Malaysia scores at Unesco heritage awards with George Town’s seawall project

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — The Esplanade Seawall and Promenade project in George Town has been recognised in the 2025 Unesco Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, receiving the New Design in Heritage Contexts award with Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.

The project was among ten winners selected from six countries, including China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal and Vanuatu.

“The Esplanade Seawall and Promenade project has set a national benchmark for conservation-cum-new design in the reimagining of a historic civic space, incorporating an innovative hybrid of traditional and modern-day engineering elements in the face of coastal degradation,” the jury said.

“The design maintains form and function to enhance community well-being, improve access to the waterfront, and support environmental stewardship in response to climate change.”

The jury noted that the new seawall features a wide promenade replicating its 19th-century typology, with traditional granite construction, a concealed sheet-pile toe and rock revetment for erosion resistance. A lower terrace submerges during spring tides, exposing the original seawall near the Cenotaph War Memorial.

The Cenotaph War Memorial. — Picture courtesy of Unesco/Kazuho Nakatani

According to Unesco, the enhancement of Esplanade’s historicity highlights the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage property “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca”. Its dual-structure, use of local materials and stakeholder governance are being studied as models across Malaysia.

The Award of Distinction, the highest honour this year, went to the Iwami Ginzan Library Conservation Project in Oda, Japan, and the Sihang Warehouse Conservation Project in Shanghai, China.

The 2025 awards marked the 25th anniversary of the programme, which has recognised hundreds of projects since 2000. This year’s winners were chosen from a record 90 entries submitted from 16 countries, reflecting a growing emphasis on sustainability and community engagement in heritage conservation across Asia and the Pacific.

[Source: Malay Mail]