In this the penultimate article in our environology tour of the Klang Valley, let us take a quick look at parts of Damansara that we missed during our tour of Petaling Jaya.

Damansara is a subdivision within the Petaling district and was named after the Damansara River.

For some reason, there is an allure to the name and every housing estate or township bearing the word “Damansara” is elevated to “much desired” status, at least to outsiders. To date there are Bandar Sri Damansara, Damansara Damai, Damansara Impian, Sutera Damansara, Saujana Damansara, Damansara Jaya, Damansara Perdana, Damansara Utama, Damansara Kim, Flora Damansara, Mutiara Damansara, Sunway Damansara, Kota Damansara, Damansara Emas, Pelangi Damansara, Damansara Idaman, Damansara Lagenda and Ara Damansara, not to mention townships such as Bandar Utama, Bukit Lanjan and Tropicana which do not bear that darned name!

The area is well known for its status as the so-called Golden Triangle of Petaling Jaya, boasting of upmarket shopping centres such as One Utama, IPC Shopping Centre, Ikea and the Curve. Nearby in Damansara Utama or “Uptown” there is a commercial centre with a high concentration of banks and food outlets.

However, success is not uniform within Damansara. The Atria, for example, struggled to re-establish itself among shoppers. When Damansara Jaya was first developed, all the fancy places in Bandar Utama, Damansara Perdana and other such places did not exist – they were all jungle and orang asli settlements.

Back-to-back malls

The developer, Paramount Garden, built not one but two shopping malls back-to-back. Clearly it wanted to establish its mark in the as-yet-undeveloped territory. Each mall was four storeys high and had its own three-storey car park. It may have sounded luxurious but the number of parking bays was woefully inadequate.

One of the buildings was occupied by French department store, Printemps, while the other hosted Kimisawa (a joint-venture between Japan’s Kimisawa and the now-defunct Emporium Holdings group). It was east-meets-west at its best but the 1988 economic recession forced both establishments to close.

This was followed by a succession of operators such as Parkson Grand, Tops and Giant but the Atria was unable to regain its former glory. Today, new owners OSK Property has demolished the site and is building two 16-storey towers with a four-storey shopping podium, due to be completed by the end of this year.

The demographics and infrastructure look promising but will the new development achieve and sustain success? What about the long term sustainability of other commercial projects as well as the residential properties?

As we have reiterated several times in this series, landform plays an important role in determining a property’s conduciveness for success. The flow of natural energy determines whether a location is harmonious and attractive to life.

Earth energy

Earth energy originates from mountaintops and flows downhill to the lowest point. It moves in a vortex pattern and its path is determined by land contour and soil composition. This energy flows strongly down steep gradients. This form of energy is powerful. Properties that are orientated to face uphill terrain get bombarded with this energy and this overwhelms the occupants.

In such situations, properties should face downhill so that their backs provide a shield against the oncoming energy.

The strength of earth energy diminished significantly when it comes against a medium of different rigidity, such as bodies of water. Here, the energy is deflected and reflected. If the shape of the river, sea or lake is parabolic or concave, the rebound energy is collected in a homogenous and gentle pool.

This form of energy is very conducive to life. It attracts living beings and humans alike, and makes the area thrive.

Parts of the Damansara area are hilly, particularly around Bukit Kiara, Lanjan and Penchala. These are part of an offshoot from the mountain claw that forms the Klang Valley. These hilly ranges continue to branch out further into tiny claws, creating an undulating terrain throughout.

Hilly terrain

As with all hilly terrain, there are also rivers and streams running through the area. Many have been converted into drains (some of which are covered) while the more prominent ones such as the Ara River can still be seen.

This river begins in the north somewhere near Kampung Sungai Penchala. It flows south and cuts through Taman Tun Dr Ismail before crossing the Damansara Puchong Highway (LDP) into SS 21.

There is another river originating from the Tropicana Golf & Country Resort, which flows east and then south to join the Ara River. It forms a confluence off Lebuh Bandar Utama and PJU 1/4F. The river then flows east through PJU1A, and south through Glenmarie and Shah Alam to join the Klang River.

