Growing up as a child in one of the shophouses surrounding Penang’s awe-inspiring Khoo Kongsi has left an indelible impression on Chan Soo Khian. The celebrated architect and principal of Singapore-based multidisciplinary practice SCDA returns to the island in triumph as his latest luxury boutique hotel, Soori Penang, is unveiled.
Anyone who has visited the world-renowned Khoo Kongsi in Penang would remember the experience without a doubt. Comprising several buildings, including a stage for Chinese opera, an administrative building, meeting hall, offices and the clan house itself, the complex remains one of Penang’s most outstanding structures, mainly due to its exquisite wood and stone carvings, stucco sculptures, tiled roof work and jian nian art, a painstaking process that requires craftsmen to hand-cut porcelain into tiny pieces, then paste them onto a frame in an intricate and eye-pleasing mosaic.
But beyond the ornate wing-shaped ridges of the xie shan roofs or perhaps the grand staircase of the main hall, the Khoo Kongsi also comprises 62 terraced houses and shophouses. The close-knit setup and subtle defensive formation of the clan house is a throwback to bygone days when gangland wars were prevalent and public security was deemed inadequate in British-ruled 19th-century Penang.
Newly arrived clansmen from China would need a safe place to stay, and the famously clannish Khoos would quickly offer their kin assistance, a social security blanket and access to a network of aid, without which migrant survival in a new and unknown land might be near impossible. This concept, it must be noted, was not unique to the Khoos. Other prominent Chinese families, namely those bearing the surnames Lim, Cheah, Yeoh and Tan (together, the quintet was collectively referred to as the Goh Tai Seh or Five Big Clans), also boasted their own grand kongsi (clan house), several of which may be explored today within George Town’s Unesco World Heritage zone.
The central open space of the magnificent Leong San Tong (Dragon Mountain Hall) Khoo Kongsi clan temple
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Nanyang nuances
For such a magnificent architectural complex, it might surprise the modern-day visitor that it remains almost hidden, tucked deep along a narrow passageway just off Cannon Square, near Armenian Street. But, like many of the other clan houses, security was a key feature and the site and the way the buildings were positioned enabled it to be sealed off and fortified whenever the need arose. What visitors see today dates back to 1906, as the original structure had been completely destroyed in a fire. Rebuilding started in 1902, taking four years. In 2001, another major restoration exercise was conducted. The clan house remains a masterpiece of Straits Chinese craftsmanship and architecture.
It is amid such historic surroundings — now Unesco-listed, no less — that Chan Soo Khian, 64, spent his growing up years. Regarded as one of the foremost names in the architectural fraternity today, the Penang-born, Yale-trained SCDA founder was fortunate to have been able to live in one of the homes that surrounded the temple complex, as his mother was a member of the Khoo clan. “I remember people gathering in and around the central granite courtyard or watching performances from the stage across the temple. In the evenings, there would be opera,” he says.
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“I had always thought it wonderful to create a very personal hospitality experience within the Khoo Kongsi compound. I started asking around and, somehow, the opportunity came my way. It took a while to secure, though,” says Chan of the negotiations with the Khoo Kongsi committee. “I had been eyeing the property since pre-Covid days, actually. It certainly helped that I had once lived there and could count several relatives within the clan.”
Asked how his Penang Hokkien — the lingua franca of the island — is, he chuckles, saying, beh pai, beh pai (not bad, not bad).
Khoo Boo Yeang, chairman of the Khoo Kongsi Board of Trustees, says, “Soo Khian approached us with a beautiful proposal to transform our heritage houses into one of the great hotels of the world. What we now see, the final results, are simply beyond our imagination. It is also interesting to note that the progenitor of the clan is, in fact, a Chan who had been adopted into a Khoo family. The current Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi genealogy may be traced all the way back to him.”
An emblem of the clan association
Haute heritage
Chan smiles wistfully as he recalls growing up amid the fortress-like space. “It is secure, for sure, but the kongsi was also designed for communal living. Everything is meant to be inward-looking. It was fun for me as a child, with cousins and relatives everywhere. It was a safe space where everybody knew each other. I also remember how we were just running wild, even sliding down the temple’s stone bannister! After we moved out — first to Island Park in Green Lane and then Scotland Road — I would still come back off and on to play in the square.”
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Naturally, creating a new luxury offering within such august surroundings requires a great deal of care and patience. And being one of the most-visited tourist attractions in Malaysia, there were numerous dos and don’ts when it came to restoring and repurposing a heritage site.
“It wasn’t easy, getting the concept right,” Chan admits. “We worked hard for many years, but it was all worth it as it was an opportunity to do something different, something that would be uniquely positioned on the island. I also wanted to share the memories that shaped me, growing up here. What the Soori Penang will offer is an experience of history, legacy and patrimony.” The Penang property now joins Chan’s ever-expanding portfolio, chief of which is the Soori Bali resort and the Soori High Line, a serviced condominium designed for longer stays, in New York City.
