No.8 Heeren Street is a two-storey building typical of early shophouses and modest residential structures built in Malacca between the late 1700's and mid-to-late 1800's. It is located at the south-eastern end of Heeren Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) and is adjacent to another building (No.6) originally of similar design. These buildings can be found throughout the old quarters of Malacca, extending from Banda Hilir to Tengkera and Kampung Pantai. Their earliest variants are likely to have been constructed to replace structures that were predominantly timber, and therefore marked a significant stage in the urbanisation of Malacca.

Heeren Street appears in the Dutch maps of the early 1700's; this building type is integral to the development of its streetscape and vicinity, and shows the very early urban conditions which started to emerge in Malacca when more permanent materials such as brick and clay tile roofing replaced the earlier timber and thatch structures. This building type is found only in Malacca and is therefore an important element in the architectural history of Malaysia.

No 8 Heeren Street is built on a long narrow lot, extending back around 26 metres between parallel walls with successive roofed portions around an open courtyard to provide light and ventilation. It has an open front with a pedestrian way for a shop on the ground floor and a residence above with simple plaster walls, an overhanging roof, a tile-roofed porch and a timber window at the first floor.

This house has characteristics which identify it to have been built in the Dutch period including:

• The brickwork of the drainage system is characteristic of this period.

The title search shows the original tenure was from 17 December 1790.

No 8 Heeren Street is owned by the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple Trust. It was given to be held in Trust by Tjan Tian Quee before World War Two.

From the years between 1938 to 1989, the house functioned as a Kuli Keng (literally harbour labourer's (coolie) quarters). After that it was sub-tenanted by the Kuli Keng operators, Hiap Leong Soon, to an antique shop owner, Mr. Moidu of Abdul & Co. for use as a storeroom until 1993. In 1994, another antique shop owner Kassim Seri Purba took over until the repeal of the rent control Act came into force.

The proximity of No. 8, Heeren Street to the quayside made it an ideal place for the harbour labourers to stay. As the labourers were not salaried workers, their working schedule depended heavily on the arrivals of the tongkangs (cargo barges). In between waiting for work these labourers needed to have a place to rest and hence the start of these quarters.

From the early rental records, the property had been rented for this purpose since 1938. There were only 3 such quarters and all of them were located near the riverbanks. There are no more kuli kengs now. Progress has rendered their services redundant and without work, these labourers of about 100 members, have turned to other types of work.

Several characteristics of the early shophouse and modest residential structures identify it clearly from other building types. These can still be seen in some of the buildings that have remained largely unaltered, and recognized in many that can be found throughout the old quarters.

Many of the original or early fittings and features of No.8 remain extant. The front facade on Heeren Street has maintained much of the original appearance with a recessed lower facade creating a shallow verandah, an upper level facade recessed further and above a single pitch roof, and three openings: a door, a large rectangular window and a smaller upper level window. These features are typical of original examples of this building tpe. The interior plan is centred around a lightwell or courtyard which is both a service area and the focus of the building's circulation.

Upper level front facade - a centrally positioned timber window with shutters is the only opening on the upper level facade. There are no decorations on the plastered wall which is flush with that of No.6.

Well - the well at No.8 is shared with No.6 and is positioned in the courtyard of both buildings with the party wall positioned above it; this probably indicates that the two houses were built at the same time. The well is lined with the original bricks.

Lightwellslcourtyard - there is one large lightwell or courtyard which is positioned near the middle of the building surrounded by the main circulation spaces for both levels. At one end is the staircase which connects the courtyard with a balcony edged with a timber balustrade on the upper level; at the other end is the kitchen area on the lower level. This central space provides air and light and is integral to the planning of most shophouses or terrace houses in Malacca. Another smaller lightwell at the rear of the building provides light and ventilation to the service areas (eg. kitchen), and would have been partially enclosed by the original stove hood.

Windows & doors - all the windows and doors are timber. The smaller windows have vertical timber bars which are square in section and typically positioned at 45 degrees in plan. Some original wrought iron brackets of the exterior windows remain. The material used at the thresholds of the main door and the rear door are indicative of the status of the building's original owner or occupant, with granite and timber indicating higher and lower status respectively. At No.8, the material of the front door's threshold is granite (still extant), and the rear threshold is timber.

An important feature of this building type is the lower front facade window, a large rectangular opening with two horizontal timber shutters. When open, the lower shutter provided a surface for the display or wares. When open, the upper shutter is secured to the roof of the verandah with a metal hook. In its shut position, either shutter provides privacy to the front room. Long metal brackets secure the shutters. At No.8, this window feature remains intact, although only the upper shutter and brackets are the original. The front door has an upper and a lower half (similar to stable doors) also characteristic of Dutch period buildings.

Roofs - the roofs comprise timber beams and clay roof tiles. The beams - embedded into the walls - are of different sizes and dimensions, suggesting the use of salvaged timber at the time of construction or later. The tiles and beams are exposed on the underside throughout the upper level.

Structure - the main structural elements of the building are brick (walls) and timber (roof). The foundations are a combination of brick and laterite blocks. A large timber beam provides structural support for the upper level facade, and is exposed in the room below.

Surface materials - lime plaster and lime wash would have been the 'original wall surface materials for both the interior and exterior. The paving of the main front room on the lower level are described in section 3.01 (Floor excavations). The upper level floor is timber.

Drainage - rain water is drained from the building via a subterranean channel directly into the public drain on the street. Waste from the building's original and early occupants was removed and disposed off-site manually.

The planning of the interior spaces enables the building to be used as a shophouse, combining commercial and residential uses, or as a residence only. The lower level comprises one main front room (for commercial use) accessed directly from Heeren Street, a smaller room behind it with a window to the courtyard, and the courtyard or lightwell. At the rear is the cooking or kitchen area which can be identified by the extant brick base of the stoves and remnants of the 'hood', possibly timber. On the upper level, a single large volume within which a smaller space was partitioned (no longer extant) occupies the front portion of the building. The rear section is an open space overlooking the courtyard - it is unlikely that this space was enclosed.

Circulation is along the left of the building and via the staircase to the upper level.

Lim Huck Chin, architect & Chair of Project Committee

Professor Ezrin Arbi, architect

Chan Kein Keong, engineer

Elizabeth Cardosa, Executive, Director Badan Warisan Malaysia

Fernando Jorge, architect

Josephine Chua, project co-ordinator & photographic documentation

Lee Eng Cheow, engineer Lim Lee Hock, architectural student

Tan Hoon Keong, engineer & project manager