George Town World Heritage Site Gateway Hub @ Siaboey, Penang
Project: Architecture Revisited
The proposed GTWHS Gateway Hub is located at Sia Boey area abutting the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site. Being the natural entry point to George Town since 19th Century, this site is notable for its trading activities and its identity as an entrepot wholesale market. The aim of this GTWHS Gateway Hub is to create a welcoming portal, an icon where everyone visits before entering George Town, a place where people learn to understand and appreciate heritage of Penang. Besides having history gallery and exhibition, the main focus of this GTWHS Gateway Hub is to revitalise the bustle of Sia Boey Market and revive the traditional trades by having traditional crafts and cultural arts showcase, retail and workshops, creating an integrated space for activity and creativity promoting traditional culture.
Architecture is the mark of time, also the key that shapes and affect lifestyles and the society.
Ooi Wei
Background
The historical core of George Town has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, but this status is being jeopardized due to the drastic change of the social fabric in Penang. The intangible heritage that reflects the living testimony of the multicultural heritage and tradition in Penang came to a decline when the town has been commercialized due to the significant increase of tourists visiting George Town World Heritage Site (GTWHS). The rise in room rental impels the residents of George Town to move out to a more undisturbed living place, hence leaving George Town with less local residents. Consequently, the traditional trades carried out in the old George Town have slowly faded and been replaced by tourists-oriented businesses. Besides the aging of traditional artisans, globalization is also one of the reasons of the diminishing intangible heritage. Young citizens know little about our local traditional culture and don’t have much exposure to our local traditional crafts and trades such as wooden clogs, joss sticks, rattan crafts, batik, traditional lantern, Nyonya beadwork, Indian flower garland, etc. which are slowly disappearing from our daily lives. Therefore, this project aims to revive both tangible and intangible heritage of George Town, at the same time providing insightful information on George Town’s history and UNESCO programme.
Design Approach
The existing 22 units of dilapidated shophouses at the site will be retained and restored, especially the front façade facing George Town World Heritage Site. Facing the new town and commercial area, new contemporary structure will be added to increase functional spaces for the Hub. The new structures take form from the derivation from the old shophouses, adapting local architectural elements such as pitched roof, courtyards and verandahs. This is to complement the existing historical architecture without contradicting the style and the state of the art.
Spatial Design
The spatial arrangement is designed in a way that gives the visitors freedom to enter from any direction and explore freely, just the same as George Town itself, where there isn’t a single entrance and there isn’t any specific route to follow. Emulating the spatial hierarchy of traditional shophouses (ground floors as shops, upper floors as residential areas), the ground floors are mainly for retail and showcase purposes, while the upper floors are utilized for workshops, lounge and offices. Local artisans are encouraged to showcase their works here and pass their skills to the new generations. Young people who are interested in arts industry are also welcomed to work their start-ups at the co-working space and sell their products at the crafts market. The auditorium on the first floor caters for a variety of shows including dance, musical, concerts and even digital performances. There is also a linking bridge connecting the future LRT station and this Hub, bringing in people directly from other parts of Penang. This Hub also serves as a farewell point for people leaving George Town by LRT, where people can spend their time at the lounge or grab some food before boarding the train.