The Vierendeel truss acts as a bridge between the old and new. Photos: W Space by Whalle Studio & Lin Ho
The large roof overhang and steel detailing on the upper floor facade are no doubt a striking architectural feature of the Cantonment House in Penang.
Known as the Vierendeel truss, it cradles one part of the house known as the Loft. But more importantly, it connects the old house with the Villa, another separate unit, completing the concept of three homes in one.
Occupying a generous plot of land – 11,000sq ft (1,022sq m) to be exact – the Cantonment
House is located along Jalan Cantonment, Pulau Tikus in George Town, Penang.
It is where renowned theatre director and educator Chee Sek Thim, and his academician sister, Heng Leng, and her husband – a former publisher – call home.
The original 1960s family house was a single-storey bungalow with a build-up of approximately 2,500sq ft (232sq m) that Chee and his four other siblings grew up in.
Till today, the living-dining room still bears the original terrazzo and mosaic tile finishes, evoking nostalgia and cherished memories.
The Loft exudes an industrial-loft vibe common in New York, where the artist used to live.
Designed by Veritas Architects, the Cantonment House was shortlisted in this year’s PAM Awards 2023 under the Single Residential category.
The project’s lead architect was Lillian Tay, vice-president of Veritas Design Group, who was also conferred the PAM Gold Medal 2023 in July, the first woman in 35 years to receive the title.
The architecture of the home is such that the Loft hovers over the old house and the shared outdoor kitchen and courtyard for family gatherings, forming a bridge that connects the old wing and the Villa, where the shared rooftop swimming pool is located.
In terms of layout, the Villa and Loft come together in an L-shape, with the Loft feted with panoramic views of the surrounding hills and city skyline, while the Villa looks out to the calming pond and garden courtyard.
Each home’s design is unique and reflects the respective characters and lifestyles of the siblings.
The staircase connecting the Loft and Villa is kept open and naturally ventilated.
“The idea of a loft is inspired by artists’ studios built in the 19th-century industrial warehouse district of New York (a city where Chee used to live). The elevated Loft is built similarly in a steel Vierendeel truss structure spanning the site to visually connect the Old House and the new Villa.
“The Loft’s open plan for living and dining is meant to be a flexible space with a high ceiling and may potentially be transformed to serve as a studio for Sek Thim’s work,” said Tay.
“Using a long span steel truss for the Loft is from my initial impulse to elevate the Loft two storeys high so as to be able to preserve and allow space for the old bungalow together with its original pitched roof structure.
“Perhaps that’s also the engineer in me – to celebrate the structure in the design solution. I was trained as both a civil engineer and architect in a liberal arts programme that allowed you to do both simultaneously at university. Not many clients may accept such an unconventional approach and I am grateful for the client’s faith in the design solution,” added Tay.
Meanwhile, the Villa features a more minimalist aesthetic to suit Heng Leng’s quiet nature and lifestyle of an academic. A sculptural steel spiral staircase forms a distinctive central feature in the double-height dining room of the Villa, which serves as a quiet retreat for its occupants to spend their retirement years enjoying their books and writing.
A sculptural steel spiral staircase forms a distinctive central feature in the double-height dining room of the Villa.
“The new Villa wing for Heng Leng and BK (Heng Leng’s husband) is designed as a more private home and haven, centred around a spacious library and study which is now filled with their many books and papers,” said Tay.
Recycled local hardwood is used to balance the raw steel and concrete design of the Loft and in all timberwork in the Villa, including the tall, sliding slatted screen doors on the Villa’s west-facing façade.
“My sister and I wanted to make arrangements to live together so we could look out for each other as we grow old. We also wanted to be able to accommodate my other siblings and their families when they visited, especially during big family gatherings,” said Chee, 60, via email.
“We’ve kept the sections of the old house as they were. We live different lives now, and the design of the new section caters to our current ways of living.
“The most significant space in the old house is the living room. It’s a long rectangular room where we spent much of our time in our early years, for lounging around mostly, but it could be easily transformed into a large dining hall when the extended family gets together.
“It is a versatile space, which, together with the kitchen/dining room where the ancestral altar is located, holds the memories of my family. This is what I like about the old house – a space that keeps us in touch with our history as a family,” said Chee.
