Penang Heritage-Suffolk House Restoration

[dengilo]

oops wiil try again

[dengilo]

: [IMG][IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

[dengilo]

[IMG][/IMG]

[TYW]

thanks, dengilo!!!

hmm... didn't know the walls are so empty. i expected some details

[OshHisham]

cheh! not nice lah this house...really wasting money.the location also crap. but luckily not my money....huhu

[TYW]

Originally Posted by oshkoshbgood

cheh! not nice lah this house...really wasting money.the location also crap. but luckily not my money....huhu

are you saying buildings that are not to your liking should not be restored??

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by oshkoshbgood

cheh! not nice lah this house...really wasting money.the location also crap. but luckily not my money....huhu

hello..this is not about nice or ugly....this is to preserve our heritage. Nothing wrong to spend the money to preserve this building which believe have relevant to Francis Light.

And what wrong with the location? anything wrong to built there?

[dengilo]

Give them creditlah guys!if had seen this place 5 years ago nobody would dare say it was where francis light use to staylah.But when i think of it ,it doesnt look anthing like the painting of the house in its glory years but thats to be expected with the school and apts on the other side of so call river or longkang!Back of mind why is it so expansive when the finished version look more like the scaled down version of the original house.My only hope they will put it to good use!

[OshHisham]

if the problem to save bok house is about finance....maybe priority should go to bok house first....
and don't take it serious lah....what i want is all heritage buildings to be saved..but when there's a priority over another....u have to choose only one...malaysia is not rich to have a massive restoration project

[redstone]

What did it look like few years ago? What was it used as?

[OshHisham]

what make suffolk looks good is the scenery and layout....not the structure, in my opinion lah...

[travellator]

suffolk house was built by either francis light or the early british governor 1790s or 1800. probably one of the oldest surviving building from that period in Penang, the age of this building is enough to warrant its preservation.
It may look plain to us but it has a minimalist style with columns and wide verandas that gives it a grand appearance. I can imagine how large functions took place here with the british officers and ladies looking down from the upper corridors and the garden filled with guest & servants, the open ground floor doors leading to the banquet hall or ballroom...

[SEAfan]

O thank you so much, dengilo and travellator!

It's true, the building does appear a bit stark and new. Perhaps the dark green of the shutters on the ground floor adds something a bit forbidding to it. And most of all, the landscaping is still missing. That will give the building more warmth and mellowness and a sense of belonging into that space.

Congratulations on a wonderful restoration job, Penang!

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by oshkoshbgood

what make suffolk looks good is the scenery and layout....not the structure, in my opinion lah...

This is just a painting, not a photograph.

But i beleive, if the photographer took this building in the correct angle, the building will look as grand as this pic

[redstone]

What was it used as before restoration?

[Pablo]

History
Suffolk House was built on the Suffok estate, which was owned by Captain Francis Light who is also the founder of the British Settlements of Penang. After his passing in 1794, the house was left to his wife, Martina Rozells. Over the years, the house became a home to the early governors of Penang and a venue for many social and official events in that era.

Between 2000 and 2001, the state government undertook extensive restoration works on the building, which includes the complete re-roofing of the central bay of the building, complete re-lining of the timber of the first floor, complete consolidation of the original lime plasterwork of the central bay, stabilisation of the whole building, erection of an artefacts store on site and security perimeter fencing.

[OshHisham]

Originally Posted by redstone

What was it used as before restoration?

i was used to house francis light's ghost.....wo0o0o spo0o0ky....

[travellator]

Originally Posted by redstone

What was it used as before restoration?

I think the building was last sold to the Methodist church and used as a school hall and canteen for many years. later as the building deteriorated it was abandoned until last year when saved & restored by Penang heritage. Does anyone know the plans for this building after its restoration

[travellator]

ok, read back my earlier post on the 1st page on the architectural style and plans for the building.....

extract
He said the double-storey building boasts of unique architecture and is one of its kind in Malaysia and even in South-East Asia.

“Its Euro-Indian form is based primarily on Georgian architecture which is within a historical setting,” he said.

Loh added that when the first phase of the restoration works began in November 2000, a major part of the building was in “glorious ruins”.

He said many elements within the building had to be recreated as efforts were made to conserve and restore the building back to its most significant form as portrayed in a painting done in 1818.

Loh said over the years, the building had undergone many alterations and evolved from a colonnaded Anglo-Indian garden house to a tile-roofed bungalow mansion.

He said they also discovered that 29 types of bricks were used to construct the house by indentured labour from India.

“We also found out that the techniques used in the building were of Indian origin and we are trying to keep the building's plaster colour by mixing cow's urine with lime wash to get the original yellow colour,” he said.

“We also obtained a list of the plants, such as ginger plants, which were taken from Suffolk Estate and brought to Australia.

“These plants, dating back to that period, will be part of the landscape surrounding the mansion,” he added.

Loh said replica furniture of the original period would be featured in the sitting room on the ground floor.

“Original early paintings of Penang from 1802 to 1860 will be displayed in the main gallery on the first floor.

“The unique collection of paintings will definitely enhance the aura and mystique of the place,” he said

Loh said the whole idea of bringing in the paintings, replica furniture, creating the rooms and the gardens was to create an ambience for people to take a step back into the early days of Penang.

So the colour is cow urine yellow such interesting things one can learn

[szehoong]

Originally Posted by oshkoshbgood

if the problem to save bok house is about finance....maybe priority should go to bok house first....
and don't take it serious lah....what i want is all heritage buildings to be saved..but when there's a priority over another....u have to choose only one...malaysia is not rich to have a massive restoration project

You are all wrong about BOTH the projects. Perhaps you should read about both a bit more first before you 'hurt yourself' commenting on these two issues again.

Firstly the Bok House is on one of Malaysia's most expensive (if not already the most expensive) piece of real estate. It is not about the funds for the preservation of Bok HOuse here but the ownership of the house and the land which is prohibitively expensive for any heritage groups or NGOs to buy over Bok House. You are looking at over a hundred million here and not the RM5.5 million used to restore the Suffolk House. Spending the amount of money that are being used on the Suffolk House could not even get you the front yard of The Bok House.

That is why everyone here is blaming the govt for not being the white knight to save the Bok House. Savvy?