the mansion may be the legacy of Chinese wealth, in truth the design of the building boasts a rich potpourri of different cultures. Chinese elements as seen in the Moongate doorway and balustrades, mixed with European influences, Dutch-style gables, Japanese brick buttresses (enacted during the Japanese occupation) and Moorish touches (as seen in the many horse-shoe arches usually found in Islamic countries) make up the odd exterior.

The eccentric mix of architectural styles, coupled with Loh’s personal collection of antiques, however, seem to work as the elements come together to reflect the grace of a former era.

Today, two stone lions, congruent in Chinese culture but actually from Prague, stand guard at the front entrance (which used to be the side doors) of the firm. The huge hall with its high ceiling is now the front reception and most of the original Malaccan tiles have been maintained to give it that aged look.

When the firm expanded, the need for more space was apparent and it had several options to relocate the office to one of the high-rise buildings around the KLCC area.

The firm was formerly housed in two adjacent bungalows along Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. It was one of the first law firms to be housed in a private bungalow and Loh remembers the court judges jesting with him in the early days, “When can I come and see you in your bedroom!”

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

The current condition of the Loke Mansion is a little bit different from the first time when it was designed by Loke Yew. Tht is the fact that we have to accept.

However we also have to admit that the current condition is nott really that bad. It still has the almost same architectural charecteristics of the original building. We must say that it still has the same spirit. Teh spirit of the collision between the west and the east.

However still we have to highlightthe fact that the new renovation has introduced one new element that is not really going parralel to the classic and vintage fetures of the building. The introduction of air conditioning units might be necessery due to the weather condition that we have here in Malaysia.

In the early years of the building when t was first designed by Loke yew, it has alreadydesigned to adopt to the hot and humid weather of Kuala Lumpur. In tht case we say that the building is already well designed to counter the heat of tropical sun.

By introducing the air condition unit, it just made the overall function of the building changed and the features are not according to how it was planned to be in the first place. People from inside the building can no longer appreciate and experience the building from within. They can no longer feel the spirit of the building as how it was intended to be felt.

We just think that air conditioning are taking away the spirit of the building. making a gap between the inside and the outside of the building. People started to be separated from the nature. The outside world surrounding the building ia now alien to them.

It also did the same to the inner space of the building. People from inside is now disconnected from the outside wolrd. people from outside can no longer reached in to the inner space of the building. All the glasses and steel became the prison entrapping the building itself inside its own body.

Thank You.

CLOSING

3D VIEWS

ISOMETRIC VIEWS

TANDAS 2

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In the early stage when it was started to be built, the architecture style was meant to represents a blend of Oriental and European styles ranging from the Renaissance arcades and other classical details to a Chinese style entry gate and round moon gate. One of the most palatial residences in the town.

Nothing but Cengal timber has been used for the floors, doors, posts etc whilst both the upper and lower verandahs are paved with specially imported Chinese tiles.

But now after the new owner moved in, the building has been renovated extensively but still carefully preserving the old charecteristics. The office of Datuk Loh is housed near the patio next to the library, which used to be a dilapidated backyard. Chinese antique elmwood doors mark the entrances and Loh’s room exhibits cut glass from Austria and Belgium, paintings from China and other personal antiques.

The firm has also undertaken the task of restoring some of the old mural paintings of the “Painted Gate”, typical of work done during the Qing dynasty, at the original gateway. Just outside, the building has been extended to include a new courtyard that’s fashioned after oldstyled Chinese garden courtyards to carry through the antiquated theme.

The pavilion outside, which used to be the private family shrine, is now a company store and houses a surau as well. Renovation and refurbishment costs are estimated to be in the ballpark of RM2mil. Considering the fact that quite a fair bit had to be spent on repairing the drainage system and planting some 200 trees on the 0.65ha grounds as well as the reconstruction of parts of the building, the sum is modest.

What’s more heartening is how the rejuvenated mansion has changed the face of the neighbourhood and brought back a little glamour to the place. There’s little resemblance to a law firm, especially when you venture further into the Moongate lounge. That’s where the lawyers sometimes go for a break or even have a private discussion with a client.

For those who prefer the outdoors, you can always choose to sign deals on old-fashioned coffeeshop tables at the wi-fi verandah, caressed by the quiet evening breeze. Indeed, when you’re having breakfast in the main covered patio, serenaded by the soothing fountain with a nearby garden to feast your eyes on, it hardly feels like a workplace.

An antique typewriter, flanked by antique Vietnamese vases, decorates the right corner, while a Vietnamese table with pearl inlay just below a large modern painting by an Australian artist lies on the opposite side. In fact, a host of modern artworks by Malaysian and foreign artists is littered on the walls of the place.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

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