of An

Building Maintenance in Old Buildings Conservation Approach: An Overview

of Related Problems

Brit Kayan

Departmen tof BuildingSur veying FacultyoftheBuiltEnv ironment

Universit y ofMalaya Abs t r ac t

Buildingmaintenanceinconse rvation of old build ingsis one of theapproaches applied within the builtenv ironmentof Malaysia. For instan ce, it is realised that these old buildings contribute an importantsignificance to our natio n's priceless herit age and unique historical developmen t.

However, mostof thesebuildings'maintenance is infl uencedbyrelated problems that affect the overall building conse rvation approach. Therefore , these old build ings face problems which greatly affect thei r overall condition and performance:building structure; building appearance and aest het ic;build ing materials and build ing character. In mostcriticalsitua tions, there is a greater possibility that we could lose the culturalsignificance and heritage values of these old buildingsIhroug h ignoringtherelatedproblems.Thispapertries10identifytherelated problems, revealthefindingsand discuss suitable approaches to conserving these old buildi ngs.

Keywords: Bllifdillg MailltellallCelOld Buildillgs,Bllildill:

s

ConseruationApproach

Introduction

Inoverallconservation purposcs1building main tenanceisthekeyfactorforthe building cons erva tion ap proach. By co nsidering building ma intenan ce as one of the important factorsin buildingconserva tion, Mohd Kha irudd in (2002) stre ss ed that sound and a good understandi ng ona good co ns ervation approach is importan t in detenn ini ng and achieving con tinuous effective ness inbuildingprotection.

According to Sectio n 15(1 ) of the Antiquities Act 1976 (Act168),the Minister (de fined as Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage) ma y by his ord er declare any monument tobe anancien t monument and any site to be an histo r ical site. Any

monu menthe reinclu desold build in gsthat ha ve heritage value that rel at es to the nation 'shistorical development (Fig ure 1- Figure 3). Besides tha t, The Minister also hasthepower todetermin e or declareany site and monument, incl usi ve of old buildingssitua ted in any state, ashistorical siteprovidedthatconcu rrenceor agreement of theStateAuthority istobe firstob tained. Furthermor e, Sectio n 15(2) ou tlines thatTheDirectorGeneralofthe Department of MuseumsandAn tiquitiesmaylwiththe ap proval of the Minist er, publish in the Gaullea sched uleof ancientmonumentsand historical sites toge ther with the lim its thereof andmay,from time totimewith the approval fromtheMinister,add toor amend suchsched ule. Even though the prov ision

41

/olfmal ofDesignfllldtim Built Enuiromncn!

in this actclearlyaims to protecttheseold build ings, problems aris e th a t affect the building maintenance aspect as well as conserva tio n approach tha t had been appliedtoupkeeptheseoldbuildings.

·However, the provisioninthisactis

nolongerapplicable as il isnow replaced with imp roved provision under the new Nationa l Herita geAct2005 (Act 645).This newact provid es for more comprehe nsive provis io n on the conserva tion and preservation of National Heritage such as na tural herilage, ta ngible and intangible cu lt ura l herita ge, un d er w at e r cu lt ura l heritage and treasure trov e, The new act received Roya lAssen ton30 December2005 and was pub lished in the Gazelle on 31 December2005.The NationalHeri tageAct 2005 cameint o effecton 1March2006.

Nati onalHeritageAct2005(Act645) willbe en forced and adm in istered by The Monumen ts and Natu ral Enviro nment Officeof theDepartmentof Heritage,Minister of Cu lture,Arts and Herit age.Theoffice will implementthe formulation ofrelated acts, collec tion of docum entati on, research, preservation and develop men tofheri tage, Therefore, with the act,theofficecanfunction efficie n tly and orderly to ident ify and preservetheauthenticity of culturalherita ge, plan for themoni tor in g and pro tec tion of cu ltu ralheri tagesuchasoldbuild ingsand historical sites aswell asworktogetherwith localcouncils toimplementthis act.

In brief,Par t I ofthe actexp la ins the preliminary section whic h consists of the titleofthe act and therelatedin terpretation s.

The provision of policy in relation to conserva tion and prese rvation of the heritageissta ted inPa rt II inSection3. For administrationof the act,the Commissioner ofHer itage,officersas wellastheirfu nclions and power related under the act were appoin ted. The establish men t of National Herit a g e Cou nc il deta ils an d their resp on sibilities were expl ain ed in Part IV whilethefinancial aspectthatrelat estothe enforcementof these actisprovided in Part V.

