Artist’s illustration of Rymba Gardens.
THE Covid-19 pandemic has brought massive changes to our daily lives, changes that happened rapidly and abruptly.
While the situation remains uncertain with everyone continuously making adjustments to the new normal, it spurs us to rethink the definition of the place we call home.
No longer just a roof above our head and where we seek refuge, home is now also a place where we work.
With the encouragement to stay home and stay safe, as well as taking extra precautions by sanitising once we return home, we are now spending unprecedentedly more time at home.
Scientists predict this upended lifestyle will continue for a long time.
More pocket parks to spread out the users, making each park less crowded.
Adjusting to the new normal may be challenging, but a good town with all the right components in place can ease this transition.
Having created many long-established townships such as Jade Hills, Valencia and Kota Kemuning that are still thriving today, Gamuda Land’s town-making principles are reassuring to be resilient yet flexible and adaptive to meet the changing needs.
Mindful town-planning
“The pandemic has forced us to change our working and living habits,” said Jade Hills general manager Wee Pang Siang.
He said they had seen living spaces transformed into work spaces and a surge in appreciation of nature and outdoor spaces after being confined at home for some time.
Jade Hills’ Origami Park.
“At Gamuda Land, our town-making principles are our differentiator.
“Driven by data and experience, we mindfully think through the design of a township, where the park is located, how the streets are laid out to provide good accessibility and connectivity for the community, and how the community interacts within these places.”
Wee continued, “Hence, we place upfront investment in natural landscaping with home designs such as floor-to-ceiling windows that draw natural lighting and ventilation indoors.
“We also have generous and practical home layouts that are easily converted to fit any function, good infrastructure including contactless RFID access into the township, and more.”
Multipurpose room at the lower ground floor.
He highlighted that some of these features had in fact long existed in their developments, which then became an advantage to evolve with the times.
“By adding a splash of creativity to our developments, we are able to give the right design solutions to support the new normal and even for the longer term.”
Continuous rejuvenation of township
This is best exemplified in Jade Hills, a 136.8ha (338-acre) freehold township in Kajang with 20% of the land dedicated to lush greenery.
Despite the township being 12 years old, Jade Hills has been rejuvenated at the developer’s expense to add value to the community.
Mindful home design that draws natural lighting and ventilation indoor.
Some of the initiatives include opening a new resident-only central park; refurbishment of the guardhouse with RFID technology; installation of energy-saving overhead lighting at the driveway into the township; opening of Malaysia’s first-of-its-kind 1.2ha (three-acre) public park named Origami Park; and opening of a new town square that comes with a good mix of tenants such as eateries, bars, a grocer, a pharmacy and more.
“Inherent features of the township, such as low-density residence, lush surrounding greenery, placemaking that ensures the home place, shopping place and eating place are within walking or biking distance plus the enhancements that have been made just before the pandemic, truly eases the local community throughout the pre to post MCO given the physical distancing mandate,” Wee explained.
“Among others, they can easily attend to their daily essentials at the town square and with more pocket parks to spread out the users, making each park less crowded.
“There is also a composting yard for residents to use, given rising environmental concerns amid the pandemic.”
He commented that the developer was exploring plans to enhance the outdoor landscape to enable outdoor working from home, by adding more solar technology charging or power points, sanitary facilities, a cooking area next to
the community farm and landscape furniture, such as planters or flower pots, to define and ensure physical distancing.Flexible home layout
In terms of the home place at Jade Hills, Wee cited Rymba Gardens as an example.
Comprising limited units of two-and-a-half-storey semi-detached houses as well as two-storey and two-and-a-half-storey link villas, Rymba Gardens is surrounded by lush greenery.
Besides having direct access to the four-hectare (10-acre) central park and lake, residents can also choose to utilise the precinct’s pocket parks that are fitted with a garden pavilion, an outdoor fitness station and a children’s play station.
Homes at Rymba Gardens are designed to maximise views or access to all these outdoor greenery, so that nature can be enjoyed anywhere at home through the floor-to-ceiling windows or from the kitchen yard, providing a refreshing break while working from home.
In line with the developer’s town-making principle of “listening to what the land has to say,” homes here are designed to follow the undulating terrain of the land to minimise cut and fill.
“This inspires us to design Rymba Gardens with a lower ground floor, where the laundry area and a multipurpose room are located.
“The laundry area has a toilet and a room, which can be used as a space for sanitisation, whereas the multipurpose room can be turned into a home office,” Wee said.
He added that each bedroom comes with an en suite bathroom and there was a sizeable bedroom on the ground floor for the elderly.
The high ceiling and open-plan layout that invites natural light, plus a large living and dining area sum up a flexible living space that provides comfort when staying at home with the family.
“With detailed planning and careful consideration towards the impact on the environment as well as what people truly need, this is how we create good sustainable townships where the community can thrive, a place where they will want to call home, can grow up and grow old in,” concluded Wee.
For more information about Rymba Gardens, visit Jade Hills Sales Gallery or call 03-8741 9890.
