This is a landscaped social spaces project. Malaysian has lived in an alienated fenced-up terraced houses neighbourhood for far too long. The Gulf Residence, a 13.23 acre gated & guarded development in Ipoh, Malaysia, which consists of terraced & semi-detached houses, called for residential communal space not only with greenery and recreational function but also with social agenda.

The design toys around with the relation between private and communal spaces within the development, hard landscape and soft landscape elements, balancing the residents’ need for privacy and their urge to live in a warmer and sociable intimate living environment.

We covert the typical rear and side lanes into a variety of intimate green streets & green pockets, extend them to the central park and the lake garden. We replace typical hard rear fencing with soft hedges, soften the boundaries among private, semi-private and communal areas, inducing various opportunities for the residents to mingle. All these are interlinked with carefully programmed web of walkways for the residents to venture from one blocks to another.

CONVERTING BACK LANES INTO GREEN STREETS
We revamp a typical terraced house by converting the back & side lanes into green streets. The living rooms and master rooms were shifted to the rear so that they can face the green in the private backyards and also beyond. It creates a lot of positive impacts (please refer 'Converting Link Houses Back Alleys into Green Streets' diagramme). The main benefit is it reduces heat island effect, which is a tiny step in reducing micro-climate change in that area.

INSPIRATION FROM IPOH'S NATURAL GREEN
Ipoh's natural green, lakes and limestone hills were brought into the design. The planting spots & the hard landscape are done organically to produce raw effect.

Bucida Molineti & Bucida Variegated with similiar silhouette but different tones have been selected so that the landscape has a controlled organic variation. Together with Murraya Paniculata hedges that releases aroma at night and the extensive Ficus Pumila cladded walls, scultptural lime stones, the constant chirping of birds & the sight of butterflies, the landscape produces an atmospheric and conducive social spaces that have become a hit with the residents.