Lee Rubber Building, Art Deco building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Lee Rubber Building is a five-storey structure at the corner of Jalan Tun H. S. Lee and Jalan Hang Lekir, designed by Arthur Oakley Coltman of Booty Edwards & Partners. Its grey Modernist Art Deco façade has striated lines and mouldings, a 45-degree corner topped by a flagpole, and a flat roof without cornice. Solid wall-like pillars break the five-foot way, and a pediment shows the building's original name in English and Chinese.
The building was completed in 1930 and was then the tallest in Kuala Lumpur. From 1942 to 1945 the Japanese secret police used it as its headquarters. A floor was added in the 1950s, making it five storeys. Lee Rubber Group sold it in 2015, and it reopened on 11 August 2022 as the 49-room hotel Else Kuala Lumpur.
The pediment still carries the building's original name in English and Chinese, a detail visible from the street corner. The five-foot way along the ground floor, interrupted by solid wall-like pillars, is a colonial-era covered walkway that pedestrians still use today.
The building now operates as Else Kuala Lumpur, a small luxury hotel with 49 guestrooms and suites, opened to the public on 11 August 2022. It stands at the corner of Jalan Tun H. S. Lee and Jalan Hang Lekir, a short walk northeast of the Pasar Seni LRT and MRT station. A new podium and two extra floors sit above the original four-storey structure.
Interior courtyards bring natural daylight into the heart of the building's older spaces during a careful renovation. This design choice balanced modern comfort with respect for the original exterior shell.
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