TAYLOR’S UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) (ARCHITECTURE)

MARCH INTAKE 2013 - SEMESTER 2

ARCHITECTURE CULTURE AND HISTORY 2 - ARC 1323

PROJECT - ARCHITECTURE HERITAGE BUILDING ANALYSIS

LA SALLE SCHOOL, KLANG

BUILDING ANALYSIS REPORT

GROUP MEMBERS:

ALFRED LEE XUE CHYI

(0314703)

CHARLENE CHAN HUI SHAN

(0308518)

KIAN SOON JEAN

(0314978)

NICK LIM WEI ZE

(0305863)

TUTOR: MS. ANIDA

WORDS: 2704 WORDS

Content

Title Page Number

Introduction 2

History of La Salle School Klang 3

Important Events 5

List of Principles 6

History of Klang 7

Art Deco Architecture 10

Comparison of Art Deco 13

Building Inventory 14

References 18

SMK La Salle is a Malaysian national secondary all boys’ school, founded in the year

1940 by Adrian Devales and Reverend Father L. Guittart. It was initially established as a

missionary primary school named the St. Bernadette’s School during the flourishing of other

missionary schools all across the Straits Settlements such as Penang and Malacca. After

several ownership and name changes over the years, the school was divided into two

separate schools, namely, SR La Salle & SM La Salle. The former functions as a primary

school whereas the latter functions as a secondary school. Today, the La Salle secondary

school is known by the name of SMK La Salle. Similar to all Malaysian national schools, it is

administered by the Ministry of Education Malaysia.

During its humble beginnings, SMK La Salle operated upon a school fee of $2 per

student and was dependent on the donations of church members for funds. In the year

1947, principle Fr. Edmund was forced to build a wooden extension to the original existing

building as well as rent a double-storey private residence in Jalan Koto (Fort Road) to

accommodate the growing number of students. Unfortunately, tight funds and limited

capacity in the midst of a rapid student body growth eventually lead to a closure and

takeover by the La Salle Brothers who renamed the school to “La Salle Institution” in 1951.

They also bought a 12-acre piece of land along Telok Gadong Road (where SMK La Salle

is presently located)l for school expansion. Fund-raising activities were held for the sole

purpose of improving the school’s aging facilities. The school officially reopened in 1957

under the authority of the La Salle Brothers. In the following year, the construction of 2

Science laboratories, a school hall, 3-storey block containing 4 classrooms, the Lee Kuo

Chuan Library, the Office and teachers’ room and a building for the teaching of Woodwork,

Metalwork, Electricity and Power Mechanics was completed. In year 1963, La Salle

Institution Klang split into La Salle Primary School and La Salle Secondary School but

education activities were still conducted within the same compound.

In 1965, a rapid growth of the school’s student body forced a set up of temporary

sheds to accommodate student activities. The library was used by “floating” classrooms

while the old canteen was modified into a science laboratory to solve the over-crowding

issue in the school.

Three years later, extra-curriculum activities were provided for the healthy

development of both the student’s mental and physical forms. In 1971, the Students’

Service Council was founded and a new canteen was opened.

SMK La Salle grew rapidly once again in the year 1977 to over 1000 students in

number. Consequently, its director decided to replace the temporary sheds with a 3-storey

building containing 22 classes, 3 Science labs and an A.V.A. Room which set the school

back by $270,000. Funds was raised via a charity function with financial aid from the

Parents’ Teachers’ Association and the Old Lasallians Association of Klang. In 1983, SMK

La Salle became the first school with a computer lab in Klang. In the year 1989, The

Ministry of Education Malaysia took over SMK La Salle from the authority of the La Salle

brothers.