In com par ison wilh An tiq u ities Act (1976),theNat ion al Heri tage Act2005has more co m p re hens ive prov is ion fo r publishing sche d u le ofancien t monuments andhistorical sites whichcome under the National Heritage Register. Part VII includ es fivemain chap tersthatexp lain accor dingly the Designation of Heritage Site, Interim Protection Orde r, De alin gs Invol ving Heritage Site,Conservation and Preservation of HeritageSileandConservationAreaand ConservationManagementPlan. UnderPart VIII,three cha ptersexplaine dtheprovision of Discovery of Ob ject, Ap p lica tion for Registration an d Management of Heritage Objectwhic h mayrelat eto oldbuild ings.

Fur thermore,detailedexplanationfor any bu ilding wh ich may be declared as natio nal he rit ag e, the gu ideline and refer ence are provi d ed inSect ions 67-72.

Theprovision for protectionoftreasure trove which may have relationship to old buildingsis exp la ined in Part XIofthe act.

Underthe enforcementaspect,thisacthas the provi sion on licen sing matterssuch as expor tand importofheritageitem,licence to excavate and reg istration of dealer of heritage item, ap peal, powers relating to enforcement,seizure, arrest,etc.and related offences. Themiscellan eousitemsrepeal and savingprovisions arc alsoexplainedas one of theprovisionsunderthisact,which may rela tetotheconser vationof old buildin gs .

Fo r instan ce, Section 2 in this act outlinesclearerinterpretation on meaning of bu il ding as well as ant iq uity an d responsiblepartiesinvo lvedinestablishing and maintainingalistof heritageitems.For example, the National Heritage Council established under Section8 is responsible for "sa fe guard ing" the iden tificati on, protection, co nsc rv atlo n, resto ration, renov ation , maintenance, documen tation andrevitalisation ofhistoric or traditional matter,artifact,areaandtheirenvironment whichmaydirectly orindi rectly protecto ld buil dings.

The new act also gives mor e comprehensivedefinitionon "monument"

Building.Mniutc'1Inllceill OldBllildiH<~5ConsenmtlonAppronc1/

which meansarchitect ural works,worksof monumental scu lpt ure and pain ti ng, elementsorstructuresof anarchaeological nature, inscriptions, and combinations of features,whichareofoutstandinguniversal valuefromthe poin tofviewofhistory,artor scie nce; wh ile "o b je ct" includes any mo veabl e an t iquity, tan gi bl e cultural heritage, intangible cu ltural heritag e and historicalobjectbutexcludingtreasuretrove.

In addit ionto that, "h istoricalobject"

meansanyartifactorotherobjectofreligious, traditional, artistic or histor ic interest. In Section 97 unde r this act;"conservation managementplan"isdefin ed asa planfor conservation aspreparedunde r Sectio n46.

Various prin ci pl es and term s applied in the cons e rv ation such as re storatio n, re constructi on, rehabilit ation and conservationas a wholeprocessinvolved aredefined indetai l.

For example, un der this act,

"res to ratio n" means the proces s of accura telyrecoveringtheform anddetails ofastructureorpartofastructure and its setting,asitappearedatsome period in time, byremoving the lat ter work and replacing the miss ing originalwork,and includes-

(a) full restoratio n which involves both exteriorand interior;(b)partialrestoration whichinvolvesthe exterior, interior, orany parti al combination and is adop ted when 'onlypartsof a structureare important in illustrating cultural values at its level of historic significa nce, or contrib u te to the valuesforwhich the areawas designated;

and (c)adaptive restoration which involves allor a portion of the exterior res toration with the interio r adap ted to a mod ern functionaluse.

While "reco ns truction" isdefin edas the process ofaccura tely reproducing, by newconstruc tion,the form andde tailofa vanished struc ture, or part of it, as it appe ared at some perio d in time and includes full or partial reconstruction;"

preservation"meansaiming tohalt further deterioration,decay orastateofdilapidation and providing struc tural safety and well

beingbut doesnot contempla tesignifican t rebuildingand includes-(a) techniquesof arres ting or slowing the pro cess of deterio ra tion, decayorsta te ofdilapida tion ofan item or str uct ure;(b)impro vem entof structural cond itions to make a structure safe, habitable , or otherw iseuseful;and(e)

normalmaintenance and minor repairsthat donot change oradversel y affect thefab ric or historicappearance ofa structure.

