Of beautiful landscapes and living with nature

NOTHING feels more refreshing than when one is outdoors, relaxing under a shade as a gentle breeze flows, breathing in the fresh air and listening to the hum of nature. There is no denying that a nice and green landscaped environment can bring life to a living space and take residential living up a notch.

“If landscapes are designed properly, then you will give an enduring environment for the residents to live in. It can be your companion throughout the time that you live in that development,” says landscape architect and the managing director of Walrus Designs Sdn Bhd, Julien Thomas Hodson-Walker.

As time passes, the landscape matures and becomes more lush and beautiful.

“Time is a great companion to a landscape. Buildings look best when they are first developed but they deteriorate over time. But, it is the opposite for landscapes. They look [their] worst when they are completed but they look better and better as the development such as a township matures, so residents can definitely look forward to that,” Hodson-Walker tells TheEdgeProperty.com.

Hodson-Walker started off as a landscape architect in Derek Lovejoy Partnership in the UK in 1993 before he made his move to Asia and the Middle East. Since then, he has worked with Aspinwall Clouston before moving to Walrus Design (formerly known as ICN Design International Sdn Bhd). Hodson-Walker has worked on many projects locally including Desa ParkCity, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur and the Putrajaya Urban Design Guidelines for Precincts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 18.

Overseas, he has worked on projects such as the York Science Park in the UK, Sharm El Sheikh hotel and resort complex in Egypt, the Orchard Road Experience District 9 in Singapore and office complex Raheja Towers in India. He holds a post graduate diploma in landscape architecture with distinction as well as a Bachelor of Arts in landscape architecture from Manchester Polytechnic. He is an associate member of the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia, the Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects and the Chartered Landscape Architect of The Landscape Institute, UK.

His latest project is Gamuda Gardens, a township development by Gamuda Land, the property arm of Gamuda Bhd.

“Over the years of my work in landscaping, I feel it is important to design a landscape that ultimately suits its end-users,” says Hodson-Walker.

Having worked on previous Gamuda Land projects, Hodson-Walker clearly knows that one of the key features of successful townships in Malaysia is the green component and well-planned landscapes that bring value to the township as well as the community as a whole.

At Gamuda Gardens, the 810-acre township in Kuang, Selangor will have a 50-acre central park with a cascading waterfall of 18m in height.

The park will be located at the centre of the township and is inspired by traditional English country parks. There will also be five lakes within the park, which will be an integral part of the township’s storm-water retention system.

“Previously, this site was a rubber plantation. We are committed to environmental restitution for the site as what you have seen in past Gamuda projects such as the Kota Kemuning Wetland or the indigenous forest planted around the golf course in Valencia,” says Hodson-Walker, who was also involved in the landscaping of these two projects.

Trees such as the jelutong, meranti and jati will be planted in the central park, he says. The developer intends to commission an independent baseline audit of flora and fauna within the site for the next 10 years to measure the rate and level of success in their goal of increasing bio-diversity through environmental restitution.

“There will also be marginal wetland fringes around the lakes to provide spawning grounds for fish and amphibians which in turn encourage waterfowl and small mammals to inhabit the lake edges.”

Another important aspect in designing the outdoor environment is safety. “Safety plays a crucial part in our landscape planning and the water margins are designed to be safe and accessible to provide children with the opportunities to interact with the water,” Hodson-Walker explains.

Initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of developing the site include sustainable drainage systems that protect the groundwater; recycling and reusing of felled rubber trees for medium density fibreboard and timber products through third party processors; and mulching and composting of organic debris from the site clearance for re-use as soil conditioner in future landscape work.

Hodson-Walker will also be incorporating a viewing tower to provide visitors with a vantage 360° view of the entire valley.

“We will also have a 4km mixed terrain cycling trail that will navigate through the lakes and woodlands. The whole terrain is designed to be walkable and accessible, whereby it will be on a flat surface so that those who are skating or scooting, or even those on a wheelchair will be able to do so freely,” he offers.

One interesting feature of the park is that it will be located on a slope.

“The slopes give way to an integrated area with designated zones for different ages of play. Activities for toddlers and younger children are close to public facilities. For instance, the car park will be located next to the playground. The play equipment for older children takes advantage of the naturally sloping terrain and includes canopy walkways, zip lines and obstacle courses with stainless steel slides bedded into the slopes,” says Hodson-Walker, adding that there will also be a fully-equipped camp ground with camping platforms.

Its developer also plans to create a vibrant commercial village within Gamuda Gardens which offers retail outlets, restaurants and modern amenities to cater to the needs of the residents as well as to the visitors of the park.

“After a few years, the park will be handed over to the local authorities, so we have designed the park in a way that it can be easily maintained. We don’t have a lot of ornamental shrubs and flowering plants [in the park], but more woodlands and flowing paths and lakes. In that way, the character of the park can be maintained,” says Hodson-Walker.

Gamuda Gardens will be developed over 15 years and has an estimated gross development value of over RM10.1 billion. The first phase of the project will consist of 300 units of double-storey terraced houses with built-up sizes of 20ft by 75ft and 22ft by 75ft. Selling price for the units starts from RM700,000.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Jan 27, 2017, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.