Sustainable Building Assessment of Colonial Shophouses after Adaptive Reuse in Kuala Lumpur

Karam Al-Obaidi,Sim Wei,Muhammad Ismail,Kenn Kam

doi:10.3390/buildings7040087

Karam Al-Obaidi, Sim Wei + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings7040087

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Abstract

Kuala Lumpur, as a major capital city, has undergone a drastic transformation in the past ten years. Many heritage buildings have been sacrificed for urban renewal projects. Those located in the touristic heritage zones within Kuala Lumpur were being converted by their owners into hotels and cafés to meet current demands to sustain their incomes. This approach, however, creates several physical and environmental issues within the new adaptation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the building performance of heritage shophouses that were adapted into budget hotels. The research focuses on two case studies in a strategic and historical location of Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. At the initial stage, interviews and physical surveys were done to determine the context of this study. The authors of this research then used a triangulation method through indoor environmental condition assessment, measurements of indoor environmental conditions and occupant survey to determine the indoor building performance after the adaption. Results showed that adaptive reuse heritage buildings can perform and meet new indoor environmental requirements, but many sensitive design judgments need to be made before the adaptive reuse renovation. The research found that the use of natural light, natural ventilation, recycled materials and water efficiency have been neglected and thus, they should be prioritized and preserved to ensure a successful change of use. Conserving existing heritage buildings, while incorporating new usages with acceptable comfort, is in line with the principle of sustainability.

Highlights

Malaysia has many heritage buildings and it is rich in culture and context [1]
Many heritage buildings in Malaysia went through this process, which can be termed as adaptive reuse
This study highlighted that with careful consideration during the design stage of an adaptive reuse renovation, heritage buildings such as Building A can perform well after being renovated with a new usage. This is important since many private heritage building owners in sustaining their incomes choose to change the usage of their buildings to meet the current demand to accommodate the growing tourism sector

Summary

Introduction

Malaysia has many heritage buildings and it is rich in culture and context [1]. There are many heritage sites with active conservation projects such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Melaka. In 2005, the Malaysian Government established the National Heritage Act 2005 which was formerly known as the Antiquity Act 1976 [2] to consolidate all efforts in conserving tangible heritage such as buildings, in addition to intangible heritage such as performing arts, among others. Involves all or portion of the exterior restoration with the interior adapted to a modern functional use” [3]. Many heritage buildings in Malaysia went through this process, which can be termed as adaptive reuse. Shopsin [4] introduced this term to describe the process of providing a new function in an old building or a district if it involved many buildings. Douglas [5] stated that in order to change the building’s capacity, function or performance, adaptive reuse includes any work to a building over and above maintenance to suit the new environment and necessities. It works to improve the heritage building in terms of Buildings 2017, 7, 87; doi:10.3390/buildings7040087 www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

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