In addition, "rehabilitation" means theprocessofretu rn ing a pro pertyto astate of utilitythrough repair oraltera tion, which makes possible an efficientcontemporary use while preservingthose portionsand feat ures of the proper tywhichareSignificanttoits historic architectur e.

Ther efor e, in com p re hens ive definition , "conservation"processincludes preservation, resto ration, reconstruction, reha bilitati o n and adaptatio n or any combination;"owner",in relation to any land, mean s the registered owner orthe holder by customa ry tenure of the land;

"occupier"includesthe cultivatoror person inactualpossession,management or control of any land, and includes any pers on having the possession or contro l of any mov eabl epropertyin thatprem ises or lan d.

Figure1: Su lta nAbdu lSarn ad building Source : Kayan(2003)

43

JOHnlalof Designandtim BuiftEnolronntcnt

Figure2:KualaLumpurLibrary Source : Kavan(2003)

.; -

Figure3 :KeretapiTanahMelayu OldStation Source :Kayan(2003)

Builditig Maintenanc e in Old Buildings Co nserva t io n Ap proa c h:

An Ove rv iew of Relat ed Problems According to the Department of Museums and Antiquit ies(2001),the mainproblems occurring inold build ing conservatio n arc related to the irmaintenance managemen t aspect. Most of thecommon problem sare building dilapidatio n and ignorance (English Heritage, 2005 0), illeg al renovations and not com plying with the legal requirements eithe rby theowner Or userof the old bu ildi ngsinorder to apply thebuildi ngconservation approach(Glover, 1981;Kohl,1986& A.Ghafar Ah mad ,1994).

Otherproblems are difficullies in conducting repai ring works,building maintenan ceas well as lack of enforcemen t of buil di ng controlaspectsinthebuildingconse rva tion approach (Ranso m,1981&Seele y,1985).

BllifrlillgDilap ida tion

Generally, thebuildingdilapidationprocess is due to the most com m on defects (Rich a rd so n, 2001). Iden tifica ti o n and determination of mostcom mo n buildings defects that oCCUr on old buildings are as follow:

a. Fu ng alStai nand Harm ful Grow lh These usu all y occur in old buildings with

the presence of water Or high moisture con te nt in building materials such as masonr y^Ibricksand con crete.Furthermore, this situa tionrapid lyoccurs whenthereare flour ish ofhighhumidity aswell aslack of ail'ventilation.Forexam ple, creepers and ivy plantscan growon eitherstone or brick walls with the presen ce of the nutrients providedby water.Norma lly, roots ofplant growth cango deepinto theexistingholes of the wallOr build ing ele me n ts causing cracks and wa ter penetration (Figure 4- Figure6).

Figure 4: Pung alstainingon upperfloor wilh the presenceof water and highmoisture content.

Source Mengct01(2006).

Building Mail/lellallce ill Old Building« ConseroationApproach

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j... :.

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.-'1' -

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Figure 8: Eros ion of morta rjoints Source : Kayan c! at (2005).

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.

1

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Figure 5: Plantgro w thon the existing holes of thewall.

Source Men gelat (2006)

c. Peeling of Paint

This defect usually occurs on building facadesof old buildings,mainly on plastered walls,columnsand otherareas which are exposed to excessiv e rain and dampness.

Thepaint will bepeeled off from thewall sur face duringthe process(Figure 9).

!. """ !---'- - j - -'-j""I

I Fig ure 6: Plantgrowthon flat roof

Source : Men ge!at(2006)

b, Erosion of Mortal'Joints

Normally , ca uses of theerosion of mortar joints in old bu ild ings include apresence of saltcrystalliza tion. Scouringactionof winds and disintegrating effec tsof plant growing on a wall01'water penetrationleadingto the concentrations of moisture and dampness that affected mortar joints (Figure 7& Figure 8).

•I , I.

Figure 7:Disinteg rating effectsofmortar join ts Source :Kayan('Iat (2005).

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..,..._ .1....

.. ..;.•.••-.--1••¹

. : l

--" ~ .,,.,

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(a)

(b)

Figure 9: (a) Peel ing of paint on floor beam (b) Pee ling of paint oncolu m n Source : Kayanet a!(2005) .

