Discover how Malaysia and Singapore keep your Art -deco architecture heritage
When the morning sun hits the facade of the central market of Kuala Lumpur, the optimized corners and geometric motifs of the building gave dramatic shadows over its light blue walls. Once a hub for dealers for wet market, today it is a monument to maintaining Malaysian Heritage Buildings.
The market, built in 1937, is one of the best examples of the Art -deco Architecture in Southeast Asia, a permanent remnant of a style that bloomed in British Malaya and left an indelible brand in the region's urban landscape.
But while the central market survived the Bulldozer, many of its architectural siblings did not have so happy. “Since the 1980s, some beautiful examples of Southeast Asian Art Deco have been lost for development, in particular a number of iconic old cinemas such as Pavilion and Cathay theaters in Bukit Bintang and the Lido in Ziegelstein,” says Lim Wei, President of Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM), The Country.
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In the 1930s, when the Malaysian cities became rich through rubber and tin sports, European architectural styles were rooted, but developed differently under the tropical sun. The geometric patterns and the vertical emphasis on the Art -deco movement – and its more optimal offspring, optimal modernity – had arrived at the best moment.
“Malaysia and Singapore accepted the Art -deco Architecture in the colonial period, especially in the 1930s. This was a time of economic prosperity in the region,” explains Johannes Widodo, architectural historian and associate professor at the architecture of the National University of Singapore.
Widodo notes that the meaning of the style went beyond aesthetics: “Art -deco architecture in Singapore and Malaya reflected the efforts of various communities by symbolizing progress, modernity and a break of colonial conventions. It provided a visual representation of the region's economic growth and its cultural dynamics.”
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