Making Things Alive, Again

Whenever we talk about older buildings, heritage buildings and abandoned buildings will come to mind. It is usually followed with a lot of flashing images of pre-war buildings that may be left with just one side of the wall on one extreme, and on the other extreme, beautifully restored buildings that are maintained as tourists attractions with admission fees and rented as dining venues for special events.

The restoration works of older buildings will take quite a lot of money. One of the reasons is that there will be a need to investigate the building's original designs and material use to ensure that restoration works will not destroy the natural aesthetic values of the buildings. Another reason will be the need to engage in professionals who are acquainted with such restorations to ensure that the works will be done properly without causing any devastating damages.

In Penang, for example, the George Town Grants Pogramme (GTGP) has approved the third round of rejuvenation project, with four physical rejuvenation works in the heritage city. It will include the restoration works in Lebuh Pantai for communal students housing, and the rejuvenation works of 10 shophouses which is within the Wawasan Open University. The rejuvenation works will cost over a million ringgit in total. Meanwhile, in Johor, the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) will offer incentives such as a 50 percent discount on fees for building plan submission for developers to restore abandoned projects there. Other incentives include improvement on the building charges and waiver of deposits.

In fact, if we look closely in the development projects in Malaysia, there are indeed many abandoned buildings and projects worth attention. These buildings, once restored and rejuvenated, may be one of the pushing factors for the economic growth in their respective areas. It may even encourage development in neighbouring areas. Abandoned building projects will lower the asset value of surrounding areas.

Original design and blueprint

Every restoration and rejuvenation work especially for heritage homes will need to consider the original design, and if the blueprint is available, it will be even better. The restorations and rejuvation work will then evolve around recreating the similar designs and colours as closely as possible to the original.

Abandoned projects may have the foundation already built, and if this happens, the original foundation may need to be retained, but the other designs involving the walls and colours can actually still be changed should a new developer take over.

Underneath the flooring

This is especially important, because there can be possibilities of a whole collony of termites and ants growing underneath the flooring. Older buildings, for example, are built with wood and bricks not yet infused with termite resistance agents, which is why there can be problems about termites and other similar insects. When you enter one of the pre-war buildings in Penang, you will hear the termites making a lot of knocking noises at staircases, doors or wooden pillars of the building.

Abandoned projects too, may suffer the same. When the foundation was built and later abandoned, insects might just start building collonies especially at the edges of the foundations. The existence of ants collony underneath buildings can be common, as we can also see these in other modern buildings around us, visible as we look at the cracks under the base step of the buildings. However, if the collony is a termite collony, it will be just a matter of time when the building's wooden structures get eaten up.

Bathrooms and Kitchens

There will definitely be the need for rejuvenation of the bathrooms and kitchen. It is only logical that there may be moss, mold or fungus growing in these areas which are always exposed to moist and water. There can also be exposure to bacteria, which will be harmful to the human body.

During restoration works, it will be best to use materials that have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agents. Kitchen bacteria may cause serious food poisoning due to contact with food stuff. Long term exposure to fungi may cause asthma and allergies in mild cases, and may even cause the growth of fungi on the surface of our lungs.

Windows and Doors

This applies especially for heritage buildings restorations. Older buildings are usually decorated with eaves and carved pillars which, if still standing and exist, are very valuable masterpieces. The restoration works of these carving designs will require highly skilled and experienced craftsmen who are well-acquainted with the genre. Whether it is the eaves of the house with traditional Malay designs or pillars with traditional Chinese dragons and phoenix carvings, it will require craftsmen with an eye of detail to complete the job well.

It is hoped that over the next few years, abandoned projects around Malaysia will be restored to utilize land use and bring back the intended development to these areas.