45

[ourna! of Design and Ilia HI/ill Enuironmcut

d. Poor Inst all ati onof BuildingServices Equipment

This defect is due mainly to poor workmanship during the maintenance and upgrading works. The most common exampleof poor work qua lityin old building main te n a nce and conserva tion works is muchrelated topoorinstallation of artifici al ventilation eq u i p me n t such as air - conditioning syst ems. Firs tly, the cooler and drier air producedbytheair-conditioning syste ms maypossiblycausesh rinkageof old building materia ls.Second ly, ther e will be a possibility of condensationeitheron the surfaces or within the structure of the building fabric.This will allow the build-up of mould or fungal stains that affect the appearance and aesthetic characteristic of the old buildings. All of th ese defects more seriouslyoccur whenthere is leakage on the joints of the air-conditioningcausi ngwater drip p ing on the wallsurfaces(Fig ure 10).

(a)

(c)

Figure 10: (a) Exposed electrical wiring (b) Defective plastering layer (c) Defective compressor cover Source KClYClnet al (2005)

e. DefectivePlaster

Defective plasteroccursmostly onextern al wa lls, columns an d ceilings of the old buildings. It is mainly due to biological attacksarisingout of penetratingrain, water evaporation, con d e n s a tion process, air pollution, dehydration and thermal stress on old buildingmat erial s.Other causes may come frommould orharmfulgrowth,insect and animal attacks as well as from traffic vibration. Prior to being decomposed an d broken apart, plastered rendering may become cracked due to either shrinkage or movement in the substrate itself (Fig u re 11

& Fig ure 12).

;.

'.'

(b)

Figu re11: Sou rce

Defective plastered Kayan eI^{al (2005)}

BuildillgMailltellall ceill^OldBuildings ConseroationApproach

,.

...-:)

---_ ...

^{- .}

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Figure 12: Chipping of defective plaster on wall

Source : Eng^ei al (2006)

f. Crack s

Cracks in old building walls, either vertical or diagonal, are common symptoms of structuralinstability. Causes diagnosed are either the foundations, unsuitablematerials and weak joints,or any shrinkage or thermal moveme nts such as sagging on timber window frames. Diagona lcracks often occur when shallow foundations are la id on shrinkablesub-soiltha t is drier thannormal or when there is a physicaluplifting action of main rootsof a large treeclose to thewalls.

Few causes to theproblemof leaningwalls includingsprea d ing of the roof which forces the weight of the roof outwards towards the walls , hogging and sagging due to soil movement, weak foundations due to the presence ofdampness, shrinkable clay soil or decayed building materials. Disturbance of nearby maturetrees in which their roots graduallyexpand causes settleme n t in the old buildings(Fig ure13 & Figure14).

Figure13: Dimensionalchang esand thermal movement lend to crackingofthewall, Source Pingeta/(2006)

I

/

Figure 14: Cracks on npron atverandahways.

Source : Kayan et a!(2005)

g. DefectiveRainwat erGoods

Common problems associated with the defective rainwatergoods in old buildings include sagging or missing eaves gutters, corroded or broken galvanized iron down pipes orleaking rainwater heads (Figure 15

& Figure 16). In some situations,othersmay

include undersizedgu tters or down pipes which causeoverflowofwater, particularly in heavy rain and an improper disposalof waterat ground level.There are a fewother possibl ecauses to thedefectsof rainwater goods. For example, due to inadequate painting,iron rainwater good can become rustedand badly fractured. Lack of proper fixing to thewall, particularlyby means of projecting lead ears or lugs can cause instability to the down pipes also consider as mostcommon factors.

47

{ourua!of Design and tim Built£lIuirOIlIllCIII

Figure 15: Damagedgutters and ceiling board.

Source : Pingel III (2006)

(a)

(b)

.

^,

Figure

Source

16 : Lea kagebetween the joiningof down pipeand gutter caused

water leakage.

:Akas ha het III (2006).

Figure 17: (a) Decayed floorboard (b) Decayed floo rjoistson

timber flooring Source Kayandill(2005)

h. DecayedFloorboa rds

In the case of old buildings,some of the floorboardsare badly abused with serious damage on thesurface and deteriorate. This problem will lead to further structural problemsand make it unsafe forbuilding occup ants . The main caus es of the deterioration of floorboards arc insect and termit e a tracks,carelesslifting of weakene d board s by occ u pa n ts, ele c tr icia ns or plumbers. Lack of natural seasoning and preservatives in floorboards and corroded nails are identified(ISoneof the causes to this type ofoldbuilding defects (Fig ure 17).

i. Insect or Termite Attacks on Timber Eleme n ts

Insec t or term ite attacks are a com mon dan ger to timber elemen tsof old buildings.