Soori Penang’s tranquil courtyard
Chan also made sure to do extensive research, taking note of the island’s already burgeoning hotel offerings, which span backpacker motels to elegant grand dame properties like the Eastern & Oriental, built by the Armenian Sarkies brothers who also set up the Raffles Singapore and the Strand in Yangon. “I knew it would not be commercially easy, so we really had to offer something different experientially.”
The first phase presents 15 perfectly appointed ground-level suites in elegant monochromatic tones. “I didn’t lean too heavily into the Peranakan aesthetic. You could say I distilled it,” Chan shares. “You can still feel the nuances, albeit in a more subtle manner. You won’t see opium beds or kam cheng (covered pots) here. Everything extraneous to the experience is removed. I am trying to express what I truly feel, having grown up here, and merged it with the design language my firm has developed over the last three decades. I used a lot of black, but the rooms are very light, with a large common area. I was trying to evoke a feeling from my childhood memories, capturing the contrast between light and dark as the doors closed, and the only brightness would be from the chim cheh (air well). It can be dramatic.”
He also remembers how the rain would gush in through the air well, filling the entire sunken courtyard with water. “As a child, I would gleefully step in and splash about. It was such a key recollection of living in tropicality.”
Naturally, the rooms will feature an element of water, so central to the Chinese life science of feng shui, believing it to be a symbol of wealth. Here, Chan has installed repurposed stone rice grinders into water fountains, linking the memory of communal kitchen activities to the purpose of attracting good qi while promoting calm and tranquillity.
Now, with the Soori Penang gorgeous and gleaming, it proudly welcomed its first guests on Jan 15. The hotel is also only the second in Malaysia, after The Datai Langkawi, to join the prestigious Leading Hotels of the World, a collection of independent luxury hotels renowned for providing a unique, high-end travel experience.
Each suite is tastefully-appointed
Island immersion
What sets Soori Penang apart would be the unparalleled access to the historic clan house and its environs. Not unlike the Aman Summer Palace in Beijing, where guests can relish the thrilling experience of entering Empress Cixi’s favourite playground via a secret tunnel, those who choose to stay at Soori Penang too will enjoy many privileges, such as breakfasting at the Khoo Kongsi courtyard before it opens to the public.
“The gates to the compound close at 5pm daily, so guests will be privy to unparalleled privacy once the sun sets. We are also looking to organise special events, bringing together the local artistic and culinary community. These initiatives will help preserve the country’s intangible cultural heritage while also creating meaningful opportunities for local artisans, chefs and performers to share their craft while earning sustainable income.”
Beyond the beautiful rooms, on-site spa, gym, tea room, courtyard, restaurant and bar, guests are free to venture and explore all the food, culture and artisanal experiences that lie just beyond the kongsi’s walls.
“I hope guests who come to stay will enjoy the juxtaposition of various elements. There are so many iconic places of worship of all religions surrounding the Khoo Kongsi alone. In Penang, multiculturalism is very real indeed. Just take a walk around George Town, and you can still see shops frozen in time, unchanged since WWII. I didn’t appreciate all these growing up, but now I realise how special it all is. Now I see the George Town of my childhood through a different lens. Soori Penang will not just be a place to stay but an experience of the island itself. It is my ode to the state, a tribute to someone who, I’d like to believe, knows Penang well.”
Guests will be able to enjoy the Khoo Kongsi courtyard before it opens to the public
It comes as a surprise, however, to discover that Chan is not swayed much by the smoke and spice emanating from Penang’s world-famous hawker stalls. “I do have my favourites, like the Double Dragon Inn, which I used to go to as a kid, or Ocean Green, which has great dishes and is easy to park at… but honestly, I can’t eat like that anymore. I have to watch it,” he laughs.
In a nod to Penang’s heritage and culture, Chan has also ordered two special beca (Malay for “trishaw”, stemming from the Hokkien beh chia, or horse cart) for the property, specially commissioned from fourth-generation trishaw-maker, Choo Yew Choon. His store on Jalan Pintal Tali is possibly the last of its kind on the island. For those unfamiliar with the human-powered vehicle, it used to be a familiar sight in Penang, where men pedalling the three-wheelers would be hailed down for all manner of reasons: from transporting goods or simply getting from Point A to Point B in an eco-friendly way.
Future plans for Soori Penang include the creation of a bijou but beautiful library with curated reads, where guests may come to browse the shelves, selecting books that give a sense of the island through words, as well as two shophouses facing Cannon Square that will become additional food and beverage outlets.
With the highly anticipated hotel finally open for business (and at an unprecedented local rack rate of US$785 ($1,009) per night, although the special opening rate of US$550 is available until March), it goes without saying that Chan will be dividing his time greatly between two islands: Singapore, where his home and practice are located, and Penang, the island of his youth.
“I travel too much as it is,” he laughs. “Most weekends, I would be off somewhere. But, of course, Penang will feature strongly in the months to come. There is still much to learn. In fact, I am on a mission to talk to my aunties to listen to, and hopefully record down, all their old stories… stories of the Chinese diaspora in this part of the world. Before I started working on this project, I had forgotten so much. It was only after I dug out the photo albums and took time to recollect did the memories begin to surface.”
