Mitraland meets the gold mark

WINNING WAYS: Innovation, quality and timely delivery go hand-in-hand at Mitraland - forming a unique formula for its award-winning projects

It was indeed a surprise win for The Mitraland Group when its Kiara 1888 project was announced the gold winner at the Malaysian Institute of Architects’ annual PAM Awards 2012 under the Multiple Residential – High Rise category as this was its first time submission to the awards.

“We are proud to be awarded with the gold award at PAM Awards 2012,” beams Chuah Theong Yee, managing director of Mitraland Group who established the company in 1998. In 2009, Datuk Johan Ariffin who has a wealth of 27 years of experience, having been on the board of diverse corporations joined the company as chairman of the group.

The company has come a long way since its first joint venture project undertaken at Desa Permai, Sungai Long. Among its other notable ongoing projects include C180 @ Cheras South, Cascades @ Kota Damansara, 16 Quartz and Mitraland’s maiden industrial development in Lake 6 in Puchong.

No stranger to receiving awards, Mitraland also received four categories of awards for its Cascades @ Kota Damansara project at the International Asia Pacific Property Awards 2012/2013 held in May. These include
the categories of best mixed-use development, Asia Pacific; 5-star best mixed-use development, Malaysia; highly commended residential high-rise development, Malaysia and highly commended office development, Malaysia.

The company is also a strong advocate of Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, having to date raised over RM780,788 to be channelled back for the benefit of the community and society at large. Mitraland has now grown in stature to undertake projects that have a total Gross Development Value (GDV) of over RM1.3 billion.

“Our mission is to create and enhance customer value and to generate profitable returns for our shareholders. We also create a win-win business opportunity for our business associates while providing rewarding career opportunities
for our employees,” shares Chuah.

The values of “customer first, passion for quality, commitment to timely delivery and a dedication to social responsibility” have been so deeply entrenched within the company’s system of operations that it has obviously
contributed to its winning streak of projects.

“We are aware of the enormity of the challenges that lie ahead and we will continue striving to be the trendsetters rather than followers in this industry by employing innovative designs that are driven by the green concept,” he shares.

Singling out the winning qualities of “innovation, quality, timely delivery and sustainability” as key to its success, he adds that the need to always provide value added products to its customers is topmost on its list of priorities.

“We aim to continue analysing land profile, market research, development concept and introducing new concepts with competitive pricing strategies to the market,” he adds of the company’s dream “to be a premier boutique developer”
in the near future, now that it has been in property development for 14 years.

Tale of two towers at Kiara 1888: The journey towards emerging the gold winner for its project in Kiara 1888 with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM136 million at this year’s PAM Awards under the Multiple Residential
– High Rise category was not without its fair share of obstacles. The architecture firm, yhsA Sdn Bhd, on top of being faced with the challenge of a sloping site with its 75-feet long terrain had to incorporate the workings a high-rise tower and a low-rise block totaling 182 units.

The end result was a clever and spectacular decision to design Kiara 1888 based on the “successful manipulation of spaces” supported by a series of open yet shielded communal spaces to promote community living. Built in an almost dialogue-like response to the sloping site, this rectangular development comprising a 32-storey high- rise condominium tower with 130 units and a 12-storey low-rise block comprising 52 units of villas not only serves to enrich and enhance users’ experience, but has an interlinked four-storey high entrance statement atrium in answer to the challenge posed by the site.

“Being a first time developer in Mont Kiara, our brief to the architect was to design a condominium that is unique in its features in order for it to stand out amongst the many high-rise towers already in the area. We also requested that the design be able to cater to both the target market of investors for the smaller sized apartments as well as home owners for the larger sized apartments,” says Chuah.

“The architect responded with a two block design, one of which is high-rise with smaller sized apartments and the other is low-rise with larger apartments.

We recognized straightaway that this concept will already allow the project to stand out amongst the predominantly high-rise blocks in Mont Kiara,” he adds.

Existing characteristics of the site that were addressed include a monsoon drain located adjacent to the street front coupled by an inclination of the site up towards its rear. Building in tandem with the characteristics of the site gave birth to certain attributes of the building including the entrance to the tower and its landscaping features. This also influenced the design of the car park levels as well as the mode of entry, besides the “defining of the locations
and placements of the high-rise tower and its sibling block”.

Both buildings with their apartment units were designed with an open plan to maximize space, the flow of light and ventilation to bridge the shared amenities
comprising indoor and outdoor spaces.

Cascades @ Kota Damansara: The 4.7 acres mixed lifestyle development is made up of 40 units of 4- and 5-storey retail offices besides a tower block comprising 20-storey service apartment units and another one block of 30-storey corporate office units scheduled for completion at the end of 2013. Its modern design incorporating sleek lines and generous spaces bodes well for its target audience residing within a residential catchment of over 400,000 people with strong purchasing power.

In addition to this, the Cascades Residences with a GDV of RM450 million will be designed with green building features certified by the Green Building Index (GBI) while the Cascades Corporate was certified by the BCA Green mark. Located within walking distance to the proposed MRT station, the project with its ample car park accommodating 1,600 parking bays and 24-hours security with CCTV surveillance will also be certified by Conquas 21 and Qlassic.

Lake 6 at Puchong: Situated in Taman Meranti Jaya in Puchong, Lake 6 comprise of a 63 acres mixed development made up of commercial and residential units. Its proximity within an industrial corridor in Puchong makes this one of the most strategic locations in Klang Valley today.

Boasting location, accessibility and network all rolled into one, the 4-in-1 concept corporate-style factory incorporating a warehouse, factory, showroom and office ensures that all facilities necessary will be available under the workings of one roof. Additionally, the 420,000 population count in Puchong guarantees a ready pool of skilled and professional workforce.

A safe and secure environment heralded by a guarded alarm system backed by real time CCTV and a single entry point are another positive consideration for Lake 6. Phase 1A comprising 42 semi-detached factory units and four bungalow factory units have already been sold. Phase 1B is targeted for launch by October this year.

16 Quartz at Melawati: 16 Quartz at Melawati takes precedence at the 8.63 acres mixed development comprising 55 units of 3-storey courtyard villas, 26 units of 4-storey zero lot villas and 36 units of 9-storey apartments. Located in Taman Melawati along the world’s longest 16km Quartz Ridge acknowledged as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage site, the project is scheduled for a soft launch in August this year.

Sitting on elevated land surrounded by natural forest amidst a low density development, the unique living concept is complemented by at least 30 per cent greenery covering the entire development. Green building features also add to the allure of the project that comes with a 474 feet river-like water feature green deck and a grand 40 feet high water feature at the main entrance. Its linear garden designed with a jogging track and themed garden with lush green deck features grace this gated-and-guarded development that will be certified by Conquas 21 and Qlassic.

Mitraland shows that it is a concept above the competition - backed by great design, innovation and timely delivery as seen in Kiara 1888.

The Mitraland Group recently added another feather to its cap by emerging the gold winner under the category of Multiple Residential – High Rise for its Kiara 1888, Mont Kiara project in Kuala Lumpur at PAM Awards 2012 .

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