International planning and design firm, Sasaki recently released its 40.9 billion dollar masterplan for the development of a future-focussed Forest City in Malaysia. The tropical utopia is made up of four interconnected islands off the west coast of Singapore that combine Southeast Asia’s natural marine ecosystem with sustainable city living.
The project imagines the city as a global hub of innovation, creative commerce and culture with a strong focus on a green lifestyle. The mixed-use approach to the infrastructure and architecture supports the clustered plan of the development, which is intended to provide easy access to an advanced transport system that connects the islands to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Sasaki says that central to the development is “the conservation of existing marine habitats, the re-establishment of a coastal mangrove ecosystem, and a resiliency strategy to accommodate sea level rise.” This accounts for the strong emphasis on building a symbiotic relationship between inhabitants, the built environment and the surrounding ecosystems.
Waterfront parks, trails and tidal pools promote interaction with the marina and shallow bays support the local fisheries. To foster the idea of a compact, walkable urban environment, the Sasaki team incorporated an interconnected green roof system into the plan. When built, the system will be the largest in the world and consist of a network of pedestrian-centric, interconnected rooftop gardens and parks.
“Beyond a simple rooftop landscape, the podium parks provide native habitat zones, filter and cleanse stormwater, and provide recreational opportunities in an entirely automobile-free public realm,” says Sasaki.
