More 'sky gardens' set to blossom

New URA plan makes landscaping a must for new projects downtown
April Chong and Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 30 Apr 09;

EXPECT to see more 'gardens in the sky' in Singapore, especially in areas like Orchard Road, Raffles Place and along the Singapore River.

A new plan launched yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) makes it a must for new developments coming up in several areas from December to have landscaping.

This can take the form of rooftop gardens, planter boxes and sky terraces on the upper levels. Developers will also be encouraged to landscape their grounds.

The areas affected by this new ruling are the Downtown Core - which encompasses Raffles Place, Shenton Way, and Marina Centre - along the Kallang River, and Jurong Gateway, the upcoming commercial hub in the west.

Existing buildings will not be left out.

Those in Orchard Road and the business district will be allowed to open outdoor refreshment areas on their rooftops. To do this, they will be given additional gross floor area of half the roof area or up to 200 sq m.

This complements a programme launched on Monday by the Building Construction Authority (BCA) and URA. Under it, private buildings which are eco-friendly enough to achieve high standards under BCA's Green Mark scheme get additional gross floor area.

The new URA initiative, launched yesterday, is called Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (Lush), and is part of a national sustainability blueprint launched by an inter-ministerial committee on Monday.

The blueprint sets national targets for pollution standards, energy usage and green areas over the next 20 years, and aims to create a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient nation.

In addition to the Lush programme, the National Parks Board also announced yesterday an $8 million fund that developers can tap to create rooftop gardens on existing buildings.

To be launched in September, the fund will offset up to $75 per sq metre for landscaping costs - about half the $150 to $180 per sq m usually charged by gardening companies.

Landlords in the Orchard Road and downtown areas can apply to the fund.

In announcing the plans yesterday, the URA said that encouraging private developers to include greenery in their buildings is becoming increasingly important as Singapore becomes more built up.

Developers that The Straits Times spoke to yesterday welcomed the moves, but had suggestions to make the scheme more attractive as URA had said that the the usual development charges (DC) would apply.

The DC rate is pegged at 70 per cent of a building's enhanced land value.

Managing director of City Developments Kwek Leng Joo felt that while developers can make use of the additional area, they would have to grapple with the additional costs.

'We would suggest that the DC rate be pegged at the previous rate of 50 per cent instead of the current 70 per cent, which most developers find too high.

'This could make the incentive more attractive and effective to help the policy take off quickly,' he said.

Rooftop landscaping gets $8m boost
NParks launches 3-year co-funding scheme; URA starts landscaping for urban spaces plan
Emilyn Yap, Business Times 30 Apr 09;

(SINGAPORE) Hot on the heels of a sustainable development blueprint released on Monday, the National Parks Board (NParks) yesterday announced a three-year $8 million scheme to co-fund rooftop landscaping in the city.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also launched its landscaping for urban spaces and high-rises (Lush) programme to help meet the blueprint's goal of creating another 50 hectares of 'sky-rise' greenery by 2030.

'Despite Singapore being land scarce, greenery can be pervasive in our urban spaces,' said URA chief executive Cheong Koon Hean. From September this year, NParks will give cash incentives to owners who install green roofs on existing buildings in the downtown and Orchard planning areas. The scheme will first target low- to mid-rise developments that are highly visible, and those surrounded by little street-level greenery.

NParks hopes to create nine hectares of green roofs over the next three years. The incentives will cover up to half of installation costs, capped at $75 per sq m. According to the agency, the typical cost of installing a green roof ranges from $150-$180 per sq m.

Gardens on the roof cost more than those on the ground for every square metre, said Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects' president Henry Steed. 'But once you have built it, the asset is there and the land usable, whereas a plain roof is not.'

In conjunction with NParks' scheme, URA will offer owners who install green roofs bonus gross floor area (GFA) above the master plan permissible intensity. The additional space - limited to half of the roof area or 200 sq m, whichever is lower - can be used for outdoor refreshment areas.

Developers will have to pay a development charge (DC) or differential premium, but URA believes the bonus GFA offer is sufficiently attractive.

The current DC calculation formula creams off 70 per cent of the enhancement in land value, but 'there's still a 30 per cent gain for developers,' said URA's urban design deputy director Cheng Hsing Yao.

The GFA incentive scheme is part of URA's Lush programme, which includes other existing and revised measures to enhance the urban landscape.

For instance, developers applying to exclude sky terraces from GFA computations now have to submit detailed plans on landscaping and communal facilities at the terraces.