IMPORTANT EVENTS

YEAR EVENT

1940 Opened as a private primary school called St. Bernadette’s School

1950 School name changed to La Salle Institution

1951 School name changed to La Salle School

1958 New administrative building was built

1963 School was renamed to SR La Salle & SM La Salle, with two separated schools in

one area

1980 A Science lab building was constructed (named as Rex C.C. Michael Block)

1983 Operating first computer lab in Klang

1989 Administrated by the Ministry of Education Malaysia and known by the name of

SMK La Salle

2004 Replacement of new roof and sidewalk downstairs in Science lab building

2010 Construction of new single storey building for counseling room and art room.

LIST OF PRINCIPLES

BEGAN ENDED Name

1940 1947 Reverend Father L. Guittart

1947 1951 Reverend Father John Edmund

1952 1957 Reverend Brother Stephen Phillip

1958 1963 Reverend Brother Leo Manicasami

1964 1964 Reverend Brother Celestine Jennings

1965 1967 Reverend Brother John Mathew Neo

1968 1976 Reverend Brother Harold Reynolds

1977 1982 Reverend Brother Cassian Pappu

1983 1985 Reverend Brother David Liao

1986 1988 Reverend Brother Michael Wong

1989 1993 En. Rex C.C. Michael

1993 1994 Pn. K. Sadasivam

1995 1998 En. Shum Kwok Hong

1998 2003 Pn. Hajah Zainon binti Kasim

2003 2006 Pn. Hajah Hasimah binti Karim

2006 2010 Pn. Lily Lee

2010 2012 Pn. Hajah Adliyah binti Ramli

2012 Now Pn. Ding Sooi Chong

SMK La Salle is situated in Klang which is one of the oldest Malaysian settlement as the

earliest record of its existence dates back to 600 years ago during the Majapahit

Government. It was originally named “Port Swettenham” and appointed as an administrative

centre by the Britains when they colonised Malaya. Klang flourished in the late 19th century

as its tin ore mining industry grew. Thanks to Port Klang, it became an important trade

centre leading to a population spurt in commercial areas following economical successes.

However, there seem to be no spill of the economic wealth in trade upon Klang even until

today, which explains the relatively low cost of living in Klang.

The Location Plan of La Salle in the context of Klang.

The Site Plan of La Salle as an overall.

Although the human population in Klang today is racially diverse, the Indian-Muslim

community forms the majority of Klang’s population. This is directly reflected in the diversity

of La Salle’s student body which comprise of 70% Indians whilst other racial groups make

up the remaining 30%. In Klang, the notion of Hinduism being a traditional Indian religion is

challenged. Nevertheless, cross-cultural programs are encouraged by the MPK and are

held at the “dataran seni klang”.

Today, Klang is governed by an authority board formally known as the MPK (Majlis

Perbandaran Klang). The MPK, lead by the “yang dipertua”, was formed in the year 1977

and is mainly financed by Klang’s tax-paying land owners, the renting out of public buildings

and facilities, and the licensing of businesses and their operating locations. In 2008, Tuan

Mislan Bin Tugiu was chosen by the Malaysian public services board to lead the MPK.

Spanning over 574 square kilometres today, Klang’s cityscape is rather flat compared to its

neighbouring cities such as Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam as there are very few skyscrapers

around. This can be linked to the fact that around 30% of the land in Klang is employed for

agriculture means, covering about 17 000 acres. Despite the common trend of people

moving out to more urban towns such as Petaling Jaya over the years, human population in

Klang increased from around 562 000 people in the year 2000 to a total of 1042 000 people

in the year 2010.

Due to an expansion of La Salle’s student body over the years, subsequent blocks of

building were added on to the school compound and several existing structures such as the

school canteen was expanded. The whole school was also repainted so that it stands in

green and white colours today. One of the earliest structures within the school compound

now functions as headquarters. The La Salle School, amongst several other schools are

located in the south of Klang, whereby residential houses and shophouses are largely

located. These schools are conveniently built within an average distance of 3km from the

local residential houses.

