Conserving cultural values of heritage buildings from the facilities management perspective in Malaysia

The paper describes how expert views were elicited in developing a conceptual framework of conserving cultural values of heritage buildings (CVHB) from the facilities management perspective (fm). It proposes the manifestation of fm perspective of people, place, process, and technology as a tool to sustain the physical condition and integrity of a HB and its CV according to fm dimension before a HB is endorsed as a heritage. The linkages between fm and CVHB will help to produce a guideline for conserving CVHB from fm perspective (CVHBfm) at the initial phase of conservation in Malaysia. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study opted for an exploratory approach; three expert interviews were conducted from three levels of conservation practitioners drawn from strategic, tactical, and operational levels. A matrix thematic was used to manifest the qualitative variables in mapping the conceptual framework. The respondents will provide views and linkages between eight criteria of CVHB (social, economic, political, historic, aesthetical, scientific, age, and ecological) and fm dimension (people, place, process, and technology) in conserving a HB at the preliminary phase of conservation. The responses from these respondents will provide insights into how fm perspective manifest and epistemological construct with CVHB variables that will be integrated in a case study method for further investigation inquiry.

In this paper, the study indicates an fm perspective of people, place, process, and technology, associates and epistemological constructed with CVHB criteria of social, historic, aesthetical, and scientific in sustaining the physical condition and integrity of CVHB from fm dimension in Malaysia. The respondents from three levels of conservation practitioners (strategic, tactical, and operational) have explained and elaborated briefly the connotation between CVHB and fm in mapping the framework. It also provides insights into how fm dimension manifests with those CVHB variables in conserving a HB before it is endorsed as a heritage at the initial stage of conservation.

Moving from this exploratory study, further research will be undertaken. In-depth interviews will be carried out with a rigorous emphasis on fm and eight criteria of CVHB with a greater number of experts on HB conservation from strategic, tactical, and operational levels in Malaysia. Documents suggested during the initial study such as The National Heritage Act 2005 (Malaysia) and UNESCO's outstanding universal values (OUV) will be analysed and framed in mapping the conceptual framework. Further investigation will assist Malaysia in advancing the application of fm perspective to enhance the conservation of HB and its CV by highlighting the role of fm as a robust tool in sustaining the integrity HB in Malaysia.