Developers housing car parks within raised decks must also put up earth berms for plants on at least 60 per cent of each side of the deck wall, and should surround the area with see-through fences rather than solid walls.

In the strategic areas of the Downtown Core, including Marina Bay, Kallang Riverside and Jurong Gateway, new developments also have to put in place 'sky-rise' greenery or ground-level landscaping equivalent to the site area in size.

For very small plots where buildings have to be tall to maximise the plot ratio, 'replacement is typically not too difficult,' said Singapore Institute of Architects immediate past-president Tai Lee Siang.

Both Mr Steed and Mr Tai believe more can be done to promote urban greenery.

Mr Steed, for instance, envisions it will ultimately be possible for all roofs to have green features ranging from gardens, water catchment areas and even mini-farms.

URA, NParks introduce schemes to promote more sky gardens in Singapore
Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia 29 Apr 09;

SINGAPORE : Singapore developers will enjoy new incentives to include skyrise greenery in their projects.

The government wants to see more sky terraces and rooftop gardens, as part of a multi-billion dollar sustainable development blueprint for Singapore for the next 20 years.

The initiative is known as Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-rises (LUSH).

Fun Siew Leng, group director of Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), said: "A lot of people place premium on having greenery at their doorstep. And it doesn't mean that by going high-rise you don't have access to greenery.

"So, one of these ways is to encourage and require more greenery to be built in the development itself, either at the ground level or even at the upper levels."

Come December 1 this year, new projects and re-developments within the central business district, Kallang Riverside and Jurong Gateway areas will be required to have green landscape at least equivalent in size to the development site area.

These can include ground floor landscape areas, as well as roof gardens and sky terraces. As a guide, 40 per cent of these areas are to consist of permanent planting.

Developers will also be given additional gross floor area of up to 200 square metres of roof space or 50 per cent, whichever is lower, for greening their rooftops for use such as outdoor refreshment areas.

This will be allowed over and above the Master Plan maximum allowable gross floor area for the site.

And it is not just new buildings that will stand to benefit from the initiative. NParks is introducing a pilot scheme later this year to encourage existing building owners to green-up their roof tops.

NParks is spending S$8 million over the next three years in cash incentives to co-fund up to half the cost of installing green roofs.

A green roof is defined as a lightweight growing system, which requires a proper selection of plant material for easy maintenance. The cost of installing a square metre of green roof typically ranges from S$150 to S$180.

"There are also benefits in reduction of heat as well. The green roof reduces the heat load going into the building as well as the ambient temperature of the roof itself," said Simon Longman, director of National Parks Board.

So far, there are more than 100 developments in Singapore with approved sky terraces.

NParks will start giving out the cash incentives in September 2009.

NParks plans to transform some 9 hectares of existing rooftops into green roofs over the next three years.

The URA is targeting to add 50 hectares of skyrise greenery by 2030. - CNA /ls

Lush incentives for high-rise greenery
Esther Ng, Today Online 30 Apr 09;

SINGAPORE the Garden City is reaching for the skies — and that is why, to emulate cities like Stuttgart, Portland and Tokyo that plume their buildings with greenery, the Government is tossing more carrots to developers here to do the same.

Under the Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises, or Lush, programme launched by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday, developers will get additional gross floor area (GFA) — subject to a maximum of 50 per cent of the roof area or 200 sq m — if they provide more rooftop greenery and compatible commercial use, such as an outdoor refreshment area.

This extra GFA is on top of what the developer is allowed to build on the site.

To encourage existing building owners in Downtown and Orchard to green up their rooftops, the National Parks Board will, from September, fund half the installation costs up to $75 per sq m of green roof. The works typically cost between $150 to$180 per sq m.

The benefits include, for building occupants, thermal insulation which keeps the interior naturally cool — and for the city environment, urban biodiversity in the form of more birds and insects.

But would building users welcome bird droppings, and would these green spaces encourage mosquito breeding?

NParks’ director of Streetscape Simon Longman said that the board “would have to educate the public” and it will work with the National Environment Agency to do so.

Other measures include fine-tuning existing building guidelines — such as getting developers to enhance planting around landscaped decks, and GFA exemption for communal sky terraces.

From December, the URA will also require that new developments replace the greenery and landscape areas equivalent to the area of the development site, either at the ground level or vertically. This applies to all new developments and redevelopments within the Downtown Core, Kallang Riverside and Jurong Gateway.