ART DECO ARCHITECTURE

The original building of SMK La Salle Klang was completed at the year 1952 at the

schools current location along Jalan Raja. SMK La Salle was designed in the influential Art

Deco architecture style which was birthed in France after World War I, succeeding the Art

Nouveau architecture period. It flourished globally during the 1930s and 1940s before its

popularity waned after World War II. Art Deco is an eclectic style that combines traditional

craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. It is often characterized by rich colors,

bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation. It was adapted to a certain extent

throughout prewar Malaysia, particularly in the design of shop houses.

Art Deco emerged from the Interwar period when rapid industrialization was

transforming culture. One of its major attributes is the embrace of technology. The organic

motifs favoured by its architectural predecessor, distinguishes Art Deco from it. During its

heyday, Art Deco represents luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and

technological progress.

There are a few reasons why we considered La Salle Klang to be an Art Deco

building. The characteristics of Art Deco buildings are usually richly embellished with hard-

edged, low-relief designs: geometric shapes, including chevrons and ziggurats; and stylized

floral and sunrise patterns. To keep the cost of the building down, Art Deco buildings are

usually of minimalism, ornamental treatment is often limited to the most visible parts of the

building.

The administrative building's facade had conveyed the art deco style with the ample

use of rectilinear lines. Besides that, simple decorative squares also known as banding are

placed on the facade with contrasting colour. In art deco style, everything usually comes in

sets of 3. in this facade we can see the ornamentation such as bandings, cuboids and

flagpole on the roof come in sets of threes.

In classic Art Deco, rectangular blocky forms were often arranged in a geometric

fashion. Similarly to the La Salle Klang building, it comprises of geometrical shapes of

square and rectangles to form the whole facade as well as structure of the building.

The materials used in Art Deco buildings usually includes stucco, concrete, smooth-

faced stone, and Terracotta. Steel and aluminum were often used along with glass blocks

and decorative opaque plate glass.

The material used for the school, La Salle was considerably cheap. Materials usually found

on Art Deco style building such as glass blocks are not found in the school most probably

due to its low cost construction. Nevertheless, steel casement windows have been applied

to the facade instead of louver windows used around the less important areas of the school.

Another special characteristic about the architectural style of this building is the

windows. Windows usually appear as punctured openings, either square or round. To

maintain a streamlined appearance for the building, they were often arranged in continuous

horizontal bands of glass. Wall openings are sometimes filled with decorative glass or with

glass blocks, creating a contrast of solid and void forms while admitting daylight.

The Kennedy-Warren Apartments is an example of Art Deco style windows.

The window features in La Salle Klang.

Roof

Art Deco designers adorned flat roofs with parapets, spires, or tower-like constructs to

accentuate a corner or entrance. Decorative curiosities such as chimneys were added to

further enhance the design. In the case of La Salle Klang, the reason the the pitch roof is to

suit the local context of Klang that is more of a tropical climate. During rainy days, it is

easier for the rainwater to flow off the roof when it is pitch roofing.

Entrance

Doorways are sometimes surrounded with elaborate pilasters and pediments, and door

surrounds are often embellished with either reading (a convex decoration) or fluting (a

concave decoration). The quality and extent of the decorative motifs vary by project and

designer.

La Salle has many other branches of schools and colleges around the globe. Even so, the

architectural style of Art Deco still leaves its traces in other La Salle’s in Malaysia, mainly La

Salle PJ. The facade of La Salle PJ also has the same characteristic of La Salle Klang, that

is it is basically geometrically formed from basic square and rectangular shapes, windows

that are arranged in continuous horizontal bands of glass.

A panoramic view of La Salle PJ

A panoramic view of La Salle Klang

Art deco architecture, painting, etc. is recognizable because of three main things: distinct geometric

shapes, intense, bright colors that stand out, and a decorative look. "Art Deco is characterized by a

linear, hard edge or angular composition, often with a vertical emphasis, and highlighted with

stylized decoration" (Blumenson 77)

COMPARISON BETWEEN LA SALLE AND CENTEAL MARKET

La Salle School, Klang Central Market, Kuala Lumpur

Pitched roof was employed Flat roof was applied

Strong sense of linearity

Ornamentations and intense colors were used

Geometrical massing structure

2.0 BUILDING INVENTORY

ELEMENTS

2.1

Pediment

Components Roof

Pediment - Pediment shape was employed to create pitch roof.

