Imbak Canyon, one of the last virgin lowland rainforests of Sabah, Malaysia, isn't for the faint of heart. DAY ONE 7:15 AM August 13, 2011 - Ian rolls up in with Ishmael in a beefy air-conditioned jungle truck and Daniele and I throw our backpacks in the back. For the first six hours the roads are paved and for the last two through the palm plantations, as bumpy as the surface of the moon. I am sick the entire time anyway and everyone is patient with my vicious heaves. Poor Ishmael is fasting all day long...

I’ve recently been off on site visits with friends from the USA. In fact Mauricio is Mexican and Susan is German but they both practice in Los Angeles with a company called Urban Networks. As the name suggests they have a largely urban portfolio but are pretty hot designers and are well up on sustainability issues. I’m working together with them on proposals for a new Studies Centre in the Imbak Conservation Area. Until this trip we had only met by Skype conference but over the course of ten days on the road we developed...

    'Ripe Hairy Red Fruit' introduces several subjects and questions that have been cropping up over the last two years: Imbak Canyon, Maliau Basin and Danum Valley conservation areas The 'economic value' of rainforest conservation Forest rehabilitation and management   On the Arkitrek itself we had an architectural design brief to work to but in many ways this was secondary to the bigger picture that we were involved in. All of these above mentioned themes will crop up in subsequent posts but first a little...