Kota Damansara also has a river that originates from the Kota Damansara Botany Park. There are many other streams tucked away between different developments, too many to mention here.

According to environology principles, properties should be oriented towards an embracing or concave river bank or shore. This is the most conducive and ideal side of any river. Properties on the opposite or convex side tend to fare less well. This is because the shape of the river bank acts like a deflecting dish, scattering rebounding earth energy rather than concentrating it.

The next best orientation is to follow the river’s flow direction and face a direction that parallels the downstream.

Atria

In the case of the Atria Shopping Centre, the best facing direction is slightly northwest towards the river. The next best direction is southwest. The landform here generally slopes downhill from east to west, which also supports the northwest orientation.

Among the two pioneer department stores that failed, we venture to guess that the northeast-facing one went first. Then, the management decided to connect both buildings together, which in turn forced the second mall to now have a northeast door as well!

Now that the twin-malls have been demolished to make way for the new Atria @ Damansara, it would be interesting to see its new orientation and how it fares.

As for the shoplots surrounding the Atria site, one would notice that those along SS 22/19 fare better than their counterparts at SS 22/25. Properties along the former face the river while those on the latter face high ground.

One Utama is a massive shopping mall that seems to keep attracting large crowds. Its development is also integrated with nearby towers such as the One World Hotel, IBM/KPMG Tower as well as the Media Prima headquarters. This makes the mall a busy place indeed during the day.

The Ara River is located to the south of these buildings and flows from northeast to southwest. Thus the best direction for buildings here is south or southwest.

One Utama

The Old Wing of One Utama was fortunate enough to have a main entrance that opens to Jalan Dataran Bandar Utama, giving it a southwest orientation. This is where taxis and drop-offs are done. It is also interesting to see that many eateries located along the Promenade – facing the LDP – tend to struggle.

According to environology, properties that face upstream collect detritus which cloud the judgement and minds of the occupants.

The New Wing of One Utama has its entrance facing the Central Park. This is an excellent orientation as it follows the river’s flow. Small wonder then that it remains a vibrant mall. Even the tower blocks have a southern orientation, which is great. Our congratulations to everyone for getting things right so far.

The Curve, IPC and Ikea have a unique footprint. The buildings are arrayed in a kidney shape. While it is unique and interesting, this presents some challenges from an environology standpoint. The curvature of the road creates pockets of concaves (good) and convexes (not-so-good).

The IPC and Ikea do not have the most ideal location as they are situated at the convex side. Their entrances open directly into the elbow. Furthermore a pond in the form of the Mutiara Damansara Recreation Park, is located behind the buildings.

The Curve

Comparatively speaking, the Curve and Tesco are much better off as their entrances open directly into the embrace. The only downside is that there is also another entrance off PJU 7/25 which is a convex; and Tesco has an entrance facing PJU 7/7 which is away from the Ara River.

Further north, there is another development that hoped to tap into the energy and excitement of neighbouring Mutiara Damansara, or is it the other way round? Damansara Perdana began much earlier, with the construction of the horseshoe shaped PJU 8 commercial centre.

Success is quite spotty here because there is a huge hill to the north. Properties facing south and southwest have the better orientation. Those facing north tend to struggle more to achieve and retain success. This would appear to go against common sense since shops facing PJU 8/1 have good frontage, but the results are clear.

Neo Damansara came much later and appears to be still trying to get on its feet. Could this be due to the complex’s north and uphill-facing orientation?

The nearby PJ Trade Centre is a rather unusual looking building because its frontage comprises a grey concrete wall! This is a departure from the norm of sleek glass facades for tall buildings. Perhaps the developer hopes to use the wall as a massive signboard sometime in the future.

In any case, though situated in a prime piece of property, the building’s entrance faces the hill. Its back is the LDP which has a lower elevation and forms a convex elbow to boot.

Finally, we come to Sunway Giza, Nexis and the rows upon rows of shophouses in PJU 5. This appears to be a bustling place with offices, shops, restaurants and reflexology centres seemingly everywhere. Limited parking spaces also add to the feeling of congestion and busy-ness.

The best orientation for properties here is south toward the river. They tend to do better than their back neighbours.

Source by: The Star

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