The treatment and construction over each of the houses took into consideration its historical,
aesthetic and commercial values. All the buildings were residential premises and the majority
of the buildings were in poor condition. The general built-up of each of the two-story houses
were approximately 2,000 sq ft.
In order to make them fit for the intended purpose, some of the groundwork had to be rebuilt.
Original architectural drawings were obtained from archived files and the work of preservation
and restoration were detailed to keep in accordance to the architectural heritage of the structures.
Original bricks, tiles and timber were used as much as possible and much of the façade were maintained
to keep its original overall colonial look.
The work was daunting and costly. Much of the old materials had to be treated with anti corrosion
agents before they could be reused, making them more costly than new materials. Modern utilities had
to be installed as the buildings had little to none. In some cases, it was necessary to dig 9 meters
below the ground in order to accommodate power supplies, water, gas, sewage, fire prevention and other
modern facilities. To improve and strengthen the structures, original timber trusses were supplemented
with steel structures. Extensive renovations and improvements made to these buildings were
costly in an attempt to preserve the old heritage feel in the area.
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