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Case studies: Pejabat Pos Lama, Ipoh, Perak

Background

The Pejabat Pos Lama, Ipoh, was originally placed in the rearmost portion of Ipoh

Town Hall, at Dato Sagor Road, in the middle of the government sector of the British

administrative period. Other organizational buildings, testimonials and the

commercial banks, give the area a European taste through the architectural styles

employed. This building is located in front of the majestic Ipoh Railway Station and

was constructed the same time as its neighbour the Ipoh High Court. The building

was designed by a British architect call Arthur Benison Hubback. The Construction

began in 1913 and was completed in 1916 (Jabatan Warisan Negara, 2013). The

postal service in this building was operated 1083 before the building became the

Perak Tourism Centre till 1995. Since then the building was unused for a very long

time and without the maintenance the roof started to leak, the rain water downpipes

starting to break, the floorboards started to rotted and the trees grew inside the

building, plus the severe damage of the building. With that, in 2007, the Ipoh City

Council applied to the Department of National Heritage for assistance. After

cautiously study, the Department agreed to carry out conservation work and in 2009,

work began and was completed in 2010 (Jabatan Warisan Negara, 2013). 

Picture of Pejabat Pos Lama in the early 90’s and before the

conservation work

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 Characterist ic of the bui ld ing

This is a two-storey building is surrounded by an open arched verandah on the

ground floor and an open colonnaded verandah on the first floor and these

verandahs provide shade for the main building and shelter from both the heat and

the tropical rain (Jabatan Warisan Negara, 2013). The marble floors add to the

sense of freshness and the ground floor columns and walls are rusticated, and give a

look of being built from large stone blocks. This is referring to a typical Renaissance

feature and the wide protruding columns are form on the ground floor that form the

base and for the Roman Doric columns is on first floor. These are both circular and

square in plan, adding to the liveliness of the façade (Jabatan Warisan Negara,

2013). The timber floor in the existing heritage building has suffered damage caused

by wear and tear and dry rot. Other damages continued also include termite attack,

cut-out routes to enable installation of mechanical and electrical lines and exposure

to the elements not to mention time and human use factors.

Compariso n o f the bui ld in g in 2008 and 2010

1.)

2.)

Description Before (2008) After (2010)

Before the building was

being conserved. The floor

 finishers were cement

render. When working on

the floor, it is found that

the original floor was

 found to have marble

 finishes.

the worker is been

instructed to dig up and

explore the whole

ground By knowing

what is the original

 floor to unearth the

original finishes

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3.)

4.)

5.)

6.)

 A few parts of the original floor

were damaged provoking the

contractor to search for similar

material (marble) with the

same colour and texture asreplacement

This is the floor after grinding

and polishing.

The timber was originally

the second floor finishes.

But When it was checked

last 2008, the timber was

badly rotten and deemed

unsafe for habitation. The

timber joist was found to

be in a very good condition

during the conservation

work.

The whole timber joist

remained unchanged

even though the

 floorboards were

replaced using the exact

type of wood (meranti)

used for the previous

 floor

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8.)

9.)

Appendix

The floor is ready to be

coated with shellac

This is the floor

condition upon

accomplishment of

conservation works.

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This is the front view of the Pejabat Pos

Lama, Ipoh after a 90% completion of

conservation work

This is the ground floor verandah

This is the open area

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This is the view of the first floor area

This is the view of the first floor with

the restored marble tiles, timber

windows and staircases

This is the close up of the chamfered

corner with the rusticated base and

Roman Doric columns above

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The damaged Meranti floors were

replaced with matching timbers that

was found

This is a flat roof so waterproofing

work was required for it

The roof was repaired to the roof

 parapet , to the top of the walls

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Reference list

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1877705811029791/1-s2.0-

S1877705811029791-main.pdf?_tid=3f421efa-4edc-11e3-9f2a-00000aacb35d&acdnat=1384619541_394a3c3e2cbc61a730fd7ee9e8c949cd 

(n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.heritage.gov.my/index.php/en/conservation/conservation-building/public-

buildings/the-old-ipoh-post-office-building