In general, they usually happen in dampm~d

digestible timber which can be found 111

elem ents such as wall plates, the feet of rafters and bearing ends of bea ms and trusses.Timbers which are placed against or builtintodamp walling (Ire mostly affected (Figure 18& Figure19).

HuildingMai"te"allceinOldUuildillgsConsenmtionApproach

Figure 18 : Termite attackson timberrafter element

Source Mohd Nor etat(2006)

j, Roof Defects

Common defectsof rooftilesin old buildings include thecorrosion of nailsfixing thetiles tobatten s and raft er s,thedecayof battens.

Becauseof this, crackingofroof tilesoccurs which ma y be causedbyharmful grow thor beingwalked upon.Theha rmful grow this quitedan gerousto thetilesbecauseit may lift the tilesand createleak s (Figu re 20).

(a)

(a)

(b)

Figure 19:(a) Rottentimber attacks bywood borer.

(b) Split of timberframe.

Source Kayane!a!(2005)

(b)

(c)

Figure 20: (a) Corrosionofroof flashin g cleme nt

(b) Defective fasciatimberboard

(c) Corrodedgutter fixing Source Kayan etat(2005)

49

[ourno! of Design a/ld 11mBuill Enuironment

1<. Dampness Penetration

Water penetration occurscommonly through walls exposed to prevai ling wet wind or rain.With the existe nceof gravity, water is likelyto penetratethroughcapillaryactions orcracksbetween mortar joint s and bricks or concreteblocksbeforebuildingup trapped moisture behind hard renderin g. This processwill expand further up the wall to emergeat a higherlevel. Dampness may also occurinwalls of old buildings because of otherfactorssuchasleaki nggutters or dow n pipes, defective drains, burst plumbing and condens a tio n due to inadequate air ven tilation . Dampness may also enter a building from the ground through cracks or mortar joints in the foundation walls (Figure 21 & Figure22).

Figure 21: Dampness on wall through moisturepen etration Source : Akashah1'1 al (2006)

" --

Figure 22 : Dam pness on ceiling panel.

Source: Hueweia!(2006).

I. Unstable Foundations

Unst abl e found ati on s may occur because of severalreasons includingshrinking clay soil. Therefore, it results in unstable foundationswhenthe sub-soilis drying and water table is low wh ich no lon ger holds thestructure above.Rapid penetration of dam pn ess and wat ermay decaywalls and foundations of old buildings. Besid es that, with presence of large trees near the old building and the undertaking of extensive excava tionsorminingactivitiesnearby,this condition will increase the process of uns table foundati on s.Othercausesinclude landslides caused by heavy rain, heavy construction ncar old buildings and lowering of water tables, usually by hard landscaping and road areas .Th is problem may also occu r from traffic vibrations, deterioratingof buildingmat erials and the increased loads, particularlywhenthere are changes in building function and usage (Fig ur e 23).

(a)

(b)

Fig ur e 23: (a) Cracks on apron layer due to unstable foundation (b) Defective concrete drainage Source Kayan1'1al (2005)

Bllildillg Mnintenn/lceillOld Bl/ildillgsConeenntionApproach

Building Ignorance

In many cases, the buildingowner anduser did not know or had not been notified tha t their old building hadbeenlisted or declared as her ita ge buildings (Pickard, 1996). It seems tha t they are no t fully aware of the implica tionsfor the ir listed building in terms of ieg a l requirements as well as legal restriction. In mo re serious cases, these building owne rs ig no red the declaration notice by th e au thor ities relat ed for their building protection.In addition tothat, some of the owners 111ay have insufficient resources topayfor their buildingupkeep whileforthe others itis dueto delibe ra tely neglecting the building to cash in on the valueof itssite (EnglishHeritage,2005b).In most cases, when these unaw are building owners ignore the notice; they also ignore thebuilding maintenancefor theirbuilding conse rva tion (Ra nsom, 1981; Seeley, 1985

& Hollis, 2004). With no appropriate

maintenance, lessprotection as well as no suitable conservation approach applied, these old buildings are affected by the dilap idatio n process (Fi g ure 24).

