Sentul Depot – Once An Old Railway Workshop, Now A Lifestyle Space

A space that has a history since 1905, Sentul Depot was once one of the finest railway engineering workshops in the world serving the Federated Malay States Railway. Subsequently it was taken over by KTM Berhad in the early 2000s as a storage for most of their decommissioned locomotives.

The historical railway depot has shaped the community of Sentul with its workforce of over 5,000 employees at one point of time.

In 2009, it was no longer used and the 200,000 square feet space left abandoned towards the brink of dilapidation.

Fortunately, with YTL Land’s urban regeneration efforts around Sentul West, Sentul Depot was revived into a modern lifestyle space but with a large part of its structure still preserved.

The rejuvenation plan is to convert Sentul Depot into a lifestyle destination in Kuala Lumpur, inspired by famous destinations such as the Meat Packing District of New York and Xintiandi of Shanghai.

Since it was first opened to the public in 2018, the Depot has hosted many events including curated bazaars and pop-up markets, product launches, photo, film and commercial shoots, art and cultural festivals, and even weddings.

The latest space added at Sentul Depot is the Tiffin At The Yard, a trendy gourmet food court which features many interesting and delicious food and beverages. The management has restored a 22,000 square feet train engineering workshop for the beautiful food space.

Apart from food and drink offerings, the vast space will also host artisanal food markets, wellness weekends, pop-up dinners and theme evenings.

The heritage preservation challenge

Yeoh Pei Teeng, director of YTL Land & Development Berhad in an email interview with The Star said that “Working on the adaptation project to restore the Depot to its former glory required a unique approach and specialised skills.”

“Decisions on design and detailing, re-construction, building form and structure encompass a multi-disciplinary approach to respond to the building’s age, characteristics and history.

“We could end up causing irreparable damage during restoration work unless we have the correct expertise, skill sets and tools,” explained Yeoh.

The key challenge, she added, is the preservation of the historical and cultural significance of the heritage buildings, which are all over 100 years old. The warehouses and workshops are in a dilapidated state, having gone through a century of extensive wear and tear.

One issue was in finding the right materials.

“The warehouses feature building materials that have not been used in over a century, hence innovative solutions were needed for irreplaceable materials. Any new additions should not deviate materially from the Depot’s historical value, and materials selected have to be integrated seamlessly into the original architecture,” said Yeoh.

Find out more about other buildings that’s repurposed into exciting spaces: Old Buildings In Kuala Lumpur Given A New Breath of Life