JOHOR BAHRU, Nov 20 – The Student Landscape Architecture Portfolio (SLAF) is more than an academic compilation; it is a document that mirrors the alignment of design education with the global agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Nature-based Solution (NbS). By capturing student projects, studio activities and research endeavors, the portfolio highlights how good health and wellbeing (SDG 3) is fostered through the sustainable cities (SDG 11), climate action (SDG 13), and biodiversity conservation (SDG 15). This article as a witness to the showcase of the final year students enrolled in SBEZ4526 Design Thesis II (20242025-2). Through their final year projects and studio journey, the students have demonstrated how creative design can address pressing global challenges while envisioning resilient and inclusive landscapes. They have presented their final year project in July 2025 and graduated in November 2025.
The folio brings the institutional significance; strengthening collaboration with communities and industries, and most importantly presenting landscape architecture as an essential field for sustainable development. The students’ portfolio also functions as a living document that exhibits knowledge integration learned in first year up until to their final year that includes innovation and the application of sustainability principles. Their works embody the synthesis of people-place relationship, environmental concern, ecological science, cultural heritage, and design innovation. These embodiments have inspired the composition of SLAF 2025 chapters; making their study accomplishments are beyond academia. Hence, this positions the folio as not only an academic archive but also an archive of ideas for sustainable futures.
The students’ projects focused on seven themes namely Educational and Restorative Environment, Environmental Concern, Geosites and Landscape Resources, Cultural and Heritage, Urban Concern, Specific Users and Community, and Biodiversity and Ecosystem. These themes have each its own pressing issues that can be address from the perspective of Landscape Architecture where the landscape masterplans have demonstrated a holistic understanding of how design can become a driver of sustainability.
The portfolio does not only highlight the end product but also chronicles the learning process in being a Landscape Architecture student. SLAF 2025 members are graduation members of year 2025 whom have equipped themselves with design communication, site studies (e.g., ecological areas, urban areas, rural areas), and sustainable planting design. The learning process have lay the groundwork for them to face more complex problem-solving in their futures ahead.
For the students, SLAF 2025 stands as the culmination of their university journey; a moment where every effort, idea, and collaboration results into a meaningful celebration of growth. Each page of their work captures memories, while every project marks the milestones they have achieved since beginning their studies at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in 2021. Their journey began with online classes during the pandemic, followed by a transition period before they could fully experience campus life. Through multiple critiques sessions with internal and external panels marked by challenges and triumphs. They have emerged more resilient, adaptable, and ready to contributing to the Malaysia’s landscape. Today, they proudly join the ranks of UTM alumni, graduating in the 69th Convocation with honor and a deep sense of accomplishment.