Furthermore,build ing dilapidation process obv io usly happened in which it was influenced by urban developmen t factor (RICS,2005).Insome cases,build ing owners choose to let their old building to become dilapida ted and be fina lly demolishe d so thatthey canhavereasonforbuildi nganew on the site. It seems that this situation happens when an old build ing owner is restricted from having new additiona l or buildings workson their premisesas well as on surrounding develop ment(Paiman, 2002a).

(a)

(b)

Figure24: (a) AbandonedPejabat Pasbuilding at [alanPanggong, Kuala Lump ur (b)Dilapid at ed lstanaHinggap

Kcdah,KualaLumpur Source Kayan(2004)

Illegal Building Renovatio n s Works Due to econOiny factors,commercia lisat ion and fast track of development, building owners ignored the re st ricti on for comme ncingillegal renovationsworks. In addition to that, most of the renovations carried out did not comply with le gal requiremen ts such as conservation acts, enactmen ts and guidelinesas ou tlineby the local autho ritiesand conservationbodi es.

Building Intrusion Threat

Build ing intrusion thre a ts are usuall y committed by individ ua lsand irresponsible parties (Mill, 1980). Agreeing to th is sentiment, Faezah (2000) added th a t even the building owner himself or herse lf trespassed into build ingwith the purpose to carry out buildingworkswitho utwritten approval,couldbe define as an intrusion action . In mostserious situa tions, these in truders also vandalised these heritage buildings. Furthe rmore, this problem became worse whereby it affec ted th e hnag e an d ov e rall performance of the buildings (Richardson, 2001).Most com- mon vandalis m acts suc h as writing and sketc hing on th e building walls . 51

Jar/mal of Df!sigl/ al/d IIIn Built Environment

(a)

Difficulties in Enforcing of Building Control Regulations

In building control enforcement, related parties involved facing difficulties in identifying and determining old building defects and their actual causes 01' factors (ICOMOS,2003). For instance, mostof these bu ildi ngs did not hav e any speci fic 01'

plannedmaint enanceprogrammeto protect them. Genera lly,the build ingmaintenance teams workedon an 'ad-hoc'basis.Thereis no fixed or planned schedule of old building inspection even though these building legally protected (Mill, 1994; Paiman 2002b).

For example, there are certain buildings that have been ignored and emptied by the owner. On top of that, no parties arc willing to save,main tain,upkeepandprote ctthese deterioratedbuildings.Ther efore,planned maint enance prog ra mmes and insp ection schedulesare nearlyimpossibletodraw up or apply for conservation of thesebuildings.

building owners did not consider or allocate annual maintenance in their overall operation cost of their building (Paiman 2002a).

, .... :

,\

.i

Intentionally acts by intruders to demolish an d vandalise old buildings such as th rowi ng an d hammeri ng frequently occur (Figure 25). Apa rt from that, these irresponsible intruder s sometimes stole valuableheritagefrom theseold build ings (Paiman 2002a).

(b)

Figure 25: (a) Writing and sketching on wall element

(b) Bro ken window glass cause d byvand ali sm

Source Pingetat(2006)

Difficulties in CarryingOut Building Maintenance Works

The difficulties arise whenever old building owners are facing insufficient financial sup por t to carry outbuildingmaintenance works. This situationbecam emore critical when thebuildingownercannot justify or esti ma te the su fficient related cost for main tenance and conservation purposes (English Heritage, 200Sb). Generally, old

Other Related Problems

Mohd Khairuddin (2002) quoted that other related problems which affected old building maintenance include difficu lties in hiring skilled labour to carr y out mainten anc e works.In add itiontothat,thereare thelong period of time required for completing the maintaining process, unsound conservation laws and guidelines as well as very high conserva tion cost needed in order to maintain these old buildings. The related problems are further explained as follows:

Lack of Ex pe r t and Sk i lle d Labour ill Tech uical Area s Related to Bull ding Conseruation

According to Arner Hamzah (1994 ), in general, the parties involved in bu ild ing conservation were unskilled la bour and

BuildillgMni1l1ellnllCeillOldBui!dillgsCOllserlinliollAppronch

inexpe r t con trac tors. Bes id e that , th e in vol vemen ts of these parties were only restrictedto minor works in overallbuilding maintenanceandconservation.

