Sekeping Kong Heng - 5 June 2012

Sekeping Kong Heng is exactly what it claimed - it is a slice of history within a real old town setting which is alive, working and real. If you have heard of Ng Sek San, you will agree that he's one of a kind, practically a legend in the landscape design field. Sekeping Kong Heng is his latest unveiled guest house, or more accurately, an adaptive reuse of an abandoned building, side-by-side with the famous century-old coffee shops in the heart of Ipoh Old Town.


Top: Across the street is Concubine Lane, a buzzing hangout place of rich tin mine tycoons representing the golden age of Ipoh in the early 1900s. Bottom: Sekeping Kong Heng behind the popular "Kong Heng" coffee shop (yellowish building).


Unassuming entrance to guest house besides the coffee shop. Even with GPS, it is very difficult to locate the guest house. Maybe when Seksan completes his touch in the surrounding abandoned buildings, we will see the masterpiece.


Lobby 

Reception

Original walls, unlike other heritage mansions in Penang and Malacca, the walls here are not plastered or repainted, they are displayed in their original, aged forms.

Unfinished work at the lobby area...may be a good area for garden cafe...


Lift for cargo (top left); Wash area behind the reception, which adjoins to Kong Heng coffee shop (bottom left); steel staircase that connects all 3 storeys (right).

Our favourite area on the 2nd floor - the rooftop for relaxation and a cup of Ipoh coffee.... Open area to look out the busy streets of the alive, working and real old Ipoh town.

This is the retreat room on the 2nd floor, spacious enough to accommodate a private function. But the best is the TWO "suspended glass houses" on top!!! Maybe they will not serve too much drink there, cos they only have see-through "glass toilets". Rate at RM800 per night for the entire space and rooms.

The family room on the 1st floor is spacious with a master room (hidden at the back) as well as communal space for another 4 beds. The communal area, however, is exposed to wind, sun and rain!! Creeper plants are used as "living walls". Rate at RM800 per night.

There are 8 standard rooms. Simple with basic facilities. Rate at RM200 per night.

An abandoned building behind the existing guest house. If nothing is done, it is left to ruin. Not just the physical building, but along with it the history and heritage of the place. Seksan is not only a successful landscape architect with a string of accolades, he also has conservation at heart and being a Perakian, aging buildings are given new lease of life. And to us, it is a piece of timeless life.

"in designing a landscape, we are not creating an object or an art piece. It is more about people and creating a situation....an idea that is successful piece of work is one that is still relevant 10 or 20 years later...." Seksan.

Sekeping Kong Heng
Address: 75, Jalan Panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak.

Comments

  1. beyond.schooling15 June 2012 at 20:01

    Very nice! I'm from Ipoh and its good to see the buildings being creatively utilized :) can't wait to see the finished product!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honey4Boyz16 June 2012 at 09:19

      Sekeping Kong Heng is open for guests now, got promotion rates.... but heard the owner has bought also the surrounding old buildings, so wonder what grand masterpiece will come out of it.

      Delete

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