An open-air family kitchen that faces the pond at the central shared area is at the heart of the home.
The altar room that contains all the ancestral tablets has also been retained.
“Additionally, we’re using it as a space where we keep old photographs, furniture and crockery, sort of a repository for things that hold memories for us,” he said.
The family’s collection of antique Chinese rosewood furniture and later colonial-era furniture are also partly retained in the old wing.
“Sek Thim, who was also trained in the fine arts, has an artistic flair and the sensibility to relocate, combine and contrast some of the family heirloom furniture within the more industrial space of the steel-and-glass Loft structure,” shared Tay.
A portion of the old house has also been converted into a small, self-contained one-room apartment.
“It was done with my other siblings in mind, should any of them decide to stay longer than a few days,” said Chee.
Coming together beautifully
The design brief for Tay for the Cantonment House was quite straightforward – the house should have two separate living units, with a shared main kitchen for family gatherings.
Tay’s final interpretation of that is what gives the house its character without losing the original spirit of the family home.
The rooftop pool boasts a panoramic view of the Jalan Gurney skyline and surrounding hills.
“We all wanted to preserve the heart of the old house and to work with it as an integral part of the new Home – not to blend or dilute the character of each part but instead, to juxtapose and allow the three different sections of the house to be different.
“The living-dining hall is kept as it was with its original mosaic floor tiles, louvred windows and metal grilles. The original clay roof tiles were sorted and re-used, only partly replaced with similar new clay roof tiles,” shared Tay.
She added that, like many houses in Malaysia from the 1960s era of modern architecture, the old bungalow was naturally ventilated with no air-conditioning.
The old family living hall is kept as it was then, with only ceiling fans and without carpets on its mosaic-tiled floor that is naturally cooled by the ground below.
“The timber screens as well as all the door frames and doors in the new Villa are made from old timber, recycled from demolished buildings in Penang and northern Peninsular Malaysia.
“The Villa has a spiral staircase in steel, recalling the wrought iron spiral staircases often found in colonial era shophouses in Penang, familiar to Sek Thim and Heng Leng.”
The Loft is also designed to mainly face north to minimise sun exposure and to optimise views of Penang Hill and the Gurney Drive skyline.
The heavy slatted timber doors on the Villa’s west facade.
“The breezy, naturally ventilated three-storey open staircase going up to the Loft and upper floor of the Villa is built in steel and fair-faced concrete. The floor of the Loft is left in cement render, also a material found frequently in houses in Malaya and Malaysia in the 1950-60s,” added Tay.
For Chee, the Loft is a realised dream from his younger days.
“Lillian and I go back a long way. We met in New York City after graduate school.
“The Loft, in a way, is symbolic of our friendship which was forged in NY, where the converted industrial loft was an iconic and much coveted living space.
“I could only dream of living in one of those spaces at that time. With this house, Lillian has made it a reality. This is her gift,” shared Chee.
Today, he finds joy in different parts of the home.
“The house blurs the lines between inside and outside spaces. It’s very open and conducive for communal living, yet has spaces that are very private.
“These are aspects of the house that I like very much.
“All the spaces in the house have their own special qualities and I like them all. The open kitchen becomes the favourite when there’s a family gathering. It opens out into the garden and is very airy.
“The garden and fish pond is another favourite spot. It’s where I find peace and comfort tending to my plants a couple of mornings a week.
“And the loft is a favourite place for working and catching up with news.
“It’s bright, airy and keeps my energy high,” he added.
Clearly, the Cantonment House continues to be a place he calls home in more ways than one.
The Vierendeel truss acts as a bridge between the old and new. Photos: W Space by Whalle Studio & Lin Ho
A view of the Loft and rooftop pool.
A sculptural steel spiral staircase forms a distinctive central feature in the double-height dining room of the Villa.
The Loft exudes an industrial-loft vibe common in New York, where the artist used to live.
An open-air family kitchen that faces the pond at the central shared area is at the heart of the home.
The rooftop pool boasts a panoramic view of the Jalan Gurney skyline and surrounding hills.
The staircase connecting the Loft and Villa is kept open and naturally ventilated.
The heavy slatted timber doors on the Villa’s west facade.
