Back before Penang was inscribed as a Unesco Heritage site in 2008, conservation on the island was almost non-existent. Despite its rich history, the push to save or even maintain culturally valuable sites was not a priority. Architectural Association School of Architecture (London) graduate, Laurence Loh, had established his firm, Arkitek LLA Sdn Bhd in Penang for some years when the calling to conserve a unique building came literally out of the blue.
The building was the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, also known as The Blue Mansion due to its original indigo colour. Once the grand home of a Chinese merchant known as the Rockefeller of the East, the mansion had always been in Loh’s