Understanding the Shophouse

Key Elements of the Shophouses

Description

Roofs

Roofs are usually pitched and finished with overlapping V-profile clay tiles, laid on timber battens and bonded with mortar. Shophouses from the 1900s onwards tend to use natural coloured, unglazed flat-interlocking tiles (also commonly called ‘Marseilles’ tiles).

Where the tiles end at the edge of the front and rear shophouse roofs, they are often covered with a timber fascia complete with galvanised iron gutters and downpipes. Roofs are waterproofed using bituminous asphalt, galvanised iron flashing and copings.

Party Walls

Party walls are principal load-bearing walls which demarcate one shophouse from its neighbour. The party walls normally protrude approximately 30cm above the roof of the shophouse and break the continuous length of the shophouses into individual lots.

Party walls are constructed of bricks laid out in continuous stretcher bond courses. The internal surfaces of the party walls are usually unpierced and unadorned. To ensure structural stability, the base of the party wall is thickened to transfer the dead-load to the base of the foundation.

Timber Structural Members

The timber structural members include the main timber beams, the secondary timber beams, the timber floorboards and the timber rafters which support the roof.

The main timber beams are key horizontal structural members that run parallel to the facade, spanning from one party wall to the other. They are usually made of chengal, a hardwood timber which is resistant to the dead-load transferred from upper floors.

The secondary timber beams supporting the timber floorboards for the upper floors serve as horizontal structural members to evenly distribute the dead and live load from the upper floors to the party walls.

The timber floorboards are thin horizontal structural members laid horizontally on the secondary beams and joined to one another by the traditional tongue and groove method.

Timber rafters are inclined structural members supporting the pitched roof. They are in turn supported by timber purlins or roof beams spanning between the party walls.

Airwells

Airwells are positioned between sections of the tiled roofs. They are exposed to the sky to provide natural ventilation and lighting to the interior of the shophouse. The airwells lend interest to the spatial experience of shophouses by offering alternating naturally lit spaces.

Rear Court

The rear court is an open space at the back of the shophouse bounded by the rear boundary wall, the service block, the rear facade of the main part of the shophouse and the party wall. The juxtaposition of these elements produces several different rear court configurations.

The windows in the walls facing the rear court allow light to penetrate into the interior of the shophouse. They are normally casement windows of a design compatible with the windows on the front facade. The existing doors on the rear facade are either timber doors or original metal (mild steel) doors.

This area was traditionally used for functional needs such as the kitchen and the toilet.

Timber Windows

Shophouse windows include the timber windows of a French or casement design. Some have solid infill panels while others will have operable timber shutters/jalousies to allow for air and light.

French windows, found on the upper storey façade, are full-height, side-hung and double-shuttered, and may feature transom windows or fanlights above them. The timber post and rail or cast-iron balustrades are part of the original design of the French windows.

Casement windows are only half the height of French windows, with openings starting at the balcony rail height. Casement windows on the first storey, unlike those on the upper storeys that swing outwards, always open inwards and are recessed to allow for installation of security devices.

Timber Staircase

This refers to the staircase inside the shophouse, which are often of timber structural construction.

Internal staircase arrangements vary between shophouses and range from straight and dog-leg designs to curved quarter and half-turn designs.

In some houses, the timber balustrades and newel posts can be of ornate design and reflect early Dutch influences. Handrails are made of polished hardwood.

Front Facade

The front ‘face’ of the house that faces the street. Facades from different architectural styles will have different aesthetic approaches.

The shophouse facade has six distinct elements:

1. Upper Floor

2. Columns

3. Five-foot Way

4. TImber Windows

5. Roof

6. 1st Storey Residential Front or Shopfront

The Upper Floor

This projects over the five-footway to form a covered pedestrian arcade.

The Columns

Located at the front of the building. They support the upper floors and form five-foot way colonnades.

The Five-Foot Way

This provides pedestrians with a sheltered environment for passage away from the hot sun and torrential rain. This feature was mandated by Raffles since the first Town Plan for Singapore.

It is an important element that contributes to the experience of walking through a conservation area. The elements that contribute to the experience are the floor, colonnade, residential or shopfront and the ceiling. In order to retain the traditional character of the five-foot way, the original height of the covered walkway, the design and size of the columns are to be retained.

The retention or reintroduction of the traditional materials and finishes of the five-foot way is encouraged. Traditional finishes for the five-foot way floors include cement screed, terra cotta tiles, clay tiles, cement terrazzo, mosaic, marble-chip terrazzo or granite slab. The five-foot way often features granite edging parallel to the road side drain and granite steps. Tile patterns used on the five-foot way are sometimes repeated on the front wall of the shophouse either ending as a skirting or under the window to form a decorative wall.

Where the existing floor finishes are not original, traditional materials are to be considered. The selection of the floor finishes preferably matches the architectural style of the shophouses. For instance, it is common for Early Style shophouses to have red-coloured cement screed with gridded rope indentations and granite edge slabs. Art Deco shophouses may have marble-chip terrazzo finish in a variety of colours or mosaic finish. It is untraditional for five-foot ways to be finished in ceramic tiles or slate.

The First Storey

The First Storey may be a residential front or an open shopfront.

Residential fronts are characterised by a double-leafed timber door flanked on both sides by timber casement windows, or by two double leafed timber doors and a timber casement window. The main door often has a pair of half-doors, known as ‘pintu pagar’, which are often intricately carved. The timber-framed windows usually have timber panelled shutters, which open inwards and vertical iron security bars.

Shopfronts have a range of traditional features including demountable timber shutter boards, timber or metal sliding and folding doors, or glass display cases. Access doors are incorporated into the shopfronts and these may be single or double-leafed, glazed or timber-panelled, louvred or of rail and stile design.

The Forecourt

Some residential terrace houses also feature a Forecourt. The forecourt is an important feature that gives spatial and green relief to the usual narrow street that is lined with traditional houses. Some forecourts feature ornamentation on walls and gateposts and have decorative gates and entrance arch with lamp.