In rela tio n to this scena rio, the invitationsforforeignbuilding conservation exper ts by conse rvatio n organisations to cond uc t their training activ ities in this cou ntry are very few and only had been organised on certainoccasions. Sm11e of the most C011U11011 reas ons are insufficient finan cial sup por t, unsuitabl e timing and right ven ue sel ecti on cons train t for cond uc ting the traini ng locally.

Apart from that, the Departmen t of Muse umsandAntiquities(2001)ad de d thai even though they had conducted courses and trai nin g rel a ted to old buil di n g conservation, itwas limitedto shortcourses only. These shortcourses are attended by ind iv idu als , conservatio n bod ies and org an iza tio ns. Gen e rall y , the y were participa ting on the normal par ticipa tion bas is . The co urses cond uc ted invol ved parti e s or individual s who were not professionals andinex pe rt in thebuilding conse rvation approach. Fo rexample, in most cours es co n d uc te d , they were participated by junior techni cian s as well as low grade conserva tion con tractors.

Besid esthai,thecoursealsodid not involve the relatedparties or anorganisa tion that has direc t responsibility for maintaining and conserv ing old buildi ngs. There are au thorities who are financia lly supported or sponsore d on the courses rel ated to building conse rva tion,suchasorganisedby UN ESC O an d SPA FA (So u th Pacific Associationof FineArts),but the coursesare mainl ylocallybased .Thefinancialsupport an d sp o ns o rs h ip did not enhance or develop thesecoursesintothe globalscope .

Parm an (2002c) als o raised the observation that overseascourses had been offered to our local conservators. However, il on ly involved the adminis tra tio n and management teams who are professional in terms of their educationbackground,It seems that the involvement of suppor tstaff with

lower qualification inthese relatedcourses is veryminimal. Financial allocation tothese supportstafffor attending therelated courses outsidethecountryonlyfocusedon certai n countries suc h as Aust ralia, United Kingdo m, Fran ce,Italy, China, Hong Kong, Indonesiaand India. Once again,there are a many countries that have exp ertise in building conservation. However,financial su p p o r t seems to be insufficient to accommod a te the demand to attend the rel ated co urses in otherco untries and norm ally this probl em is identified as the mainfactor andcons traint.

1I11sOlllldLegalAspect

Previous ly, only the An tiquit ies Act 1976 (Act168)was applied andreferred to for old building conservation purposes (Lakhbi r, 1986).MohdKha irud d in(2002)arguedtha t this act had been ou tda ted to be used or applied when conside ring the year itwas established. Until now,there areefforts to amend and streng the n this act to make the sco p e and con te n t suitable or accommodative to current needs.Patm an (2002b) also raised the samesen time nt by stating thatprovision clau sesandpenalties as ou tlined bytheAntiquitiesAct1976 (Act 168) are no t really suitable and strong to comp ly wi lh up to date need s and requirements.

Acco rd in g to th e Dep artmen t of Museums and Antiq uities (2001), nowadays,related conservationactsare still in the early stage for their establish ment.

Evenwhere thereare effor ts to establi shthe related acts;itwasonlyon the draftinglevel.

Therefore,thisdraft canno t bereferredasan approved and fully legal act. Even though thereare efforts ofco-ope ra tion betweenthe Ministryof Housin g and LocalGovernm ent an d the Dep a rtm ent of Museums and Antiq uities to establish the conse rv atio n act togeth er,but accord ing to the Fede ral Cons titution, ther e isno such power or any provision to allow any minist ries and government agencies to establish current law withtheirproposed act. Therefore, state 53

Journtll of Designdud 11mBuilt Enolronmcn!

au thor ity hasthepower to rejector accept thesenewlaws.Forexample,if theparticular old build ings are locatedinKualaLumpur, LocalGovernment Act1976 and Plan nin g Act(KualaLumpur1982)needto be referred tofor conservatio n purposes . How ever,on th e ot he r hand , if the particular old building'sageis 100 yearsormore,normally only theAn tiq uitiesAcl1976wasapplied. Ifthe build ingage isless than 100 yearsold, then the local authority where the subject old building is situa ted is resp onsible and they have the power to gaze tti n g these buildings.But,itseemstobe thatitisnotthe case in the actua lprac tice. Infulfilling the needsandrequirementsofmaintaini ng and conserving old buildi ngs,the govern ment establis he d and intro duced the Nati onal Heritage Acl2005(Act645). How eve r,this newactmayrequirecertainperiod of timeto be enforcedcomp letelyandsmoo thly.

