Retaining the heritage design

The four-star Royale Bintang Penang, scheduled for completion by the end of next year, will make constructive re-use of heritage buildings.

Boustead Properties Bhd executive director Datuk Ghazali Mohd Ali told StarBiz that the RM110mil project located at Weld Quay would retain the original façade thus providing hotel guests a rare opportunity to experience the original fabric of a 19th century building.

The 12-storey hotel is located in offices and godowns established in 1893, a period of great significance in the history of port settlement.

“The architecture also allows for modern, up-to-date designs and facilities within the building,” Ghazali said.

He added that glass walls were installed to separate the modern structures from the heritage part of the building.

“We are also creating an atrium, which is designed to link the new and old, providing a transition space of pleasant contrast.

“The atrium is 13 metres in height, above which is a glass skylight roofing,” he said.

The Royale Bintang Penang will have 300 rooms and 222 car-parking bays.

By The Star (by David Tan)