Old Chinese Shophouses

A little bird told me...........

A shophouse, normally has two or more storeys, is a commercial and private structure. The tenants usually use the first floor for commercial purposes such as sundry shop, light industry or warehouse, and reside in the upper floors. The building is not free standing, rather, it is connected to several other shophousesss, which create a shophouse block. This shophouse is repeated to form streets and town squares. Building materials such as brick, plaster, concrete and timber are commonly found in shophouses.



Kuala Lumpur- shophouses..
Though the shophouse form was developed in Malacca, Penang and Singapore by the early 19th century, shophouses did not reach Kuala Lumpur until 1884. At that time Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, introduced building regulations that decreed that the original attap hut settlement was to be rebuilt in brick or wattle with tiled roofs and allowance for a five foot covered passageway by the road.

The early shophouses were purely transitional adaptations to the tropical climate. What emerged was a building form that minimized the effect of heat, rain and glare of a tropical climate by using thick, brick walls with high ceilings, a roof with ventilation, an interior with an air well and shop front with a verandah.

The early shophouses took on various Chinese characteristics such as curved gable ends of the roofs, glazed ornamental tiles and stucco decoration. Gradually these characteristics were replaced by European features, As land continued to be subdivided into long, narrow lots, the emphasis was on creating unique facades. Neo-Classical elements were adopted. These elements, derived from the classical architecture to Greece and rome, suited the climate of Malaysia, co colonnades, porticos and verandahs were utilised for sun and rain protection.

Quick rundown on shophouse architectural styles:

Pre -1884 - mainly attap huts built by Chinese merchants to service tin miners
Post-1884 - Concerned about fire hazards, Sir Frank Swettenham, the British Resident
Selangor, introduced building regulations that decreed that the original
attap hut settlement was to be rebuilt in brick or wattle with tiled
roofs, and allowance for a five-foot covered passageway by the road.
From then on, evolves the facade of the shophouses according to styles in
Europe but the basic plan did not alter. The variation in facade can be
roughly seen as follows:
Transitional (1880s - 1900s)
Simple wooden shutters with a minimum of decoration

Neo-Classical (1910s - 1930s)
Elaborate Greek and Roman columns, ornately decorated window frames details, pediments, parapets, comices

Dutch Patrician (c.1930s)
A Dutch-inspired gable was adopted for the front facade of the shophouse




This shophouse is found in Ipoh

Art Deco / Art Moderne (1930s - 1940s)
Simplified lines, geometrical patterns



Post W.W.2/ Modern (1950s - 1980s)
No ormamentation, totally transitional