Conservation of British colonial buildings built between 1800 and 1930 in Malaysia.

conservation in the United Kingdom and to develop possibilities of transferring them to
the context of British colonial buildings in Malaysia. It is axiomatic, based on visits to
and observations of a large number of buildings in Malaysia and the United Kingdom,
that there are many similarities between the British colonial buildings built between
1800 and 1930 in Malaysia and those built in the same period of time in the United
Kingdom; in terms of style, building materials, detailing, function and construction.
Like many other countries in which building conservation seems a fairly new practice,
Malaysia faces problems in dealing with the issues of historic buildings. The present
legislation for historic buildings is not sufficient nor suitable, to protect such buildings
from being demolished and destroyed. There is also no suitable system for discovering
and recording the British colonial buildings in the country. Another aspect is lack of
technical knowledge in repairing and maintaining historic buildings. An introductory
chapter explains further these problems besides describing the British colonial
architecture and the present situation of building conservation in Malaysia.
The thesis is divided into five parts. Part One, deals with legislation, examines the scope
of building conservation, reasons for conservation, tenninology, recording and listing
buildings; and also some case law in regard to building conservation in the United
Kingdom. Part Two looks upon philosophical attitudes of some organizations dealing
with building conservation in the United Kingdom and Malaysia. Part Three includes a
study of methodology which covers saving historic buildings, systems for discovering
and recording, data of British colonial buildings, the use of building materials and
common defects; and methods and techniques of building maintenance. Part Four
presents and analyses case studies of building conservation in the United Kingdom and
Malaysia. Several buildings have been selected to compare their changes of use and
methods of renovation. Part Five provides conclusions and recommendations for the
improvement of the British colonial buildings in Malaysia.