George Town, Penang needs little introduction to most visitors. An obvious entry point into the Malay peninsula, it is in fact a city and best explored on foot. Repeat visitors find comfort in their familiarity with a network of heritage interests – walking tours of Peranakan food, ghostly abodes, art murals or book locations. Tradition and legend charmingly crisscross the city’s rapid urbanisation. Bringing the floor beds back to their original levels, conservation architects Think City, working alongside master masons from Italy via the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), discovered that the fundamental relationship between nature and skill had been separated and needed to be revived. That meaningful reconstruction had to include natural materials for plastering and flooring, and the best practice conservation work involved traditional technique, with innovative materials.