In 1993, I was involved with a project at Jalan Sg. Ujong near Komtar, which require a row of dilapidated old heritage shophouses to be demolished.
I went to inspect the site with my developer client. As we were supervising the demolition, I was shocked to see the workers dumping prewar old roof tiles on the street. They could have been recycled as valuable heritage remains but were smashed up into pieces in seconds.
I picked up the tile and thought to myself, "what if I could recycle it for a good use".
Lately, I have been told my many contractors that these roof tiles taken down from old buildings in Penang are normally end up in land fill and road resurface.
Georgetown was once a historic city of terracotta roof tiles. In 1985, I took a photo of the city from the helipad of uncompleted Komtar Tower and I saw a sea of brownish terracotta roofscape.
However, today the roofscape has changed drastically.
The once famed ubiquitous terracotta roofscape that gave George Town its character has been replaced with modern ugly roof tiles or made way for modern building design.
To cherish its memories and heritage's significance, I have recycled them with an artistic impression with these themes:
- "FAMILY SURNAME" that once lived in this terracotta roof tile house.
- "DOOR" that glorify these terracotta roof tile heritage houses.
- "HERITAGE HOUSES" of Old Penang.
- & many more to come.
Each tile painting is hand made from a prewar handmade terracotta roof tile. And each tile is unique with its own character as NO two tiles are alike.
Have you lived in a terracotta roofed house before?
It is my hope the "Terracotta Roof Tile" wll bring back many wonderful memories of Old George Town and to remind Penangites the importance of preserving and conserving its heritage.
I also hope you will find this "Terracotta Roof Tile" an idea collection of Penang Heritage in commemorating the 1st anniversary of UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription of loving "Old Penang".
I would like to thank you for appreciating our Penang Heritage and my works on the Terracotta Roof Tile.
Cheers,
Kim Wong
