City&Country: Selangor Dredging reinterprets the past with Dedaun

Selangor Dredging Bhd’s (SDB) Seventies-inspired RM170 million development Dedaun — which means leaf in Malay — is set for official launch on Oct 22.

The project sits on about an acre of freehold land off Jalan Ampang, not far from the British High Commission. For now, a house — which has been converted into SDB’s sales office — stands on the land and will eventually be demolished to make way for two L-shaped towers of 10 storeys. A short distance away from the house-cum-sales office is the show unit which boasts a spectacular copper-clad door.

SDB’s managing director Teh Lim Kim tells City & Country that it took the company three years to complete the doors for the 38 condos in Dedaun.

“This whole condominium is about craftsmanship,” she enthuses, “and Dedaun is SDB’s modern interpretation of the 1970s.”

Of the 38 condos, 32 are standard 3,240 to 3,628 sq ft units. The ground level boasts three 4,327 to 4,921 sq ft garden villas while the three 6,711 to 7,128 sq ft penthouses come with a rooftop swimming pool and garden each.

Two of the garden villas have 4+1 rooms and the third 3+1 rooms while the penthouses feature 4+1 rooms. The standard units have either 4+1 or 3+1 rooms, with the former positioned on the long line of the L-shaped building.

Selling prices start from RM3.9 million for the standard units, RM4.5 million for the garden villas and RM6 million for the penthouses. This works out to RM1,100 to RM1,200 psf.

Teh says the target market for Dedaun are Malaysians who appreciate “understated elegance”, enjoy having lots of space and are sentimental about the 1970s.

Many elements of Dedaun’s designs hark back to the architecture of the Seventies. One is the veranda. To do this, one side of the units is made up almost entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows, starting in the living area and ending in the master bedroom. The windows in the living area can be slid aside, creating a sort of indoor veranda or balcony.

Another feature of most homes in the 1970s is cross-ventilation. So, directly opposite the wall of windows is a small family area with a section of almost floor-to-ceiling windows that can be slid aside to let some air in.

The materials used in the Dedaun development also have a 1970s feel — there is marble in both the kitchen and the bathrooms while the flooring and fixtures are made of dark wood and teak.

Shanghai plaster is used on the exterior of the entire Dedaun project. This external surfacing material needs skilled craftsmen to apply it. It looks like stone, requires zero or minimal maintenance if done correctly and costs about 700% more than ordinary plaster and paint.

There is more. While the common spaces of most condominium projects are on the ground or mezzanine floor, SDB has done it differently. There is a playground on the ground level while atop one of the towers is an infinity pool and just a level below it a multi-function room that can accommodate up to 60 adults.

The roof is specially water and root-proofed to prevent leakage and breakage into the spaces below while the trees and foliage planted in the private gardens are in keeping with the Seventies theme, says Teh.

The penthouse owners have to maintain their gardens themselves or could request the assistance of SDB’s customer ser­vice division. The gardening cost, which is borne by the homeowner, is over and above the general maintenance fee of 35 sen psf paid by all owners for the first year of ownership and revised in the following year.

Homeowners will be given a 36-month defect liability period and any help required in the maintenance of the units will be provided by SDB’s customer ser­vice division, especially for owners who live abroad for most of the year.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 828, Oct 18-24, 2010