Heritage building condition assessment: a case study from Johor Bahru, Malaysia

• Published in: IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 2019-01, Vol.220 (1), p.12024
• Main Authors: Mohd Noor, Syahirah, Shing Mei, Chiew, Syahrizal Ibrahim, Izni, Nabilah Sarbini, Noor, Hanim Osman, Mohd, Azeyah Khiyon, Noor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemical composition; Construction materials; Decision making; Historical buildings; Inspection; Maintainability; Maintenance; Matrix methods; Rehabilitation; X-ray spectroscopy
• ISSN: 1755-1307; 1755-1315; 1755-1315
• DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/220/1/012024

Building condition assessment (BCA) is an assessment that provides the information of deficiencies of the property to support the decision-making and management of its maintenance and rehabilitation. This paper presents the execution of BCA on heritage building, namely Balai Zaharah in Johor Bharu to obtain its rating. The BCA was conducted based on the structural and architectural elements' maintainability, security, functionality and the sustainability of the construction material's originality. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to identify the rating of each defect according to its condition and maintenance priority. From each defect, the overall rating from 1 to 5 of the building was determined. A systematic recording of the building systems is one of the methods used in this study by visual inspection and technical notes of each defects and deficiencies existed. As for the material suitability, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was performed on the element samples to identify the chemical composition of the construction materials used so that the originality can be sustained during the rehabilitation and maintenance works. In conclusion, from the building assessment and matrix analysis, it was found that Balai Zaharah was rated to require major maintenance and rehabilitation to reestablish to its original state.