Breathing new life into shophouses

Powell and Lin Ho took a year and a half to complete the book which focused on the history and architecture of the Malayan shophouse.

In early 2013, once popular coffee shop, Sin Seng Nam shuttered its doors for the final time. The 85-year-old Hainanese kopitiam’s closing was met with a tinge of sadness; after all it marked the end of an era for an iconic landmark.

Housed in a three-storey building along Medan Pasar or the old “Market Square” in Kuala Lumpur, Sin Seng Nam retained one of the last remnants of old world charm in the area.

In its hey day, Medan Pasar was a popular haunt for traders. The coffee shop itself was a prominent meeting place for lawyers when the superior courts were located in the Sultan Abdul Samad building.

Constructed in 1906, the building itself exemplified the beautiful architecture of a Malaysian pre-war shophouse. Its facade featuring a blend of Dutch as well as local characteristics featured high ceilings and swinging wooden windows.

A blueprint of history

When Sin Seng Nam served its final meal, there were concerns regarding the redevelopment of the building and the area. As we have seen all too frequently, the rapid pace of development posed an inherent risk to yet another charming piece of history.

However, the notion of Sin Seng Nam being lost forever has abated. Venture into Medan Pasar today and you will see the iconic coffee shop being revitalised through intensive restoration works.

The project by Brahmal Vasudevan, founder & CEO of Creador, a private equity firm, is breathing new life into the shophouse that was once home to Sin Seng Nam. The revitalisation of the building has also inspired an upcoming book that seeks to explain the origins and history of the Malayan shophouse.

“The Origin & Evolution Of The Malayan Shophouse”, written and researched by Professor Robert Powell with photographs by Lin Ho, serves to peel back the curtain on this iconic piece of architecture.

“The book took root in 2023,” explains Powell. “I met Brahmal and he suggested wanting to do a book on the origin and evolution of the Malayan shophouse.”

Prof Powell, who has written several books on South-East Asian architecture and design, jumped at the chance. The book was an initiative by the Creador Foundation, a registered not-for-profit organisation in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Vasudevan, the project took shape after a conversation with the late architect Indra Ramanathan. “It was inspired by a shared interest to produce a book on Malaysian shophouses, which led to the introduction to Dr Tan Loke Mun, Prof Powell and Ho.”

A journey into the past

One of the primary tasks Prof Powell set out to do was to establish where the Malayan shophouse comes from. He states that its origins can be traced back to China. “It was transported from China – Guangdong and Fujian where most Malayan Chinese migrated from.”

Realising the huge task of finding existing shophouses in China, he eventually ventured to Zhouzhuang, a Unesco World Heritage Site. There, he states, is where he found proof.

“They had the same narrow front, people living above and it was quite deep with its own central courtyard,” says Prof Powell. “Every morning, the shopkeepers would come out and remove the planks to open the shops, which was a familiar sight for me in Malaysia and Singapore in the 80s.”

Prof Powell then set out to uncover the period when all these shophouses were built.

“I did a timeline for Penang, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and discovered that most of these shophouses were concentrated within a 175-year timeframe between 1894 to 1960. All were built during that period during the British Colonial Rule.”

His foray back into history also peeled back the layers regarding the five-foot walkway or the kaki lima. Many historians and academics believe that the inspiration came from Batavia. Prof Powell, however, opines that Sir Stamford Raffles got the idea from Covent Garden when he was recalled to London in 1816.

“He lived there for two years and he stayed close to Covent Garden when they were constructing five-foot walkways and arcades. And I think he got the idea from there.”

Producing the book

The 336-page hardback book took form over a period of a year and a half. It is filled with illustrations by Prof Powell and photos taken by Ho. It also includes colourful stories told by the owners of some of these buildings and structures.

“We visited cities and towns like George Town, Taiping, Singapore and Malacca, and often knocked on doors to speak to the owners or their neighbours,” says Ho.

For the photographer, the opportunity to engage with the owners, and capture elements like the walkways, decorative gables, spiral winding staircases, the light wells and other traditional design motifs like ornamental tiles, was a captivating experience.

Prof Powell and Ho hope people will take an interest in uncovering this important aspect of architectural history with the book’s release on Oct 27. “There are about 30,000 shophouses in Malaysia and Singapore, and the purpose of the book is not simply to reveal the beauty of the historic shophouses,” says Prof Powell.

“They are intricately linked to city resilience and the ability to reinvent the area and recycle existing fabric. It not only helps drive the circular economy and potentially lower the carbon footprint but also serves to preserve the nation’s history,” he adds.

“Shanthi (Kandiah) and I have always felt that there is a lack of will to conserve the wonderful history of Malaysian shophouses,” expresses Vasudevan. “So many shophouses have fallen into disrepair while others are being torn down or renovated badly with extensions.”

According to Vasudevan, Malaysia needs to learn from the excellent work that Singapore has done with conservation.

“We hope that this book will act as a catalyst by providing a great back story to this wonderful part of our past, which will hopefully stimulate the revival of all shophouses across Malaysia.”

“The Origin & Evolution Of The Malayan Shophouse” is available for pre-order at atelierinternational.co and specialist bookstores.