Higl'MaintenanceandConscroati onCost Costallocationforold build ing maintenance and co nservatio n normall y is gene rated from the rel at ed parties namel y the govern me n t,NGOs as wellas individ ua ls who aredirectly orindirec tly involved in thebuildingconservation(EnglishHeritage, 2005a). Ho w ev er , the De p a r tment of Museums and Antiqu ities and the Public Works Depar tment of Malaysia are fully resp onsibletomaintain and upkeeplegally pro tected buildings. Genera lly, the allocationfor therelatedworks is controlled bythe DevelopmentUnitofDepartmen tof Museums andAntiquitiesandState Public WorksDepartment(Paiman, 2002c).

Nowadays, the ins pec tionprocess is carried out bythesetwo departme ntsafter these old buildi ngs were legally protected by the la w. Ho w e ve r, this schedule d inspection is restricted by the insufficient allocati on of financi al su p por t. Generally, the inspection WaScarriedout bythedemand or reques t of the buildin g ow ne r or by consultationof the Depar tmentofMuseums andAntiquitieson reg ularbasis.However, inmostcases,this sched uled insp ection was

not properl y cond uc ted according to the planned sched ule. Thissituationworse ns as the Department of Museums and Ant iquities is facingdifficulties to employ experie nced expertand strong and broad- knowled ged contr ac to rs in bu il d ing maintenance and (Othman Mohd Yatim, 1979). Paiman (2002c) added that , it was diffic u lt to set the quality for the workmanship by these inexperienced contractorsbecausethey arcnotrecognised as a compe ten tcon tractor and there are insufficient numbersof qualifiedcontractors asa comparison,guidanceor reference.Even thoug h there are com peten t con tra ctors available, the ir operation in buildi ng main tenance and conservation fo r old build ings is mainlyfocused in the foreig n countries.

Conclusion

Building dilapidationand ignorance,illegal add itions and ren ovati o ns works by the bu ildi ng ow ner are the mo st com mo n problems and issues affecting the whole effor t of old building ma inte nance and buildingconse rvation .Thedefectsanalysis of old buildingsis an importantaspectto be take n into co nside ra tion to ensure the suc cess of the main tenance works and conservatio n app ro ac h ap p lie d for old buildingsprotection .The ap propriate ways of building condition in vestigati on, buil- ding appraisalas well as build ing defects diag nosis and ana lysis, is essentia l to ensure con tin uous effo rt to cons e rve and maintain these building consistently . With the con tinuously com prehensive undertakingof buildingsur veys, buildin g ins p ect io ns, bu ild ing appraisals and inves tigat io ns, these nationa l herit ag e buildings canbe successfully conserved,as referencesforrelatedarea ofstud iesandcan be prot ectedforourfuture generations.

Building damages, trespassing and int rusionand difficullies in enforcing the buildingcontrol alsocontribute to related problems . Othe r probl em s occur such as

BllildillgMnilltelJallCeill Old BlIildillgs COllservatiollApproach

insufficient financial su pp o rt, lack of numbersand minimal involvemen t bythe expert andskilled labour is alsoconsidered one of the key factors that influence the overallbuildingmaintenanceand building conservation . Non-comprch cnsron of previous legal asp ects and lack of participation fr0111 the related parties and organisationsalso contributeto the lack of maintenanceworks on theseold buildings.

By considering all of these factors, issu es and related causes,all of them contribut e problemsandiss ues.In thebroadercontext, it may affect the ov erall co nse rv atio n approach for old buildings which ca n become a Blain threat for the continuous protection.

Ther efore,the participation of Federal Governmen t, Sta tes Authorities, Local Authorities,Government Agencies, Non- Govermnent Organisations,Conse rvation Bodies,or even individualsare essentialto make sure that the Nation alHeritage Act 2005 (Act645)issuccessfullyimplemented and enforced in national con tex t.Itisalso important for thesepartiesto cooperatewith the expert or professionalin the conservation and preservationfields.On the othe r side, viewsand public interest need to be taken into consideration. Therole and contribution ofevery partyinimplementi ngand enforcing theactand achievingthe aim and goalofits establishmentmust be appreciated.

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