Gardens by the Bay open to public next week

AsiaOne 12 Nov 11;

SINGAPORE - Members of the public will have the opportunity to get a first glimpse of Gardens by the Bay next week, seven months ahead of its official opening in June 2012.

The Gardens will be opened from Nov 14-20 as part of the 20th World Orchid Conference (20WOC) held in Singapore this year.

During that period, key features of the Bay South Garden will be on preview.

While entry into the Flower Dome will be limited to ticket holders of the 20WOC, members of the public will be able to roam around the rest of the other non-ticketed areas such as the Heritage Gardens, Dragonfly Lake, and the Supertrees in the Golden Garden and Silver Garden.

Occupying 101 ha of prime estate at the Marina Bay district, the Gardens is part of Singapore's vision of becoming a “City in a Garden” to enhance greenery and flora in the city and to raise the quality of life here.

Here are the highlights you can look out for at 20WOC:

Flower Dome

At 1.2 hectares, the Flower Dome is the larger of the two cooled conservatories in the Bay South Garden. It replicates the cool-dry, springtime climate of the Mediterranean-type and semi-arid regions, enabling the display of habitats and plants from regions in South America, the United States, South Africa and Madagascar, Western Australia and the Mediterranean Basin.

During the preview period, visitors will also see a spectacular display of orchids planted in the Flower Field inside the Flower Dome, to mark the occasion of the 20WOC. This colourful display will feature some 14,000 orchid plants consisting of about 150 hybrids and 30 species from around the world including Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and South America.

Heritage Gardens

The Heritage Gardens features a collection of four gardens – Indian Garden, Chinese Garden, Malay Garden and Colonial Garden – which bring to life Singapore’s cultural diversity and colonial history, through plants. It features trees, shrubs and herbs associated with the various cultural groups.

Supertrees & Dragonfly Lake

Also open for public preview during this period are the Golden and Silver Gardens, as well as the Dragonfly Lake.

The Golden and Silver Gardens feature six of the 18 Supertrees in the Bay South Garden and showcase a variety of epiphytes, ferns and tropical flowering climbers with gold and silver hues.

The Dragonfly Lake is part of the Gardens lake system, which serves as a natural filter of water. It provides not only naturally treated water for irrigation in the Gardens, but also an aquatic habitat for biodiversity.

The 20WOC will be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from Nov 13-20. Admission is $15 (weekdays) and $20 (weekends) for adults. Ticket holders get to preview the Flower Dome. For more information, visit www.20woc.com.sg/site .

Cooling the plants inside Flower Dome
Hetty Musfirah Channel NewsAsia 14 Nov 11;

SINGAPORE: The Flower Dome - one of two conservatories at Singapore's Gardens by the Bay - will be opened to the public for a week-long preview from Monday.

It has been home to unusual flora and fauna since June.

NParks says that so far, the advanced cooling techniques that are integrated into the conservatory have worked in keeping the plants healthy.

The conservatory aims to replicate the cool dry conditions needed for the plants it houses. It is made up of glass panels that allow in more light than heat.

And when the sun's rays get too strong, sensors automatically trigger off shades to keep conditions stable.

The temperatures inside the conservatory are kept between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius. A process known as thermal stratification is used to ensure cool air settles in the lower zone and warm air is allowed to rise.

Gardens by the Bay's Chief Operating Officer, Kenneth Er, said: "To facilitate that process, we have chilled water pipes that are embedded on the ground so that the ground is always cool....."

Warmer air, which rises, is then released through an automatic venting system.

The chilled water comes from four chillers, two of which are used at any one time.

They do not run on electricity from a power grid, but on electricity generated from the burning of the garden's horticultural waste.

The air outside the conservatory is also stripped of its moisture by a chemical process before it is cooled.

The cooled air is then released into the conservatory through the vents.

Mr Er said: "With the technologies that we have embedded in the building, we are able to achieve 30% efficiency or savings in terms of energy consumption."

The preview of the Flower Dome and the surrounding themed gardens will go on till 20 November before the entire attraction officially opens in June next year.

- CNA/ir

Greening the Red Dot
Dr Tan Wee Kiat helped turn Singapore from a Garden City to a City In A Garden
tay suan chiang Straits Times 14 Nov 11;

This week, starting today, you can get a look at the latest green spot on the little red dot.

