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The Sun Yat Sen shophouse in Penang is a small private Museum, which was converted from a shophouse or townhouse situated in the Armenian Street heritage area of George Town. The building is an example of embraces of the architectural heritage of George Town which is an extra ordinarily beautiful example of Straits Se! lements merchant's shophouse. Historically, it is associated with the global historical personality of Dr. Sun Yat Sen and his revolutionary movement. This city was added to the UNESCO's world heritage list in 2008 to acknowledge its rich cultural heritage that constitutes of unique architectural and cultural townscape along the Straits of Melaka. This paper investigates the architectural plan of a shophouse and the values of cultural heritage buildings, which eventually were converted into a Museum in George Town, Penang. Classifi ed as an eclectic style shophouse, it is rich in design and art components featured in its architecture that are still sustaining until today. This building has an interesting mixture of architectural and cultural inspirations adapted from the Chinese origin, with the local Malay ethnicity and the European infl uences that colonised the region. The introduction of new non related architectural components into the southern Chinese style in shophouses in George Town has resulted in the disappearance of this unique style of architecture. This investigation employs a qualitative research approach by documenting evidence and understanding the architectural as well as cultural infl uences of the southern Chinese eclectic style by studying the Sun Yat Sen Museum as a case study. The fi ndings of the research point towards an understanding of the architectural and cultural infl uences that govern the design of the shophouse and its architectural character.

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PurposeThe traditional courtyard shophouses modifications, alterations and deterioration over the years have become a source of concern to major stakeholders. In George Town World Heritage Site Malaysia, studies have shown that the worst hit among its various shophouses are the Straits Chinese traditional courtyard eclectic style shophouses. This paper investigates the traditional courtyard shophouses concerning the role of architectural formation design components, and how this can sustain the place identity of the Straits Chinese typology.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological approach regards the collection of data and analysis of 30 face-to-face interviews and the observation of Lots number 3, 5 and 7, located along Lorong Ikan, George Town World Heritage Site.FindingsIt was found that these Lots express the place identity of the Straits Chinese, and its major exterior architecture components to be observed are the column head (Chi Tou) capital, parapet wall, bressummer beam and ionic column, and gable and gable ends.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is limited to the role of architectural formation design components. Future research is needed to expand the scope of participant elements via a quantitative approach. This will enhance the validation of findings from this paper.Practical implicationsIt is recommended the use of the proposed checklist to enhance the sustainability of the architectural components regarding the place identity of these styles of shophouses, which provides salutary lessons on how to preserve the heritage buildings. Also, major stakeholders with leading evidence from relevant government agencies should ensure the preservation of these cultural and heritage buildings for the next generation.Social implicationsThis paper found that the family beliefs and social impact were the components that express the place identity of the Straits Chinese.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates that the role of architectural formation design components regarding place identity of Straits Chinese traditional courtyard eclectic style shophouses cannot be over-emphasised.