New Sabah Art Gallery conservation centre to be the first green building

The upcoming Sabah Art Gallery Conservation Centre has been earmarked to be the first green government building in the state. The RM15 million building is located at Penampang Road where it is almost completed and is fully built next March where it is expected to be under the GBI (Green Building Index) of Sabah. According to Datuk Masidi Manjun, the Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, in order to fulfil the GBI requirements, the consultants have made some changes to the original design of the architecture.

This is where it includes all the energy producing systems that include those used to operate the air-conditioners while it will also be using sensor lightings, LED technology and rainwater being harvested for the washrooms. The minister said that with government buildings and premises being plagued by high maintenance costs for energy, this would be a break from the norm where sunlight and solar energy are being used which will then help to reduce these costs.

The new gallery is made up of 4 floors where there will be a working area in the first, the main entrance on the second, an art gallery and library of resources on the third while meeting rooms, office space and another gallery will be housed on the fourth and top floor. The building was originally targeted to complete earlier as the inclement weather has caused it to push back by 3 months. With 150 rainy days recorded in 2011, construction work could only be effectively carried out for 5 months. At the moment, the structure has already been enacted while there are still 80% of the infrastructure yet to be completed.

To exude the local arts and culture, the design of the building was derived from the local structure which exudes the ‘wakid’ which is a traditional carrier basket used by the Kadazan Dusun people here, which is one of the largest groups in the state. Hence, this will effectively reflect the local lifestyle of the people in Sabah where it is expected to be used for the next century to demonstrate and exhibit the rich culture and traditions of the communities here to the public.