Gardens by the Bay (Chinese: 滨海湾花园; pinyin: bīnhǎi wān huāyuán) is a park spanning 101 hectares (250 acres) of reclaimed land[1] in centralSingapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden.
Gardens by the Bay is an integral part of a strategy by the Singapore government to transform Singapore from a "Garden City" to a "City in a Garden". The stated aim is to raise the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city.
First announced to the public by Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally in August 2005, Gardens by the Bay is intended to become Singapore's premier urban outdoor recreation space, and a national icon.
An international competition for the design of the master plan, held in January 2006, attracted more than 70 entries submitted by 170 firms from 24 countries. Two firms – Grant Associates and Gustafson Porter[2] – were eventually awarded the master plan design for the Bay South and Bay East Gardens respectively.
The park has proven extremely popular for event planners, with demand so high that the park has to limit the number of events to three per week.[
Bay Central Garden
Bay Central Garden will act as a link between Bay South and Bay East Gardens. It stands at 15 hectares (37 acres) with a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) waterfront promenade that allows for scenic walks stretching from the city centre to the east of Singapore. More developments of Bay Central Garden are coming in the next few years.
Bay East Garden
Bay East Garden is 32 hectares (79 acres) in size and it has a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) promenade frontage that embroiders the Marina Reservoir. An interim park was developed at Bay East Garden in support of the 2010 Youth Summer Olympics. The first phase of the garden was opened to the public in October 2011, allowing alternate access to the Marina Barrage.[4]
Designed as a series of large tropical leaf-shaped gardens, each with its own specific landscaping design, character and theme. There will be five water inlets aligned with the prevailing wind direction, maximizing and extending the shoreline while allowing wind and water to penetrate the site to help cool areas of activity around them. Bay East Garden will provide visitors with an unobstructed view of the city skyline. Upcoming developments of Bay East Garden will be based on the theme of water.
Bay South Garden
Bay South Garden eventually completed and opened to the public on 29 June 2012.[5] It is the largest of the three gardens at 54 hectares (130 acres) and aims to showcase the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry.
The overall concept of its master plan draws inspiration from an orchid as it is representative of the tropics and of Singapore, being the country's national flower, the Vanda 'Miss Joaquim'. The orchid takes root at the waterfront (conservatories), while the leaves (landforms), shoots (paths, roads and linkways) and secondary roots (water, energy and communication lines) then form an integrated network with blooms (theme gardens and supertrees) at key intersections.
Conservatories
The conservatory complex at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, comprises two cooled conservatories – the Flower Dome (Chinese: 花穹) and the Cloud Forest (Chinese: 云雾林), situated along the edge of Marina Reservoir. The conservatories, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, are intended to be an energy efficient showcase of sustainable building technologies and to provide an all-weather edutainment space within the Gardens. Both are very large (around 1 hectare (2.5 acres)) and the Flower Dome is the worlds largest columnless glasshouse.[6]
The construction of the glasshouses is special in two ways. First of all by being able to have such large a glass-roof without additional interior support (such as columns). Secondly because the constructions aims strongly at minimizing the environmental footprint. Rainwater is collected from the surface and circulated in the cooling system which is connected to the Supertrees. The Supertrees are used both to vent hot air and to cool circualted water.[7]
Flower Dome
The Flower Dome is the lower but larger of the two, at 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres). It replicates a mild, dry climate and features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions (e.g. parts of Australia, South America, South Africa).
The Flower Dome is 38 metres (125 ft) high and maintains a temperature between 23°C and 25°C, slightly lower at night.
The Flower Dome features 7 different "gardens" as well as an olive grove with a bistro and a central changing display field has also been incorporated to enable flower shows and displays to be held within the conservatory.
- The succulent garden and The Baobabs are found in the elevated section. This is a display of plants from the most arid zones including numerous cacti and other succulents as well as Baobab trees and a number of other succulent trees and shrubs. Plants in this section are mainly from the most arid warm temperate zones i USA, Mexico, Africa and of course from Madagascar.
- The Australian garden contains plants from warm temperate arid and semi-arid zones in Australia including the famous Wollemi Pine and someEucalypts.
- The South African garden contains plants from a wide range of zones in South Africa including Protea, the national flower of South Africa andStrelitzia.
- The South American garden contains plants from temperate semi-arid zones of South America including the Monkey puzzle tree and the Chilean Wine Palm.
- The Mediterranean garden contains plants from the area around the Mediterranean sea including for instance Stone Pine, Cork Oak and Canary Island Date Palm.
