DEVELOPING A HERITAGE BUILDING REVITALISATION MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR COMMERCIALISATION

Authors

  • Umi Kalsum Zolkafli @Zulkifly Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, UNIVERSITI MALAYA
  • Norhanim Zakaria Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, UNIVERSITI MALAYA
  • Maisarah Makmor Centre of Surveying and Management (Quantity Surveying), Faculty of Built Environment, UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
  • Loo Siaw Chuing Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, UNIVERSITI MALAYA
  • Ali Sunandar Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNIVERSITAS MERCU BUANA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i44.2264

Keywords:

Commercialisation, Cost Analysis, Heritage, Revitalisation Management Framework, Shophouses

Abstract

Heritage buildings represent valuable cultural and economic assets that can generate long-term social and financial benefits when managed effectively. However, many heritage buildings continue to deteriorate because of neglect, high maintenance costs, limited management guidelines, and insufficient understanding of conservation practices, creating significant technical and economic uncertainty. This study aims to identify the value added generated through heritage building revitalisation by developing a management framework to support sustainable commercialisation. A qualitative research design was adopted, comprising a review of conservation contract documents for heritage shophouses and two rounds of Delphi discussions involving 10 to 15 experts to refine and validate the framework. The findings identified six key characteristics influencing commercialisation potential, namely location, historical significance, aesthetic value, architectural value, tourist attraction, and economic and social value, with location emerging as the most influential factor. The analysis further identified five interrelated management variables consisting of revitalisation scope, construction cost, maintenance, operational cost, and value appreciation. Building works accounted for the largest proportion of construction costs at 68 percent, while value appreciation was demonstrated through social, political, aesthetic, historical, cultural, and economic dimensions, including substantial improvements in rental and capital values following revitalisation. The proposed framework provides a practical decision support tool for investors and practitioners involved in heritage shophouse revitalisation by balancing heritage conservation with commercial viability while supporting the long-term preservation of cultural, historical, social, and architectural values.

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Published

2026-10-07

How to Cite

Zolkafli @Zulkifly, U. K., Zakaria, N., Makmor, M., Chuing, L. S., & Sunandar, A. (2026). DEVELOPING A HERITAGE BUILDING REVITALISATION MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR COMMERCIALISATION. PLANNING MALAYSIA, 24(44). https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i44.2264

Issue

Vol. 24 (2026): PLANNING MALAYSIA JOURNAL : Volume 24, Issue 5, 2026

Section

Article

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eISSN: 0128-0945 © Year. The Authors. Published for Malaysian Institute of Planners. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

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