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FEATURE: Heritage Transposed
THE SINGAPORE ARCHITECT
Function spaces on the Rooftop Photographer: Edward Hendricks
What Comes Across? The intensification of “heritage value” for tourist consumption in Penang, however, is a trend that demands closer investigation. In a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is there a correct approach that doesn’t obfuscate history? MOD must be keenly aware of the problematics at hand, as shown in their earlier design for Eco-World Gallery in Penang. It is interesting to reflect, how much of the theme of “smoke and mirrors” comes through to the visitor. What remains at the level of a design idea and how much of it actually forms lived experience? For most people, these interpretations of heritage are stimuli that immediately engage the senses and form the experience without a cognitive filter. It may not be immediately obvious to a first-time visitor that this is not a Peace Hotel of Shanghai, and perhaps they are completely happy with a restored heritage hotel.
Given some time, however, I do believe that the playfulness of the design comes through, and that the visitor sub-consciously understands that the place is a new take on the old. The new patterns of use, guided by reconfigurations of functional elements such as the bathroom, will further inject contemporaneity into any Victorian dream.
PROJECT INFORMATION x CLIENT Tommy Koay, Public Packages Holdings Berhad x TIME TO COMPLETE 47 Months x TOTAL FLOOR AREA 8,570 SQM CONSULTANTS
The filter of interpretation that MOD has inserted is thus a crucial one. What remains for the visitor must be a flavour, a sufficiently new one, that gives a memory tied to George Town, Penang, lived in this mixed up epoch of ours!
x BRANDING & GRAPHICS / INTERIOR DESIGN / LANDSCAPE DESIGN Ministry of Design
x INTERIOR CONTRACTOR Pena Builders SUPPLIER x FLOOR TILES & MARBLE Niro Ceramic Group, China EC Stone Art Sdn Bhd, Lam Ah Marble x SANITARY WARES Kohler x BUILT FURNITURE Pena Builders
x PROJECT ARCHITECT KL Wong architect Sdn Bhd x CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEER L.o.t consultant
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x M&E ENGINEER GH Consultants Sdn Bhd x QUANTITY SURVEYOR Unitech QS Consultancy Sdn Bhd CONTRACTORS x MAIN CONTRACTOR (BUILDER) Goodwood Builders Sdn Bhd
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LEGEND 01 Function Room (Angier & Borden) 02 Olivia 03 Public Washroom 04 Pool Deck 05 Outdoor Shower 06 Pool
4TH FLOOR SECTION PLAN