Brought To Delight: Sultan Suleiman Royal Mosque Exhibition

Posted on August 21, 2018 Updated on August 21, 2018

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

BROUGHT TO DELIGHT
20th Aug – 8th Sept 2018, 10am – 6pm
Main Lobby, PAM Centre
FREE admission

As part of a collaboration and partnership between Badan Warisan Malaysia, Linea Architect Sdn Bhd with KLAF2018 and Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM), BROUGHT TO DELIGHT is an exhibition featuring the recently conserved Sultan Suleiman Royal Mosque, Klang, curated and produced by Badan Warisan Malaysia.

ABOUT THE MOSQUE

The Sultan Suleiman Royal Mosque was officiated as the Suleiman Jamiur Rahmah Mosque when it was completed in 1933. The building was designed as an octagonal garden pavilion-like structure at the foot of the old Astana Mahkota Puri in Klang. It was the largest concrete structure in Malaya in 1933 – quite an engineering feat at a time when reinforced concrete was relatively new.

An Art Deco edifice, the mosque stands as one of the most unique religious architecture in the country. The ambitious project involved close consultations with the fifth Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Alaeddin Suleiman Shah, who selected the site and vetted through the design and planning details. Design credits go to the architect, Leofric Kesteven (Chairman of the Malayan Institute of Architects from 1931 to 1933); John Thomas Chester, the reinforced concrete specialist attached to United Engineers Ltd; and Rodolfo Nolli, the Singapore based Italian sculptor who worked on the ornaments of the building.

The mosque has stood for over eight decades, but not without transformations to its interior and Ablution Pavilion, affecting its original design intentions. Jabatan Kerja Raya Negeri Selangor, with assistance from the Jabatan Warisan Negara and Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor, had successfully completed the restoration of the mosque in November 2017. The building has been brought back to its original 1933 appearance (as closely as possible), which includes the uncovering of colourful bas-reliefs adorning its upper walls and its original sunken ablution pond.

As consultants to Jabatan Kerja Raya Negeri Selangor, Linea Architect Sdn. Bhd. and Badan Warisan Heritage Services had worked together in recording the original architectural details and the construction process involved in the restoration of the Sultan Suleiman Royal Mosque from 2015 to 2017. These records serve as references to understand Malaya’s architectural scene in the early 1930s and would be displayed at PAM Centre from 20th to 26th August 2018.

The Sultan Suleiman Royal Mosque was placed under the National Heritage list in 2012. A ceremony to mark the completion of its restoration took place on 3 November 2017, officiated by the Sultan of Selangor, HRH Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj.