Winning ways with sustainability

IN THE TOP 10: Winner of the BCI Asia Awards for two consecutive years, Sime Darby Property Berhad's significant impact is felt on the built environment

The adage that great minds think alike resonated a second triumphant time when Malaysia-based diversified multinational Sime Darby Property Berhad emerged as one of the winners of the BCI Asia Awards 2012 – Top 10 Developers Awards, following its previous win from 2011. After all, both the recipient of the award, Sime Darby Property and BCI Asia are aware of the significant role played by developers in terms of the overall impact on the built environment by the sheer volume of their work.

 

Datuk Abd Wahab Maskan, managing director of Sime Darby Property says winning the award for two consecutive years speaks volumes about its aim of "developing sustainable communities in Malaysia and around the region".

"These awards reflect the appreciation of society and customers concerning our efforts to provide sustainable developments for our stakeholders.

"They certainly validate Sime Darby Property's commitment in creating developments that minimise the impact on the environment and is a testament of our commitment to developing sustainable communities," he analyses, adding that the awards provide the impetus for the group to continue pursuing its sustainable goal.

 

Winning two consecutive awards since 2011 not only reinforces its reputation in the local property sector, Sime Darby's achievements also put it on the Southeast Asia map by virtue of the region the awards cover including Malaysia, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – ranking it amongst the region's busiest developers.

The awards, held for its eighth time in 2012 to recognise the significant impact of the region's leading Top 10 winning architectural firms was expanded in 2011 to include the Top 10 winning developers with the most aggre-gate value of work from the previous year. Notably, the awards is emphasising sustainability as an essential trend for the future built environment.

 

Building with sustainability in mind: Armed with an aim to build sustainable communities, Sime Darby, having carved out a reputation as a Malaysiabased diversified multinational with a portfolio of key growth sectors that include property, motors, energy and utilities not forgetting industrial equipment and healthcare, is committed towards building a sustainable future via its property arm.

Believing that the key to a sustainable future lies in the quality of the built environment resulting from the projects on the drawing board last year which are now shaping the skylines of today, Sime Darby Property, a leading thought leader in sustainability, strives to be "focused on the environmental 'green' aspects" of its properties.

"We embrace sustainability as a whole — from how our products are built to the way our townships are developed to enhance the quality of living," he says, identifying the group's sustainable projects as The Glades in Putra Heights, Ficus Peak in Denai Alam and Seri Pilmoor in Ara Damansara.

 

The Glades, Putra Heights: Innovation is key at this development teeming with sustainability features. Apart from the master concept that include a centralised waste management system, rainwater havesting, double volume green-tinted windows for cooler homes, solar water heaters for energy efficiency, water filter systems to ensure clean water in the residences, LED street lights will use less energy to reduce the overall carbon footprint on the environment.

 

Ficus Peak in Denai Alam: The ecofriendly units come with pre-wired broadband which allows residents to control the internal environment of their homes. The modular design replicates the Sime Darby Idea House by arranging the spaces along the width of the house rather than the depth of the measurement. As opposed to the usual super-link design, the wide frontage of the units maximise the flow of daylight and ventilation while optimising space.

 

Seri Pilmoor in Ara Damansara: Highend, low-density and exclusive, the bungalows and semi-detached units located within 28 acres of elevated freehold landscape in Ara Damansara will offer a serene sanctuary complemented by distinctive architecture.

Sustainable with a 50 per cent green footprint, the project will feature a 2,700 sq ft conservatory known as "The Lanai" entrance which has an elevated security post with advanced monitoring system and a management office.

 

The project will form part of the proposed 85-acre Ara Damansara Linear City envisioned to become an integrated commercial and business hub in Petaling Jaya.

Strength in numbers: As an integrated property group, Sime Darby's three core businesses namely property development, property investment and property hospitality operations characterise its diverse portfolio of projects. Backed by a track record spanning 40 years, Sime Darby Property is today, one of Malaysia's largest property developers in terms of landbank and financial performance.

Having housed some 85,000 families in the ten townships it has developed over the years, a testament of the quality of its developments recording an annual turnover exceeding RM2 billion continues to resonate its success story with a market capitalisation of nearly RM60 billion and a rich history that spans approximately a century.

 

While the numbers churn out a compelling story, Sime Darby Property with its integrated line-up of properties which are well-positioned in the Kuala Lumpur and the Greater Kuala Lumpur or Klang Valley Conurbation Area, considered Malaysia's most developed central economic zone, aims to build sustainable communities with a global presence in countries like Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Market demand for its properties continue to be robust as seen in the sales value achieved under the Sime Darby Property Lifestyle Collection branding proposition that was launched in March until June 2012 that garnered a total Gross Sales Value of approximately RM800 million that was achieved under three months with an impressive take-up rate of 80 per cent.

Other launches of main areas including Denai Alam, Bandar Bukit Raja and Aster Grove in Denai Alam as well as Delora homes and the 11 Avenue commercial in Bandar Bukit Raja realised a 100 per cent take-up rate.

The campaign also highlighted its existing properties on sale including Maple Terrace and Willow Park in Denai Alam, Isola in Subang Jaya, Davina II & III in Nilai Impian and the Impian Avenue commercial project in Nilai Impian — all contributing to the overall Gross Development Value (GDV) revenue of over RM2 billion in the last financial year.

 

The end of 2011 saw Sime Darby Property launching its maiden affordable housing project in Bandar Ainsdale as reflected in the Sime Darby Affordable Homes (SDAH) comprising a 559.85 acres township in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan to enable more Malaysians to own homes.

Out of Phase 1 of the SDAH programme comprising 423 residences, 44 units will account for landed strata homes — the first landed property residences to be built by a private developer in collaboration with "Projek Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia"(PR1MA) with built features exclusive to Sime Darby Property.

On the international front, together with SP Setia and the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), the group has acquired the Battersea Power Station land in London for £400 million (RM1.98 billion) recently. Sime Darby Property and SP Setia will each own a 40 per cent stake, while EPF will hold the remaining 20 per cent stake in this project. The power station land will be redeveloped according to the design plans of awardwinning architect Rafael Vinoly.

 

New and recently launched projects The Véo: Another new project to be launched by Sime Darby Property is The Véo — a two-tower condominium in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur that will be easily accessible via the Middle Ring Road II.

Developed based on a vertical social community concept with common facilities such as sky gardens included in the design, office facilities will also be installed at the community gardens.

The two towers will be aligned in a north-south orientation to minimise direct sunlight while each apartment will have a spacious balcony with unobstructed views of KLCC or Melawati Hills in a prime residential suburb of Kuala Lumpur. The built-up area of the units ranges from 753 sq ft to 3,638 sq ft and will be launched by December 2012. The project is expected to be completed by 2016.

 

Lagenda Waterfron tHomes:The superlink lake promenade units will feature built-up areas of 4,541sq ft to 4,923 sq ft. Located in the Bukit Jelutong Township in Shah Alam, Selangor, its building design, site planning and master layout will form a green-lung environment for balanced community living. Scheduled for launch this September, it is expected to be developed by September 2014.

 

East Residence: EastResidenceisahighend landed development in the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) real estate precinct of Damansara and Bukit Kiara. Besides a pristine view of the award-winning KLGCC golf course, the project features aim to meet the high-end demographic demands of a prime location area. The project will fall under the build-and-sell scheme with dedicated amenities and club facilities.

The East Course and its 12th fairway, the East Residence will comprise 118 units of four-storey Town Villas with lifts and eight units of 5-storey resort villas, each neatly arranged in three rows on a terraced terrain. Each home will be designed to optimise natural light and ventilation and will come with a KLGCC membership worth RM250,000. The 10-acre, 99-year leasehold low-density project will have units with built-up areas ranging from 4,422 sq ft to 6,300 sq ft.

 

eBoulevard (Phase E1-1): This series of two- and three-storey shop offices in Denai Alam, Selangor will feature wide frontage for all its units and have a main thoroughfare that will allow for communal activities like flea markets.

Other highlights include wide connecting roads with pedestrian walkways, open spaces and parks, disabledfriendly as well as energy and waterefficient features. The built-up-area of these units will range from 3,106 sq ft to 8,490 sq ft. This project that was launched in July 2012 is expected to be completed in July 2015.

 

Sime Darby Property Industrial — Sime Darby Managed Industrial Park (Klang): Besides residential and commercial properties, Sime Darby Property will also be offering industrial products such as land and buildings in its strategically located township of Bandar Bukit Raja in Klang. Occupying between two- to 13- acres, these properties will be located near major transportation hubs and offer easy access to major highways.

 

The Glades at Putra Heights showcases eco-living at its best with sustainability features that includes an overall master concept teeming with a centralised waste management and rain-water harvesting system, LED street lights as well as other features.