Ornamentation - 3 chevrons and 3 concrete flagpoles were used as the

decoration.

Detail description Pitched roof was implemented on the building instead of flat roof due to

overcoming the high rain index in Malaysia. Besides that, as an art

deco building, the ornamentation on the building comes in sets of three,

similar to all other art deco buildings. The pediment used to top the

building is simply decorated with simple geometrical shapes which

further enhance the art deco element in the building.

2.2

Fenestration

Components Windows

Doors

Detail description Ribbon windows are constructed to maximise natural lighting within

the building’s interior. Windows in the classrooms are located on

the upper portion of walls so that hot air would efficiently exit while

cool air enters through the doors located on the lower portion of

walls. Furthermore, the elevated windows would prevent rain from

being blown into classrooms which would disrupt classroom

activities. Doors are located at each end of the classroom walls to

enable easy access and exit within the school compound.

2.3 Form

Components Facade

Detail description The front facade of the building clearly shows linear horizontality and

verticality of the structure. This strong sense of horizontality and

verticality is composed by arranging the openings in a row order. There

is also an obvious rectangular motif in facade of the building. This motif

is repeated throughout the facade and also the main building of the

school. The use of geometrical shapes such as squares and rectangle

is a prominent element in the architectural style of Art Deco.

2.4

Ornamentations

Components Facade & Main Classrooms building

Brief description La Salle has chevrons motifs all over its pediments, creating an

interesting detail of the facade. The pediments are also one of the

elements that differ from the usual architecture. The pediments are not

the ordinary flat pediments but it takes an angular form, like a triangle.

Besides that, one prominent feature of Art Deco style is the concrete

flagpoles that are found on both the facade and the extruded entrance

platform. In the usual case of an Art Deco building, 3 poles are usually

used to emphasize the verticality of the significant architectural style. At

the extruded entrance platform, there is also a ziggurat form design that

is somewhat similar to other Art Deco buildings in Malaysia, such as

the Central La Salle also uses bright and vivid colors, in this case,

green to stand out from the surrounding buildings.

ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING ANALYSIS

Architectural

Elements

Personal Analysis

1. Unit to Whole The geometric shapes used in the building clearly compose and show the

linearity and form the building structure interestingly.

2. Hierarchy The main mission of La Salle School is education. Hence, the long

horizontal classroom block naturally becomes the most important part of

school with its size and location compare to the other block of the school.

3. Repetitive to Unique The arrangement and geometric shape used in doors, windows, and

fenestrations on the top of the classroom were repetitively placed and

make the building looks interesting in overall. On the other hand,

repeating linearity also make the school architecture unique from the

others.

4. Private and Public The private spaces such as offices were located in the main office

building as a hub of the school administration; the public space like

canteen and classrooms are placed radially.

5. Symmetry and

Balance

From the facade view of the office building, there is a clear center axial

line that can divide the building equally and symmetrically. At the same

time, placement of flagpoles, chevrons and painted brickworks are also

making the building became balance in overall.

6. Lighting and

Ventilation

Louvered windows and fenestrations on the top of the classrooms allow

natural lighting and breeze come into the interior.

References

SMK La Salle, Klang. (2012, March 12). Sejarah Sekolah. Retrieved from http://smklasalleklang.blogspot.com/2012/03/sejarah-sekolah.html

SMK La Salle, Klang. (2013, January 2). Sejarah Pengetua. Retrieved from http://smklasalleklang.blogspot.com/2012/03/sejarah-pengetua.html

A. Johari, personal communication, December 4, 2013

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/4410