Of Beautiful Landscapes and Living With Nature

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.

Source: The Edge Property