Township building today is a far cry from yesteryears, as projects such as Kota Seriemas reveals

In a world where “green” is in, new attractions such as parks, gardens, canals and lakes are dictating the appeal of residential developments and laying to rest the days when the mere act of building and selling a houses drove profits.

It is part of a trend that is making real estate developers spend like never before on the living environment surrounding the products they are selling, namely houses. This has now become part of the business, and to stand out, developers have to become a lot more creative. If they manage to strike the right note, they'll strike it rich too, plus get recognised for it.

They also stand to win the Award of Distinction from the Malaysian chapter of Fiabci – the international Real Estate Federation, which qualifies them to move on to compete for the Prix d'Excelence , where contenders from all over the globe vie for the much-coveted trophy in their respective fields.

Here, the winners represent the best of the best in real estate development in the world, and are honoured at an award ceremony during Fiabci's annual World Congress.

At the recent Fiabci Award of Distinction presentation ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur, five projects made it to the Prix level. Among them was a new award – the Best Master Planning award which echoes people's growing demand for better quality living environments.

Gamuda Land Bhd's 1,240-acre Bandar Botanic township in Klang, Selangor, went down in history as being the first developer to be conferred this award.

Another company sharing the same zeal to go beyond mediocrity in the development business is Yee Seng Heights Sdn Bhd, which won the award for best Residential Development for its 120-acre Bukit Gita Bayu gated homestead project located in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.

Both these companies have been quick to realise that the living environment beyond the home – how it functions, and whether it addresses health, educational, social and recreational needs – speaks more than a thousand words to convince house buyers.

But this is not to say that these who did not win any award or chose not to be a contender, are giving less regard for the communities they are creating.

A noteworthy example is Golden Hope Development Sdn Bhd's Kota Seriemas, a 2,800-acre residential development some 15km from KLIA and 20km from Putrajaya that carries the tagline: “Quality garden living concept in an environment that promotes social and cultural values.”

To live up with its word, the new township has been planned to emphasise on healthy living, enhanced environmental quality, educational opportunities and consciously incorporated urban designs which are child-friendly.

Deserving particular mention are the following priorities that have been laid out by the developer to ensure that the vision for Kota Seriemas is achieved:

• More open spaces and parks have been designated for environmental protection and greenery. Golden Hope has done this by devoting 12 per cent of the entire 2,800 acres for open space, instead of the statutory 10 per cent requirement.
• Water features have been created in various forms to promote an environmentally friendly development. A string of lakes (eight in total which are themed and linked to each other) grace Kota Seriemas' public parks, serving as the “green connector” for all the public spaces in the community.
• In support of community livability (that is, a living environment that enhances the residents' quality of life), the developer has placed emphasis on the provision of sufficient child-friendly facilities, such as recreational amenities. In addition to the parks and lakes are jogging and cycling tracks, playgrounds, and gathering places.

The centre piece of Kota Seriemas' 336-acre green must surely be its eight thematic parks spread over 87 acres with the following characteristics:

• Urban forest park ( Laman hutan Bandar );
• Urban park ( Laman Bandar );
• Integration park ( Laman integrasi );
• Central park ( Laman utama );
• Educational park ( Laman ilmu );
• Nature park ( Laman alam );
• Community park ( Laman komuniti ); and
• Forest park ( Laman rimba ).

Of all, the Educational park or Laman ilmu will be the largest at 16.04 acres and is the first to be implemented.

The park's concept is founded on the five senses of the human being, which are touch, scent, taste, sight and sound. Zones depicting each of these senses have been landscaped to provide a fun learning and interactive play environment for the young ones as well as the elderly.

The touch zone
In the touch zone, different types of materials and textures are used for the hardscape as well as the softscape features.

Elements such as a cutstone walkway and playground are incorporated to enable visitors to explore the zone by touching.

There is also a boardwalk where visitors can experience the variety of water flora and fauna in the park. Among the key attractions being planned are a reflexology are and an exercise station nearby.

The scent zone
The scent or smell zone has three types of gardens planted with aromatic and fragrant plants all labelled for easy identification. Visitors walking through these grounds can take in the aroma of herbs and flora such as the rose and magnolia.

The taste zone
An orchard garden planted with a variety of tropical fruits (both seasonal and non-seasonal), a food kiosk and a picnic area are planned to make up this zone. Visitors here can enjoy local fruits such as mangosteens and pulasan at the food kiosks or have a leisurely picnic at the picnic area.

The sight zone
Probably the most eye-catching of all zones, this area features colourful shrubs along pathways and slopes, a main plaza and a rainbow walkway. Children can also learn basic shapes with the benches that have been erected throughout the park. In the future, a mini arboretum will be part of the sight zone.

The hearing zone
The hearing zone allows visitors to pick up variety of sounds including that of water falling, created either by nature or man-made elements. A bamboo garden, a palm garden, a pigeon hole and a control structure are among the several landscape components of the zone.

Kota Seriemas' eight thematic lake-parks will be quite a tough act to follow. Not only is it a development that is sensitive to its natural settings by building upon the legacy of the land, it is one that will develop the senses of its residents.