Just head down to Marina Bay and amid Marina Bay Sands integrated resort and the glittering downtown skyscrapers, you can experience another sort of lush life.

This is a sneak peek at a section of what will be the Government's $1-billion Gardens By The Bay South project that is due to open officially in June.

The preview, which lasts till Sunday, is part of the programme at the ongoing 20th World Orchid Conference.

Gardens By The Bay comprises three gardens. The biggest, Bay South at Marina South; the linear-shaped Bay East along Marina Channel; and the smallest, Bay Central, along Kallang Basin. Bay East opened last month.

Visit Bay South this week and get ready to ooh and ahh at its megasize SuperTree tree-like structures, two conservatories and colourful plant displays.

During your stroll through Singapore's newest Eden, your delight might be witnessed by Dr Tan Wee Kiat, the man who brought the Gardens to fruition.

Gardens By The Bay has been a seven- year labour of love for the eloquent, mild-mannered 68-year-old man who helped turn Singapore from a Garden City into a City In A Garden.

In fact, he has been greening Singapore for the past 28 years - from rejuvenating the Singapore Botanic Gardens to starting the National Orchid Garden to the lush greenery around the island that wows tourists.

Dr Tan trained in botany, horticulture and orchidology in the United States and returned here in 1983, going on to work at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where he became its director. He later became chief executive of the National Parks Board (NParks).

His former colleagues and long-time friends hail his attributes, ranging from great vision, incredible attention to detail, and a willingness to emphasise the 'public' part of the phrase, public space.

Indeed, even before Life! interviews Dr Tan at the Flower Dome, he darts off to a corner of the 54ha Gardens, returning about 15 minutes later. He apologises and says: 'I had to be there to place a plant, otherwise the work cannot go on.'

Landscaping is not something that can be done on a piece of paper, he says. 'Most landscape architects do not know the plants sufficiently, so lots of landscaped gardens are boring.' He adds that 'you can be a horticulturist for 40 years and still have no eye for aesthetics'.

Dr Tan has the eye, though. The Flower Dome is not completely done up yet but it already looks breathtaking.

From a lookout point near its entrance, visitors can see themed floral displays below. Set among the plants are trees, some a few centuries old, that come from around the world.

Yet it is a surprise to hear he has only one plant, a dracaena, in his home in Geylang, an apartment where he lives alone. 'I leave home early and I come back late, I can't have plants because I'm not at home most of the time,' he says.

For relaxation, he watches movies, 'those without blood, zombies and gore' and reads sci-fiction and fantasy stories.

A fantasy element will be present when Gardens By The Bay South opens in June. The 18 SuperTrees range from 25m to 50m tall.

Dr Tan, who is chairman of the ongoing World Orchid Conference, says: 'I want people to be proud of the Gardens and to use it like their finest furniture at home.'

The roots of the Gardens go back to 2004 when the Government was seeking to re-invent Singapore as a global city of distinction. Marina Bay was to be the new downtown, with a work, live and play element. Within this context, a central park was identified for the area.

'There was immense pressure on the resources of the Singapore Botanic Gardens as visitor numbers soared to around three million,' he adds.

'The plan was to develop another complementary Garden and allow the Botanic Gardens to focus on botany and research, while Gardens By The Bay focused on horticulture and recreational programming.' As chief executive of NParks Board then, he presented the concept for Gardens By The Bay to the Government.

Most of the $1- billion Bay South budget will be spent on infrastructure, leaving about 20 per cent for Dr Tan to buy plants.

And they are no ordinary plants. The Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions. The second conservatory, the Cloud Forest, replicates a cool-moist climate found in tropical region mountains up to 3,500m above sea level, such as Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, and areas of South America.

His challenge to his staff is that 60 per cent of the plants must be ones not normally seen in local parks. He says: 'By bringing these plants in, Singaporeans will have a chance to appreciate the diversity of the plant kingdom and the intimate relationship between plants, people and the planet.' The plants will be the wow factor that he says will hook visitors.

Though plant acquisition could be done by his staff, Dr Tan himself goes on source trips. 'You don't just look at a catalogue and pick the plant you want. Even two plants of the same species may have different qualities suitable for different functions and effects,' he says.

Some trees that will be in Bay South include 300-year-old olive trees and 500-year-old camellia trees. He had to rely on his network of nursery and plant owners to buy them. Pointing to a baobab tree, a rare African tree, he says: 'We had to have the okay from the President of Senegal before we could have it.'

