My first article for 2021, in the newly launched Land.Scape Magazine published by Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM). I wrote about Birch, a project by a friend of mine from Idris Studio, who is one of the Honour Award winners for the Malaysia Landscape Architecture Awards 2019 – MLAA12. It was definitely an interesting writing experience to learn about the design in detail, and looking into the creative and meticulous work of landscape architects when working with living things that are beautiful and complex, and always looking for opportunities to bring back nature to be part of our indoor spaces. Personally, the pandemic has reconnected me with my own backyard garden (although now it needs a little make-over). Nature has always been around us in most places that we go. But because they are always there, it is easy to take their existence for granted. There is a lot of ‘hikmah’ behind the pandemic. On the personal level, it asks us to slow down and rethink about what matters most in our life. It allows us to pause and reflect. Hopefully, our life post pandemic would not go back to how we were before, but improve us for the better.
PLACE RESEARCHER 