Charles Geoffrey Boutcher

Last updated March 19, 2019

Charles Geoffrey Boutcher (1884–1964) was a London-born architect and a partner of the Penang, Ipoh and Johor architectural firm, Stark & McNeill, in Malaysia. His most recognized project is the construction of the Zahir Mosque in Alor Setar. In 1932, he started his own practice under the name of Boutcher & Co., located at 9 Weld Quay, Penang. Boutcher & Co. was the sole Penang-based architectural company to have been resuscitated after the European war. Boutcher also had offices at 19 Beach Street in Penang and at 21 Hale Street in Ipoh. The practice was terminated only after Boutcher retired in 1953.^[1]

Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. The second smallest Malaysian state by land mass, Penang is bordered by Kedah to the north and the east, and Perak to the south. Currently, Penang is home to Southeast Asia's Longest bridge connecting the island to mainland.

Ipoh is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak. Located by the Kinta River, it is nearly 180 km (110 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur and 123 km (76 mi) southeast of George Town in neighbouring Penang. As of 2010, Ipoh contained a population of 657,892, making it the third largest city in Malaysia by population.

Johor, formerly known as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to both the west and east. Johor Bahru is the capital city and the economic centre of the state, Kota Iskandar is the seat of the state government, and Muar serves as the royal town of the state. The old state capital is Johor Lama. As of the 2015 census, the state's population is 3,553,600. Johor has highly diverse tropical rainforests and an equatorial climate. The state's mountain ranges form part of the Titiwangsa Range, which is part of the larger Tenasserim Range connected to Thailand and Myanmar, with Mount Ophir being the highest point in Johor.

Education

Boutcher studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and at the City of London College. He was certified in advanced geometry, architectural perspective, honours building construction, land surveying, mathematics, quantity surveying. In 1906, he studied a fourth-year course at the Architectural Association. He became the secretary of the Architectural Association's Camera, Sketch and Debate Club.

The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Central became part of the London Institute in 1986, and in 1989 merged with Saint Martin's School of Art to form Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design.

Architectural Association School of Architecture independent school of architecture in the UK

The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme of exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications have given it a central position in global discussions and developments within contemporary architectural culture.

Career

His first workplace was the office of T. Hamilton, Crawford and George Jack. As from 1907, he worked with Leonard Stokes, Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He started his own practice at 40 Great James Street, Bedford Row, London from 1909 to 1913. In 1910 he was appointed an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He went to Malaysia in 1913 and joined the Public Works Department (PWD) in Kedah.

Leonard Aloysius Scott Stokes was an English architect.

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km²) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its charter granted in 1837 and Supplemental Charter granted in 1971.

He designed various buildings in Alor Setar, Kedah, among which are: the Zahir Mosque, the Residence of the President of the State Council, English schools, hospitals, the Kedah Club buildings, the Central Market, government bungalows, the Central Police Station, government officers' quarters, the bridge approach, shophouses, Indian Club buildings.

Alor Setar, formerly known as Alor Star from 2004 to 2008, is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It sits along the country's longest expressway, located 400 km (250 mi) from Kuala Lumpur and 79 km (49 mi) north of George Town, Penang. The city is home to the Central State Administration Centre and is the administrative centre of Kota Setar District.

Kedah, also known by its honorific Darul Aman or "Abode of Peace", is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and the Langkawi islands. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice, while Langkawi is an archipelago, most of which are uninhabited islands.

The Zahir Mosque is a mosque in Alor Setar, Kota Setar, Kedah, Malaysia, and the state mosque of the state of Kedah. The Zahir Mosque is one of the grandest and oldest mosques in Malaysia, having been built in 1912. The design was inspired by the vision of the late Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Abidin II, who was in turn inspired by the Azizi Mosque of the Langkat Sultanate in North Sumatra. The state's anual Qurʾān-reading competition is held within the premises of the mosque.

In 1920, he obtain a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) accreditation.

Partner architects

John Mackie Venters:^[2] Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Weng-Kuan Chan: Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Associate member of the Institute of Architects Malaya; partner at Ipoh atelier
Chiao Venzoong: Shanghai-born architectural assistant
M.P. Holmberg: Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Arthur Mylo: former partner of Stark & McNeill
V.R. Savi: Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
George M. Davidson: Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects

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References

↑ Lim, Jon Sun Hock. The Penang House and the Straits Architect 1887–1941. Penang: Areca Books, 2015. ISBN 9789675719196
↑ John Mackie Venters, Dictionary of Scottish Architects, 2014.

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[1] Lim, Jon Sun Hock. The Penang House and the Straits Architect 1887–1941. Penang: Areca Books, 2015. ISBN 9789675719196

[2] John Mackie Venters, Dictionary of Scottish Architects, 2014.