Digital archiving of architectural heritage

Abstract

Malaysia is experiencing disappearance of some of its post-independence architecture due to redevelopment. Historical buildings that could have been archived as national heritage have been demolished, tagged for demolition or currently are being demolished. Suleiman Courts, the first high-rise residential buildings in Kuala Lumpur were demolished in 1986. Pekeliling Flats, the first prefabricated low-cost housing in Malaysia and second high-rise residential buildings in Kuala Lumpur are now being demolished. Even the first drive-in restaurant in Malaysia is tagged for demolition regardless of the historical memories for its loyal fans. Other historical buildings are deteriorating in use without considering the importance of preservation. One example is the oldest geology department in Malaysia located in University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, which had a unique method of construction at the time it was built. The building is still in use but has been insensitively modified from its original state. In this situation digital archiving seems to be an alternative that at least keeps the records of a historical building before it is too late. It is important to clarify that digital archiving of architectural heritage is not solely because buildings are being demolished A project ‘Malaysia Post-Independence Architecture Atlas’ is being carried out by University of Malaya, in collaboration with Multimedia University. This project aims for available data to be digitally captured and archived for future purposes. In the first stage 30 target buildings (selected based on their cultural importance) were successfully archived. The main priority after digital capture was to categorize the collected data in a way that can be used by different audiences. The following is a summary of steps taken in this project by reviewing different aspects of digital archiving of architectural heritage.