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Revitalisation of Lui Seng Chun as the Chinese Medicine and Healthcare Centre
Lui Seng Chun, a 4-storey shop-house constructed in 1931, was a Chinese bone-setting herbal medicine shop which earned local popularity in 1930s. The upper floors were Lui's family’s living areas. The business ended after WWII and the building has been somewhat obsolete since 1980s. Its deep and streamline verandah, mixed Art Deco / Neo-classical style makes LSC the city’s historical icon.
To revitalise the architectural heritage and preserve the intangible culture heritage of Chinese medicine, LSC was adapted as a Chinese Medicine & Healthcare Centre, providing Chinese medical treatment & training. Exhibitions on Chinese medicine are also provided.
To integrate new functions into the limited floor plate, half occupied by the deep verandah, while preserving the highly authentic façade, the verandah is enclosed by super-clear glass with structural frames hidden from the existing skeleton, while enhancing structural stability. Its transparency eliminates the building boundary with interconnection between interior and exterior.
New additions such as lift, services core are located at the less significant face of the building. The steel staircase, set away from the prominent street junction, integrates structure and screen wall inspired by the fenestration’s geometry. On the ground floor is a Chinese herbal tea shop and exhibition space with original elements including plaques, timber shopfront and patterned floor tiles restored.
Interior decoration is kept humble to express original ceiling moldings, with fenestration for appreciation. Half-faded paint marks left by previous tenants on the ground floor's granite columns are kept to record memory of the past 80 years. The service yard is opened up as a garden, joining with the herbal tea shop and exhibition at ground floor level, to integrate with the local community. As a successful case of adaptive re-use & tourist attraction, the aging local community is also rejuvenated.
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