Meet the award-winning Malaysian architect intuitively repurposing heritage buildings

How did you come to work on adaptive reuse projects?

Returning from Singapore, I was highly skilled in commercial work and large mix-development schemes. When I first started my practice, I was game for any challenge. As a nobody, we can’t be choosy.

Our first was Penang Institute’s adaptive reuse of a bungalow into an office space. The subsequent projects fell into place quite organically. In some of the talks I’ve given,

I confessed that I only committed to delivering good honest design. It’s as if the path of adaptive reuse chose me; all I did was follow my intuition.

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What was it like coming from a more conventional architectural career to adaptive reuse?

A roller-coaster ride. I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my journey of transforming eight adaptive reuse projects to date. Each adaptive reuse project brings a new set of constraints.

Each with its own set of problems waiting to be solved and surprises waiting to be discovered. Each transformation is unique; it is almost impossible to use a standard template to repeat.

Each project is a never-ending list of problems to solve. Adaptive reuse has taught me the importance of empathy, patience, forgivingness, grit and a lot of good faith in pursuing our initial concept ideas.

Architects are essentially problem solvers. Hence, I advise young architects to always embrace problems instead of fearing them. Working on adaptive reuse demands us to be resilient with a never-say-die attitude because the struggle and site problems can be overwhelming. 

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How different is your approach when tackling an adaptive reuse project?

Every architectural project is unique, with its own context and sense of place. Understanding context is key, whether it’s new or repurposing an old building.

The most significant difference with adaptive reuse projects is that we spend more time at the site to understand the existing buildings thoroughly before an intervention is drawn up in the office.

Even problems at-site are often solved on-site with close communication with builders. I am also very intuitive in each adaptive reuse project.

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Most major concepts are dreamed up at the site during the initial site visits by profound observations and ‘listening’ to what the old building tells me.

As I meander through the old house, my mind forms an idea of how the transformed space would look. I am a daydreamer, so I imagine all my building forms in my mind before they’re drawn on paper.

Quite unexpectedly, I find adaptive reuse very rewarding. Not in terms of financial fees gain but in the transformational impacts from old to new. That extremely difficult journey seems to yield more satisfaction when accomplished.

It’s also heart-warming to hear memories from elderly patrons when they visit the revived old buildings. Adaptive reuse is, after all, stories to tell our grandchildren.

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What is the most challenging aspect of adaptive reuse projects?

Budget, structural constraints and mindset. Adaptive reuse is often misconstrued as a simple renovation. Hence, usually, it is not blessed with a big budget.

Structural integrity is crucial because most old buildings are adapted to cater larger capacity of visitors. The builder mindset is also an essential criteria, adaptive reuse demands a sensitive builder who appreciates the art and commits to careful adaptation on site.

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What are your thoughts on adaptive reuse in Penang and Malaysia?

In Penang and Malaysia, we’re seeing a growing acceptance of the adaptive reuse approach in repurposing old buildings amongst owners, policymakers, and architects. That old can be gold. Instead of demolishing, we now consider the advantages of giving old buildings a second life.

Yet, many do not fully appreciate the true complexity of adaptive reuse. It is still deemed an easy renovation job which includes just a few quick fixes. This led to mediocre design fees, driving many large architectural firms away from taking up adaptive reuse projects.

The reality is that adaptive reuse is one of the toughest to execute compared to designing new. You see, when you start afresh a new project on a blank canvas, you have no constraints on the shell and services of the past buildings.

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Adaptive reuse requires a strong skill and knowledge of structure and building services to mitigate the interventions. In addition, it demands the art of recognising the potential of each old building and pairing a new concept with an existing layout.

In my past interviews, I have said that adaptive reuse is akin to nerve surgery because it demands a high level of attention to detail. You repair the damaged and carefully preserve the rest.

After completing several adaptive reuse transformations, I see the need to increase awareness by writing and giving talks to break the myth and help elevate the value of adaptive reuse as a sustainable approach.

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What inspires you?

Nature inspires me. The spectrum of lines, forms, colours, sizes, shapes and textures in our natural environment never fails to inspire me. In Penang, we’re blessed with blue skies, hills, forests, old trees, rivers, beaches, and the sea.

Travel inspires me too. Nothing beats getting out of the box, out of your comfort zone. The art of getting away helps clear the frustrations and the mud in the mind.

Music, movies, painting, sculpture, fashion, photography, food, and anything else that is creative in nature. This is why I continue running PechaKucha events because it is my own source of inspiration. But, of course, good coffee is my fastest fix of inspiration!

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Who inspires you?

Zaha Hadid was my idol during my formative years in architecture school. I was inspired by her ferocity in championing her own ideas and her own principles. Moreover, being a female architect, her pursuit of breaking conventions struck a deep chord in me.

Tadao Ando’s transformation story from boxer to architect also inspired me greatly. His architecture demonstrated his intuitive composition of forms, dramatic play of light and shadow and honesty in materials.

Ideas and inspirations come to me when I am not thinking about them. So, whenever I find myself in a rut, I gravitate to all these sources of inspiration.

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