Every Malaysian shophouse is a world unto itself. Behind the narrow, brightly coloured façades of George Town’s historic centre, these hybrid dwellings unfold into surprising depths. Beyond the entrance—often anchored by a modest shopfront—one discovers a space that is part workshop, part parlour. At its heart, beneath an open shaft of light, lies an inner courtyard where life and commerce meet. Here, customers mingle with shopkeepers, their families, and their friends.
At the very back, a private room traditionally holds the kitchen, from which the scents of coconut milk, ginger and lemongrass often drift—a sure sign that nasi lemak is on the stove.

Two centuries before Aesop was founded, Malaysians—and indeed much of East Asia—conceived such spaces as semi-public places where one might also feel at home. In Penang, shophouses remain deeply cherished: they are an important, sturdy thread in the fabric of the city’s social life.

The Aesop store at Gurney Plaza echoes the shophouses’ distinctive
proportions—narrow yet extending deep within. A dramatic rhythm, traced across the ceiling, heightens this impression: formed of three bands of tambour panel, the surface rises and falls in a gentle wave. This timber material, usually employed in the making of traditional sliding doors, is reinterpreted here for its pliant and flexible qualities. Through its curves, the store divides naturally into three parts—entrance, main room, and back of house—without the need for walls. At its centre, one feels sheltered from the mall’s bustle, welcomed into a space of generous dimensions, fit for unhurried conversations. Much like George Town’s shophouses, the design conjures a certain familiar impression: ‘this feels like home’.