The camellia trees he bought from China are the most expensive because of their age. 'They cost too much,' he would only say.

Even with Government funding, he is still seeking sponsorship. With more funds, he will be able to include a water- play Children's Garden, a Sun Garden, a Concert Lawn and changing displays in the Flower Dome. It costs from $100,000 to change the floral displays to $12 million to build the Children's Garden. 'If there are no sponsors, these additional facilities will have to be delayed,' he says.

Apart from creating Singapore's next big garden out of empty reclaimed land, his other achievements are as impressive.

He began his training as a botanist and horticulturist at Williams College in Massachusetts in 1965 and trained in orchidology, first at Michigan State University, where he received his master's, and then at the University of Miami, where he received his doctorate.

When he received a job offer from the then Parks and Recreation Department here in 1983, he was also offered the post of director of Lew Botanic Gardens in Orlando.

He opted to return to Singapore. 'I wanted to be back for my parents,' he says. His father died six years ago, while his mother will turn 90 next year.

He says he had plans to return here to 'contribute to the nation' and adds: 'I wanted to come back earlier, but there were no real opportunities for botanists.'

So he became an assistant director at the Parks and Recreation Department.

On his return, he rejuvenated the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which 'in 1983 had deteriorated into nothing more than a glorified park'. He says: 'It had lost its focus as a botanical institution and I felt the need to put it back on track.'

The rejuvenation involved conducting an inventory of plants found in the jungle, weeding out plants not native to the area and raising saplings of native species and improving visitor facilities, pathways and signs in the Gardens.

He became director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens when NParks was set up under his initiative in 1990.

In 1996, when the Parks and Recreation Department came under NParks, he was appointed its first CEO and Commissioner of Parks.

Today, NParks is responsible for enhancing the greenery of Singapore and beyond building green infrastructure, it engages Singaporeans to enhance the quality of the island's living environment.

Dr Tan served as NParks' CEO until he retired in 2006. Apart from his role as CEO of Gardens By The Bay, he still serves as an adviser to NParks.

As part of his plans to turn Singapore Botanic Gardens into a world-class institute, he started the National Orchid Garden. It opened in 2005 and has about 600 species and hybrid orchids on display.

He also spearheaded the Streetscape Greenery Masterplan and the Park Connector Network. The greenery masterplan sets out planning and design guidelines for landscaping streets, while the park connector is a nationwide system to link parks with walkways that cut through housing estates.

Other achievements include improving accessibility to nature areas such as Pulau Ubin and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Dr Leong Chee Chiew, 59, NPark's deputy chief executive officer and commissioner of parks and recreation, who has worked with Dr Tan for 23 years, says: 'He is a man with great vision. He saw more than what many of us would see.'

He cites the example of how the researchers would have been happy just to get the facilities, when research facilities were set up at Botanic Gardens.

'Dr Tan saw an opportunity for the public to see the importance of research,' he says. As a result, there are glass windows at the botany centre for the public to observe researchers at work.

Dr Leong was also struck by Dr Tan's meticulous attention to detail. 'He pays great attention to how a plant or a sculpture should be placed. In the end, the landscaping looks beautiful because of the attention paid to it.'

Born to a rubber broker and a housewife, Dr Tan is the second eldest in a family of eight children and the only one with an interest in botany. An orchid spray that his father gave his mother sparked his interest in plants.

She was the second wife. His father's first wife also had eight children. All the children played together and Dr Tan says, 'we learnt how to get along'.

Asked if his parents agreed with his choice of study, he says he was allowed to indulge himself but he had to pay for his studies. He won a scholarship to study in the United States and worked as a waiter and later at a nursery during the holidays. 'I learned to be self-reliant.'

While most Asian students at Williams College tended to stick together, he immersed himself in American culture.

Though he has had a few girlfriends, Dr Tan is still single. 'I felt I needed complete freedom. What kind of husband would I be if I spent 25 hours on the job?'

He relies on the support of family and friends, and has nieces and nephews to dote on. At work, he gets affection from three stray dogs which live at Bay South.

Work keeps him busy and retirement is not on his mind yet.

'But I will step down when I feel the work is done and there is someone who is able to take over,' he says. 'After that, I will do something else, because there is always something else to do.'