Beauty and the Beast: Stone pillars of elegance and beauty

Front view of the old high court building

Tue 1/12/09 Site of the old high court building in Kuala Lumpur

IN THE OFFICE
"Mr Ng, do you have any appointment in the afternoon?" lady boss asked approaching my corner and gesturing with her hands as I was peering into the pc monitor at my desk. Without turning my head I said nonchalantly "I have scheduled a meeting at the Balai Seni Lukis Negara site."

"There is going to be a meeting at 3pm at the old court house building. The architect has requested that the structural engineer tag along with the mechanical engineer, electrical engineer and the quantity surveyor together with the client to inspect the premises," the boss's voice trailed off as she made a u-turn back to her office. Taking the hint I promptly canceled my scheduled site meeting.

AT THE OLD HIGH COURT BUILDING
There were about 8 people consisting of the the architect, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyor and representatives from the owner gathered at the site.
View of the gallery & skylight

The facade of the building still looked elegant considering that it is about 90 years old. However inside it was completely dilapidated, dusty, dirty and just an empty shell. All the furnishing, wiring, fittings, fixtures were gone, an indication of widespread looting. Even the ceiling had been ripped off exposing the air-condition ducting and some parts were hanging dangerously down from the ceiling. The air inside was stuffy and we had to use flash lights to find our way around. The floor was strewn full of rubbish eg empty cans, bottles, rags, cardboards, material fallen from the ceiling, etc. The architect told us that during his first visit he saw used condoms, broken syringes and all sorts of drug paraphernalia piled up on the floor. Due to long years of neglect the dilapidated building has become a drug haven. View of the stone piers in the court yard

THE BEAUTIFUL, MAJESTIC & ELEGANT STONE COLUMNS
Surrounding all the filth and dilapidation we found a court yard that is surrounded by beautiful stone columns spaced at close centres all of them with elaborately and intricately sculptured Roman style pedestals and capitols. In the centre of the courtyard is a sunken plaza and overhead is a viewing gallery roofed over with a skylight. It is the only lighted spot in the building as the the skylight invites the sun light to beam into the building.
View of the stone piers from the top

In the midst of all the gloom, filth and dilapidation the beautiful stone columns acting as silent sentinels guarding the court yard and the the sun bathing the sunken plaza with glorious light and warm is such a stunning sight that I had to capture it on camera. This incredible contrast reminds me of the story of the Beauty and the Beast, the stone pillars, plaza and the gallery representing the Beauty and the delapidation all round the Beast. I am so glad and gratified that the looters didn't touch the plaza and the columns as they are priceless and irreplaceable. The architecture of this heritage building will surely regain its former glory after the refurbishing and make over work is completed.