This is my new favourite monolith. KL has plenty of monoliths but most of them pretend not to be monoliths by adding twee roofs, useless concrete ledges or bands of insipid coloured paint. Seen from the encircling motorways, the PJ Trade Centre presents four in-your-face slabs of dull grey concrete. The slabs look banal from a distance but something makes you do a double take. Firstly the blocks are not so lumpy as usual. From the side they are slender, not quite elegant but ugly neither. A slender tower is a sign...

The second phase of refurbishment at Borneo Rainforest Lodge was completed earlier this year. The completed work adds 4 deluxe and 1 standard rooms to the upgraded inventory. Following the popularity of the outside tubs in Phase I, all remaining deluxe rooms will have their own private outside tub with view of the river and/or primary rainforest. The bath is filled with water gravity fed from a local rainforest stream and returned via a soakaway to the river. Only biodegradable soap please! Hot water option is available...

Arkitrek has recently completed concept design for 6 new VIP rooms at Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC). These rooms are part of the upgrading and refurbishment work at the aging field centre which is necessitated by 20 years of operation in a harsh environment and recent expansion of rainforest research activities. Together with the new laboratory (see previous post) this accommodation will be jointly developed by Yayasan Sabah and The Royal Society SE Asia Rainforest Research Program. Primary funding will come from the Sekhar...

Work has just started on site for the second phase chalet refurbishment. I'll bring you an update on this in due course. Meanwhile here are some professional photos of the first phase chalets which were completed last year. Visitor feedback so far is excellent, especially on the private outdoor bathtubs. There is also anecdotal evidence that the room design has been able to achieve a comfortable reduction in ambient temperature without resorting to air-conditioning, although I regret that I did not have the foresight to test...

As our rainforest resources dwindle, so the scientific understanding of their systems becomes more critically important. It is hoped that this knowledge can help to promote more sustainable management and conservation in the future. The Royal Society's South East Asia Rainforest Research Program (SEARRP) has now been running at Danum Valley for over 20 years. Due to the continuing success of this and other research programs, the facilites at the Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) are now outdated and inadequate. Consequently...