S P Setia blazes the trail of holistic living.

BY ANGIE NG
angie@thestar.com.my

Lepironia Gardens at Setia Eco Glades, Winner of MLAA Excellence Award.

S P Setia Bhd’s corporate culture of building responsibly to put in place environmental-friendly property infrastructure and innovative landscape design concepts has ensured its developments are well master-planned and designed sustainably for the current and future generations.

The efforts saw the developer clinching five awards at the Malaysia Landscape Architecture Awards (MLAA) 2015 by the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM).

Lepironia Garden at Setia Eco Glades in Cyberjaya won the Excellent Award while three other projects that clinched Honours are Urban Park at Setia Alam, Eco Village at Setia Eco Gardens in Iskandar, Johor, and Garden of 8 Fountains at Setia Eco Park, Shah Alam. Metamorphosis Park at Setia Eco Cascadia in Johor Baru received the Merit Award.

According to S P Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Khor Chap Jen, the focus on sustainability and ecological preservation is not only considered part of the company’s corporate responsibility, it is deeply embedded in everything it does.

Setia Eco Templer is a nature lover's dream come true. It is surrounded by nine flowing creeks and a magnificent view of a tropical rainforest.

Whether it is landed projects or high-rise developments, the developer is committed to create green spaces for the community.

“Ultimately, Setia aims to provide our communities with a genuinely eco and sustainable environment where they can live, learn, work and play. By providing a holistic environment that is the ideal setting for a sustainable way of life, we are offering our residents the opportunity to create a healthy and sustainable lifestyle for themselves and their loved ones for generations to come. We believe it not only provides space for community interaction and a more cooling environment for the residents, but it is also a welcoming sight to come home to ,” Khor said.

He believes that it is pertinent that all parties keep an open communication with regards to landscape architecture and continuously cultivate a greener and healthier lifestyle for the people.

Winning the awards is a testament of the company’s LiveLearnWorkPlay development philosophy where the Setia team has always been committed to create living spaces that communities can flourish in.

Artist Impression of Sky Beach at Setia Sky Seputeh.

Since its early days, Setia has been clear about its direction to build eco and sustainable living spaces for the community, their children and generations to come. Hence, landscaping and green features have always been a priority in all our developments, be it townships or high-rise developments.

“At Setia, we respect the natural topography of the land and try our best to preserve their natural beauty, as well as conserve and transplant the flora through our expert landscape team,” Khor added.

LiveLearnWorkPlay culture

Its first township development, the 700-acre Pusat Bandar Puchong, sets the benchmark for all subsequent Setia projects. It is a well-planned development that balances affordable quality residential and commercial properties with an outstanding landscape and community-centric facilities.

Since then, it has a plethora of eco-themed townships such as Setia Eco Park, Setia EcoHill in the Klang Valley, and Setia Eco Gardens and Setia Eco Cascadia in Johor, among others.

This year, the public can look forward to two upcoming townships – Setia Eco Templer in Rawang and Setia EcoHill 2 in Semenyih.

The masterplan of the 1,010-acre Setia EcoHill 2, targeted to be launched next month, is inspired by the natural terrain of the land. Carefully manicured landscape treats residents to a unique experience that encapsulates elements of nature within the development. The upcoming launch at Setia EcoHill 2 will comprise 354 two-storey terrace houses and cluster semi-detached homes.

Setia Eco Templer in Rawang is a green paradise that incorporates exclusive residential development, a handicraft centre, a commercial centre and recreational areas for a tranquil lifestyle, within a cool, breezy and lush setting. The two-storey linked villas with built-up of 2,394 sq ft, 2,626 sq ft and 2,965 sq ft, two-storey semi-detached homes of 3,492 sq ft and 3,482 sq ft, and two-storey bungalows of 4,214 sq ft are some of the residential offerings at the project.

Artist impression of Setia Sky Ville in Penang.

In Kuala Lumpur, an upcoming high-rise project Setia Sky Seputeh, is a tropical oasis-themed luxury condominium that showcases the longest ‘sky beach’ complete with sparkling bodies of water and a host of tropical beach facilities. Extending from one end of the roof to the other, the spectacular sun-soaked tree-lined beach-in-the-sky has islands with natural sands and coconut groves.

The 290 exclusive residential units offer a choice of six spacious layouts from 2,300 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft. Each residence comes with a private lift lobby.

In Penang, Setia Sky Ville, located in the mature township of Jelutong, offers two 33-storey high-rise towers of freehold residential units with semi-detached layouts over three acres of landscaped garden, a green roof clubhouse and a multitude of family-friendly facilities at the ground floor and level seven of the development.

