Spice and Medicinal Garden : designing public spaces in Malaysia

Abstract: One of the keys to success for a public domain is the strength and clarity of its pedestrian connections. In this Malaysian waterfront precinct overlooking the Straits of Johor, the waterfront pedestrian promenade is connected back to the streets via a series of lush and unique garden spaces. These gardens offer clear pedestrian movement and will provide differing entry and exit sequences to the promenade. They are also transitional in terms of level change. The design of the landscape will help integrate the built form with the waterfront and will create a vibrant and safe open space where the landscape forms a tropical setting for the buildings and provides usable green space for the occupants. The arrangement provides landscape rooms for people to inhabit, travel through as well as an interesting landscape to look down upon from the adjacent buildings. The challenge in this master thesis has been to evolve the garden concept into the design of public space. The two gardens presented in this project both celebrate the botanic and culture of Malaysia and the design of the landscape reflects this. The overall planting concept is to create a bold, contemporary tropical landscape. Selected plant materials are predominantly Malaysian native species, with exotic species used in accent and contrast to this. The planting in the public domain will provide seasonal interest through texture, scents and colour. Each garden has a strong theme and concept which gives them a unique identity. The Spice Garden is a rich tapestry of colours, textures and fragrances celebrating the use of plants in Malaysian cuisine. The traditional kitchen garden grid has been skewed and folded and becomes a graphic composition of different types of planting and paving. The arrangement of hard and soft surfaces maximise pedestrian permeability through the garden, whilst also creating smaller shady places for people to sit and relax. The concept for the Medicinal Garden is an abstraction of Malaysian Tea plantations and focuses on species used in Malaysia for medicinal uses. The topography of the garden follows the rolling topography of plantations historically found in Malaysia. The different species of tea used in Malaysia culture are planted in amorphous forms, kept to a consistent height with spaces carved into the framework. While initially both gardens shared the same conditions, they have evolved greatly over the duration of the project to contrast each other in a way that both complements the other and creating differing experiences for the people who visit.