HIDDEN TREASURE: A dilapidated shop house on Penang became a bright and airy island idyll thanks to the efforts of two eagle-eyed investors
BY ROBYN ECKHARDT for property-report.com
Not many investors searching for a home on the northern shore of Penang would recognise the potential in a neglected mid-1980s shophouse wedged in a row of equally uninspiring commercial and industrial three-storey buildings. But in 2009, when an online search led psychotherapist Liz McIlhagger to photographs of the property that would become her second home, she and husband Des Ng, a Malaysian architect specialising in eco-sustainable design, saw a diamond in the rough.
The photographs showed a dark, dingy building that had housed a carpentry workshop on the ground floor and a travel agency on the first and second storeys, broken into office partitions. Inspecting the property in person, Des’s brother relayed more images of mildewed wall-to-wall carpeting, suspended plasterboard ceilings, and termite-riddled door and window frames. (He also pronounced the property “too industrial.”) Undeterred — and buoyed by a Google Maps search that showed the property to be close to a beach — Des and Liz purchased it in 2010 and moved in after nine months of design work and renovations. They now split their time between Oiduts House, the Penang property, and their primary home in Coleraine, Ireland.
The couple traced a circuitous road to Penang. After meeting at university in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s, Liz and Des, who was born in Malacca, lived peripatetically. From the mid-80s through the 90s, Des worked primarily on large-scale, high-rise projects in the UK, Oman, Bahrain, New Zealand, American Samoa, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia. Just before the turn of the century they moved to Northern Ireland, taking along fond memories of their years in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Sabah.
When the couple decided to look for a property in Malaysia, Penang was at the top of their list. “We were looking for somewhere with sun, sand, sea, food and culture, and Penang ticked all the boxes,” says Des. Turned off by Kuala Lumpur’s “mega-structure” raised rail lines and elevated freeways, they were drawn to Penang’s human-scale public transport — a bus system threads throughout the island, which is also serviced by taxis and car share services Grab and Uber.
In recent years, Penang property has become a magnet for foreign investors. Most plump for sea-view condos, heritage shop houses in George Town, or sprawling villas in gated communities. The couple saw disadvantages in all, however. With condos, says Liz, “there’s a problem of maintenance when there are too few owner-occupiers,” a factor over which the buyer has no control. Des grew up in a Chinese shop house in Malacca, and he dislikes that kind of dwelling’s proximity to the street. Because they wanted a home that would hew to their eco-sustainable ethos, an aesthetics-driven villa was also out of the question.
An extensive experience in retrofitting and refurbishment enabled Liz and Des to undertake a project that might have scared away other investors. In Ireland they transformed two stables into studio apartments and a small railway station into a dwelling and have modernised two Victorian town houses, one of which is their Coleraine home.
“Each of the projects was a learning experience that culminated in Oiduts House,” says Liz. “We immediately saw the potentials in this property, with its large floor area – more than 371 square metres – and we came in prepared to pursue functionality in a tall, narrow structure.”
After the purchase the couple flew to Penang to assess the state of the property and take measurements. They found a view of the Andaman Sea from the second floor of the house, which is a five-minute walk to a small beach, and a green hill directly behind. “It’s a natural habitat for tree monkeys, iguanas, birds and butterflies, all of which we can see from our kitchen and dining spaces – a great bonus!” says Des.
The couple started drawing up plans by introducing a large air well into the centre of the Penang property for maximum ventilation and light. A rain-sensor horizontal shutter allows the air well to open to the sky most of the time. Taking a cue from the layout in Victorian houses, in which lesser rooms are relegated to the ground floor, guests are received in a drawing room on the first floor. Des and Liz placed the living room, dining room and kitchen on the top floor to take advantage of the views and cross-breezes. Floor-to-ceiling louvered windows bring in much more air than conventional windows and have enabled the couple to reduce their electricity costs by 50 to 60 percent.
Oduits House naturally hews to the principles of feng shui, “the mother of eco- sustainability,” says Des. The property’s refreshed but sedate façade gives no hint that a sleek, comfortable home lies within. Entering through a plain door, one’s eye is drawn upward to where light floods in through the air well. A new open-thread timber staircase leads first to the mezzanine level, added to take advantage of the double-height ground floor and reclaim living space lost to the air well. Braced by an exposed steel support beam, it houses a glassed-in office and a small library.
Old floor screed was hacked away during the renovation to reveal vintage terrazzo tiles on the first floor. On this level three bedrooms — two of which Des and Liz rent out on Airbnb—march down a long narrow corridor illuminated by the air well and two glass-brick walls. Two bedrooms boast a wall of louvers opening onto the air well, while the rear master suite looks onto the hill behind the house.
The second-floor living area flows seamlessly from the living area and open terrace at the front of the house to the open-plan kitchen and dining areas at the back. It is a cool, serene oasis on even the hottest of days and where Des and Liz spend most of their time. “Our vision was to have a light and airy home designed for living in and to be enjoyed! We believe we achieved that,” says Liz.
Judging from Oiduts House, the advantages to thinking outside the box when it comes to considering properties as a potential home can be great. Good design is key, says Des, for “from that everything else will flow naturally.” And once the renovation is complete, “you’ll get a great satisfaction from doing something special and unique.”
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