- The Californian garden contains some plants from California.
Cloud Forest
The Cloud Forest is higher but slightly smaller at 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres). It replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level, found in South-East Asia, Middle- and South America. It features a 42-metre (138 ft) "Cloud Mountain", accessible by an elevator, and visitors will be able to descend the mountain via a circular path where a 35-metre (115 ft) waterfall provides visitors with refreshing cool air.
The "cloud mountain" itself is an intricate structure completely clad in epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike- and clubmosses,bromeliads and anthuriums. It consists of a number of levels, each with a different theme.
- The entry level contains plants from the lower regions, foothills and includes numerous ferns, orchids, rare conifers, camelias and much more. From the entry level an elevator goes to the top of the "mountain", the lost world.
- The lost world contains pitcher plants, fly-traps, orchids, ferns and club-mosses as well as a single Keteleeria.
- The cloud walk is an aerial walkway around the top of the mountain giving both a closer view of the epiphyts growing on the outside of the mountain, and a view from above on the entry level below.
- The Cavern and the Crystal Mountain contains exhibitions of mineraology and caves.
- The Treetop walk is a lower level aerial walkway enabling a walk amongst the treetops.
- The Secret garden contains plants from ravines and tree ferns from New Zealand.
- Earth Check and +5 degrees are exhibitions (including a video show) on what will and might happen if the temperate of the planet rises with an average of 5 degrees Celsius due to global warming.
Supertrees
Supertrees are tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens' landscape with heights that range between 25 metres (82 ft) and 50 metres (160 ft). They are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens.
The Supertrees are home to enclaves of unique and exotic ferns, vines, orchids and also a vast collection ofbromeliads such as Tillandsia, amongst other plants. They are fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological function of trees – photovoltaic cells that harness solar energy which can be used for some of the functions of the Supertrees, such as lighting, just like how trees photosynthesize; and collection of rainwater for use in irrigation and fountain displays, exactly like how trees absorb rainwater for growth. The Supertrees also serve air intake and exhaust functions as part of the conservatories' cooling systems.
There is an elevated walkway, the OCBC Skyway, between two of the larger Supertrees for visitors to enjoy a breathtaking aerial view of the Gardens. A food and beverage outlet is planned atop the 50-metre (160 ft) Supertree. At night, the Supertrees come alive with a light and music show called the OCBC Garden Rhapsody.
Horticultural themed gardens
There are two distinctly different sets of horticultural themed gardens which centre on the relationships between "Plants and People" and "Plants and Planet". They are an important part of the Gardens' edutainment programme, which aims to bring plant knowledge to the public.
The "Plants and People" theme features a Heritage Garden that highlights the various cultural groups in Singapore and the important role that plants play in their respective cultures, as well as the country's colonial history. It also focuses on economically important plants to Singapore and South East Asia.
The "Plants and Planet" theme emphasizes the web of relationships amongst the various plants within a fragile forest setting, showcasing the biodiversity of plant life on the planet.
Flower Market and main event space (Phase 2 of development)
The Flower Market will eventually be the main entry precinct into the Gardens. It will include an indoor events space, retail and various food & beverage outlets. The main event space is a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) outdoor lawn with a stage.
Planning considerations in the design of Bay South
Several plans for key pedestrian and vehicular linkages from the surrounding developments and public transport hubs have been put in place to increase accessibility and create a transition between the Gardens and its surrounding landscape.
Landforms were designed so that prevailing winds will create spaces with gentle breezes. In addition, tree canopies, plant trellises and other man-made structures such as the cooled conservatories and Supertrees will provide shade and shelter in most parts of the Gardens.
A sustainable garden that cares for the environment
The Gardens have been designed with the environment in mind, adopting environmentally sustainable technologies. In particular, the cooled conservatories are intended to be a statement in sustainable engineering and energy efficiency.
A lake system which takes into account the aesthetics and hydrology within the Gardens' catchment has been incorporated into the Gardens' design. It serves to capture run-off from within the Gardens and acts as a natural "eco-filter", cleansing the water using aquatic plants before the water is discharged into the reservoir.
Budget
The final construction cost for the project, not including the price of the land but including an access road, drainage works, and soil improvement, was within a $1.035 billion allocated budget. The annual operating cost was expected to be approximately $58 million, of which $28 million was for operation of the Conservatory buildings. The project received 1.7 million visitors between June and October 2012, who had free admission to most portions of the park but were required to purchase tickets for entering the Conservatories
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