DO you like the home in which you live? Are you satisfied with the design of your neighbourhood, the level of noise, pollution, transport and availability of green space?

Architect John Koh isn't and he believes that many Malaysians aren't either.

Our homes, neighbourhoods, the city and the environment we live in are simply not happy or sustainable places, says Koh, the immediate past president of the Eastern Regional Organisation of Housing and Planning, and now the managing director of Aktitek Maju Bina Sdn Bhd.

A sustainable building is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated or reused in a resource - efficient manner; in a way that will not compromise the health of the environment or the well-being of the building's occupants, construction workers, the general public or future generations, explains Koh.

What we have now doesn't quite fit that bill.

"The ordinary Malaysian will tell you that he is confronted by so many unresolved sustainability issues.

"These range from non-availability of cheap and safe drinking water, increasing cost of energy and the lack of affordable homes to growing problems of pollution, environmental degradation in our neighbourhoods and security concerns in the suburbs and cities," says Koh.

Malaysians cannot help but admit that they have lost a fair measure of themselves, the beautiful countryside, mountains and rivers and oceans, he laments.

"We've lost our pristine air, clear skies, predictable rain, our beautiful heritage structures and the memories of our youth," adds the architect who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Malaysian Nature Society.

His feelings were shared by many in the audience at the National Conference on Sustainability Malaysia 2005, where Koh recently spoke on the need for sustainable housing.

Engineers, educators, planners and policy-makers stood up at the end of the session to talk about the good old days and how neighbourhoods were so much better back then.

An architect since 1973, Koh has witnessed the transformation and understands their sentiments.

The audience nodded in agreement when Koh spoke on unsustainable planning issues like inadequate structure plans with little follow-up in local plans and weak environmental impact assessments.

He pointed to the suburban sprawls, urban slums and traffic snarls in towns and cities that cause the one-way street solution to become a feature of so many Malaysian towns today.

Other examples raised provoked more vigorous nods and wry smiles.

These included highways cutting through townships, said Koh, citing the example of the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong.

He also has a bone to pick regarding the levelling of mountains and clearing of forests for development such as those in Puncak Perdana in Section U10 Shah Alam and Damansara Damai in Sungai Buloh.

"For some inexplicable reason, we cannot stand to see peaks. We just love to lop it off and put lowland structures on top."

Unfortunate forages into sensitive environmental areas in Selangor, encroachment into wetlands along the peninsula's west coast and into the high water line at coastal resorts like Port Dickson are other worrying trends that Koh noted.

He is also disturbed by inadequate development planning and enforcement of safety and health guidelines, as well as the unbridled development of golf courses for the few at the expense of public recreational parks and affordable housing needed by many.

"We even see residential projects built right next to high tension power cables!" said an incredulous Koh. However, the blame does not rest entirely with the authorities, he says.

"In a lot of ways the public is to be blamed. They do not seem to be aware of what they are buying. They seem almost mindless."

With the situation so dire, is there any hope left? Koh thinks the situation is redeemable.

A well-thought-out brief and proper site selection are the first prerequisites to sustainable design, says Koh.

For the hot and wet tropical weather we experience, a building's orientation towards the sun and wind is important. Designing to contours in sensitive hillside development is also necessary as are the use of local materials and techniques.

"Obsessive imitation of Balinese architecture and the ensuing demand for river stones, sea sand and cut corals from Indonesia and the Philippines has devastated the environment in those countries.

"Figures show that the activity of building consumes an estimated one-sixth of the world's fresh water withdrawal, a quarter of its harvest and two-fifths of its materials and energy flow.

"This fact makes it all the more imperative that we design and build in a sustainable way," he says.

Retaining existing mature trees outside the development footprint, reusing excavated boulders and landscaping to serve as shade and noise or dust filters are simple steps that make a neighbourhood a nicer place to live.

Much could also be done to conserve energy and resources, adds Koh.

Proper solar and wind orientation, adequate roof cover, screens and openings for thermal comfort are the first line and best energy conservation approaches.
Tapping natural cross ventilation will reduce the need for air-conditioning while harvesting rain water for toilets and watering the garden could reduce the demand for expensive treated water. They don't need complicated technology to effect.

While sustainable habitats may be a tall order, they are achievable, argues Koh.

We could begin by adopting the 4Rs of sustainable building.

* Reduce, Koh has urged planners and developers - in other words, rethink the 22x75ft terrace lot subdivision approach.Instead, go high in urban sites to free up land for recreation and conservation, design compact units but not new slums, and select durable materials for longer service life and easier maintenance.
* Reuse, he says. Materials like bricks, roof tiles, timber, windows and doors left over from a renovation project can often be reused. And heritage buildings could be adapted for re-use as the Central Market building in Kuala Lumpur has been.
* Renew, the concept of which proposes the greater use of natural energy sources like wind, sunlight and water to minimise the impact of a building on the environment and reduce those hefty electricity bills. Koh recommends working with the Japanese who have come up with remarkably affordable solar systems for space cooling.
* Finally, recycle, recycle and recycle. Examples abound all over the world. Recycled cardboards and sandbags have been used to create award-winning refugee shelters or temporary housing in disaster zones, for example. Koh wants to see the introduction of a five-star home sustainability index - a rating based on quality and comfort; affordability; environmental soundness and impact on local economy; water and energy-efficiency; and reduction of energy bills. The system is already in use in Australia.

With so many tried and tested laws and guidelines around the world to  tap, it's a matter of a little thought, good planning and strict enforcement that the ideals of sustainable housing would be achieved, Koh believes.

There is a need to reform the local authority structure and ensure follow-up to local and structure plans, Koh adds. We also must uphold strong ethical standards and think and act holistically when building homes and cities.

For instance, he would like to see an end to indiscriminate redevelopment of historical sites as in Malacca and a greater monitoring of housing contractors - the people who would be responsible for bringing these ideals to life.

Despite the crucial role contractors play in creating living spaces, there is little policing of their work, he says.

We are at a crossroads.

If we want the kind of living spaces we speak of nostalgically, the homes of the good-old days, planners have to return to the drawing board with a new vision and we the buyers, must learn to be reasonable in our demands.