Harnessing Heritage
The Project
Reducing Heat and Carbon Emissions Through the Use of Traditional Building Techniques and Materials in a World Heritage Site in Malaysia
The project uses satellite data, ground-based measurements and building studies to assess how heritage buildings – including their materials, designs and surrounding landscapes – impact indoor and outdoor temperatures. By examining the role of materials such as timber, brick, clay and lime plaster, the project highlights their potential to improve thermal comfort, reduce carbon emissions and support climate-resilient urban development. The findings will inform conservation, planning and policy strategies that protect heritage while addressing the climate challenges faced by cities like George Town.
The Team
The PI (Jeff Tan, AKU-ISMC) is a political economist with expertise in institutions, governance, and government policy. He has worked on the intersection of climate change and community resilience in the context of community water management, and has experience engaging with stakeholders and conducting stakeholder consultations, including with government departments. He will oversee overall project coordination and lead on WP3, including identifying constraints and policy gaps to the adoption of traditional and lower carbon building techniques and materials, quantifying the economic costs of this, and gathering climate data, industry capacity needs, and key stakeholder input for policy recommendations.
Co-I 1 (Matt Benson, Think City) is a geographer of urban and regional planning with expertise and experience in urban regeneration and public realm improvement. He will lead on WP1, working with the Climate Resilience Team in Think City and coordinating the research on the ground in Malaysia for all three work packages.
Co-I 2 (Stephen Chia, CGAR-USM) is an archaeologist with a degree in chemistry, specialising in archaeological and cultural heritage protection, management and conservation. He will lead WP2 in his position as Director of the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) at University Sains Malaysia (USM). CGAR will support the testing of thermal properties and calculate the embodied carbon of traditional building materials.
Co-I 3 (Yogeswary Chellappan, Think City) holds a PhD in Business Administration, Management and Operations, with a focus on human capital and management, complemented by studies in gender and social inclusion. She leads the Climate Resilience Team in Think City and brings extensive experience in project management including in sustainability and climate change. She will help oversee overall project implementation and coordination.
Other participants:
Sofia Castelo (Think City) is a climate adaptation practitioner and landscape architect with expertise in designing and managing urban resilience and climate adaptation projects in Malaysia, including a “nature-based climate adaptation program for the urban areas of Penang Island”, which won the Climathon Global Cities Award 2020, and a US$10 million Adaptation Fund. She will contribute to the gathering of climate data in WP1 and provide input for policy recommendations on climate adaptation in WP3.
Aufa Abd Rahman (Liverpool University) is a conservation architect and final year PhD candidate in heritage architecture. She was previously programme manager at Think City where she managed conservation and public realm improvement projects at GTWHS. With her expertise and experience in managing heritage assets and stakeholder engagement, she has been central in the development of the project proposal and will help with overall project coordination; contribute to WP2 on documenting the extent of applied knowledge of traditional materials in the Malaysian construction industry and review existing construction practices and regulatory frameworks; and lead on stakeholder consultations with residents, businesses, building owners, investors, local contractors, builders, conservation architects, and government in WP3.
Francesco Siravo (Think City, AKTC) is a conservation architect specialising in historic preservation and town planning. His practitioner experience and expertise will be integral to WP2 in the assessment of suitable traditional/local building techniques and materials. He will work closely with Co-I 2 to calculate the carbon footprint and thermal mass of traditional building materials, as well as traditional techniques.
Rose Afrina Mansor (Think City) is an architect and urban planner working to improve the urban environment to help create resilient and safer communities in the face of climate change. She has has been involved in numerous evidence-based urban resilience projects, including the development of an award-winning Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Programme for the Urban Areas of Penang Island.
Cheah Chee Ban (School of Housing Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia) is an Associate Professor with a PhD in Reinforced Concrete (Universiti Sains Malaysia). He specialises in construction materials and technology, including low carbon footprint construction materials
Faizal Baharum (School of Housing and Building, Universiti Sains Malaysia) is a lecturer with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (University of Manchester). He specialises in energy simulation, energy efficiency, and carbon footprint.
Abdul Mutalib Abdullah (Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia) is a Technical Lab Manager and Senior Science Officer for the Earth Material and Characterisation Laboratory. He has a BSc in Forensic Science and MA in Geoarchaeology (Universiti Sains Malaysia) and specialises in technical and chemical analysis and the instrumentation of archaeological and building materials.
Mohd Sairul Ramle (Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia) is Senior Science Officer for the Earth Material and Characterisation Laboratory. He has a BSc in International Tropical Forestry from UMS, Sabah) – specialising in technical and chemical analysis and instrumentation of archaeological and building materials.
Preliminary Findings