Meanwhile, KL Eco City is an environmentally friendly city-within-a-city that sets a new benchmark for a city of the future. It is an integrated mixed-use development with three tower blocks of luxurious service residences, a 40-storey hotel, strata offices and 12 blocks of boutique offices with private lift lobbies located on a retail podium. About a third of the overall open area in the 25-acre development will be aesthetic landscaping.

The winning streaks

Lepironia Gardens at Setia Eco Glades, Cyberjaya, Selangor

The Lepironia Gardens was designed to encapsulate a sense of peace, calm and tranquillity within the development. A fresh man-made waterway was carefully designed as the main attraction.

The design enhances the value of the entire site by replanting original site vegetation partly from transplanted trees and wetland plants.

Native resident fish were released into the completed waterways in order to create a balanced ecosystem.

The Orchard Garden is designed to ensure bird and insect integration with plants for food and nectar which invite butterflies that flutter gently throughout this lush garden.

The Lepironia Garden was crafted with an eco-landscape approach, which inspires human integration with nature.

This approach is not only focused on the importance of conservation and preservation but also creates awareness among the community about the need for a sustainable environment.

Urban Park at Setia Alam, Shah Alam, Selangor

Nestled within the commercial development of Setia Taipan and the high-rise residential development, this 1km long urban park provides space for the community to meet and relax, and also partake in the green network and the waterways which connect to other community hubs.

Setia Alam Urban Park is designed to be a part of the green finger network and waterways of Bandar Setia Alam.

This environmental-friendly development is in line with Masma’s (Manual Saliran Mesra Alam Malaysia) requirements with unsightly concrete monsoon drains being replaced with calm waterways, wide, gentle slopes, and meandering earth swale, as well as wetlands. Each area can be utilised for landscape and recreational purposes.

Designed for both passive and active use, the park is sectionalised, with an open plaza in the centre.

Towards the south-east are the play areas, terraces, a basketball court and exercise stations, while towards the north-west sector are the wetlands, which is part of the water retention pond, designed to provide walking trails, pavilions, and as a sanctuary for local wildlife.

Garden of 8 Fountains at Setia Eco Park, Shah Alam, Selangor

The main features of Garden of 8 Fountains are the distinctive zones with eight unique fountain themes, inlcuding Fountain of Union, Fountain of Love, Fountain of Roses, Fountain of Wings and Fountain of Light.

Located in Precinct 2 of Setia Eco Park, the park with a man-made waterway, which serves as a natural detention pond, is developed as a recreational park.

The garden design serves as a communal recreation space that emphasises the beautiful local greenery in both flowering plants and tropical fruit trees.

This garden provides contact point avenues for the community to spend their leisure time with families and friends for resting and picnics.

The continuous pathways, easily accessible from any direction, allow the residents to take a stroll or cycle, and are convenient for the community as a whole.

It has now turned into a favourite park for the surrounding neighbourhood to fulfil their recreational needs.

Eco Village at Setia Eco Gardens, Iskandar, Johor

Eco Village offers a concept of ‘sanctuary’ through its beautiful, lush greenery and comfortable landscape facilities.

Each residential unit in this precinct is linked by alley gardens, a simple yet effective retreat location for one to enjoy the serenity away from the hustle of the city and just steps away from one’s back door.

The modern contemporary setting with green infusion elements reflect a ‘village resort’ concept, clearly shown through a sensory garden, a herb and spice garden, a floral garden, lush green lanes and well-maintained verdant roadside planting.

Together with the comforting greenery, wide spaces and ample facilities designed to promote social and community activities enhance the communal ambiance as well as create memorable experiences.

Essentially, it is an ecological and healthy living community that has instant access to clean and fresh air. Edible herbs, fragrant and aromatic flowering species, planted to stimulate the sense of sight, smell and touch, enhance the ‘eco village’ concept.

Metamorphosis Park at Setia Eco Cascadia, Johor

Metamorphosis Park is a 15-acre park, which uses the butterfly life cycle as its core concept. The elements are reflected in the landforms in the soft and hard landscape. Butterflies are unique creatures, astounding people with the miraculous parts of their short life, known as metamorphosis.

The essentiality of butterflies are integrated into the design of the whole park with the shape of the lakes resembling an adult butterfly. The stages of the butterfly life cycle are reflected in the design concept of the pavilions, shelter, walls and plaza.

The water bodies, used as retention ponds for water catchment, are transformed into recreational lakes for the local community. This adds aesthetic value to the entire development.

The lakes, with their butterfly shape, further strengthen the concept and are visible from higher ground.