A people's garden takes root

Horticultural arts and science meet in Gardens by the Bay to create one of Singapore's crowning glories
Nicholas Yeo and Kelly Tay Business Times 17 Sep 11;

EVEN as the National Parks Board (NParks) is calling for ideas to create a city in a garden, Singapore's newest Eden - Gardens by the Bay - is already taking shape.

As part of the nature conservation agency's drive to establish world-class gardens in Singapore, Gardens by the Bay is being shaped as a leisure destination that blends horticulture, garden artistry and green innovation into one - right in the heart of the country's new downtown.

Unlike the familiar Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is steeped in 152 years of history, Gardens by the Bay will only open in mid-2012. But Tan Wee Kiat, chief executive of Gardens by the Bay, says the new garden will complement its older counterpart instead of competing with it.

Explaining the genesis behind the project, Dr Tan said: 'Due to overcrowding at the Botanic Gardens, we needed a new space which could complement it. There was space for a new 'green lung' in Singapore.'

According to Dr Tan, the push for a top-notch garden in the busy financial district was inspired partly by other international cities that have been enhanced by parks - both economically and aesthetically. 'Every major city in the world needed a park - London has Hyde, Kensington, and St James Parks, and New York has its world-renowned Central Park. Soon, Singapore will be comparable as one of the leading cities not just of Asia, but of the world,' said Dr Tan.

Gardens by the Bay comprises three parks: Bay South, Bay East, and Bay Central. Together, they span a combined area of 101 hectares of prime land - or 177 football fields - with all of it built on land reclaimed some 40 years ago.

Said Dr Tan: 'We decided to start with Bay South's 54 hectares first, which was more edgy, fun, and appropriate to the Marina Bay Sands next door.'

Bay East is 32 hectares, while Bay Central is the smallest at 15 hectares.

Emphasising the need for a coherent identity with the garden's surroundings, Dr Tan said: 'The gardens needed to be commensurate with the neighbourhood. With the new financial centre and upcoming housing supply in the area, the vision is that Marina Bay will become a mini-Manhattan.'

While it may have been inspired by worldclass parks overseas, Dr Tan said that it was clear from the very beginning that Gardens by the Bay was to be a garden for the people - a place for Singaporeans from all walks of life to enjoy.

For example, during the planning stages, NParks started canvassing the public, asking residents what they would like to see in Singapore gardens.

The findings revealed that citizens wanted their parks to provide not just greenery and shade, but also plenty of colour from flowers.

'We had to find a way to cater to the desire for more flowers and a greater variety of plants, while keeping in mind Singapore's climate. In the tropics, the flowers are not the same as those found in temperate countries,' said Dr Tan.

The only solution was to build an unconventional greenhouse, where the enclosed space could be kept cool. This would allow for the climatic change necessary for non-native flowers to bloom throughout the year.

In order to showcase different climates and their respective flora and fauna, the decision was made to build two glasshouses - the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest - to form a Conservatory Complex located in Bay South.

The Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions such as South Africa and parts of Europe like Spain and Italy, while the Cloud Forest replicates a cool-moist climate found in Tropical Montane regions between 1,000 and 3,500 metres above sea level. These include locales such as Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, and high elevation areas in South America.

The former takes up a land area of 1.2 hectares, and will be located in the larger but shorter glasshouse. The latter will be situated in the taller dome, which is 0.8 hectares in size.

The result, says Dr Tan, is a collection of plants different from those found in the Botanic Gardens: 'I would say about 60 per cent of the species found in Gardens by the Bay have not been seen in Singapore. It will be a real test of the horticultural skills of our gardeners.'

Dr Tan also emphasised that the cooled conservatories are a statement in sustainable engineering, since they apply a suite of cutting-edge technologies that provide energy-efficient solutions in cooling.

For example, findings from the testing stages revealed that it was cheaper to cool dry air. Therefore, the air in the two biomes is first dehumidified by liquid desiccants, before it is cooled by chillers.

True to its environmentally-friendly fundamentals, these chillers are powered by a steam turbine fed by horticultural waste.

Compared to conventional cooling technologies, these and other advanced solutions can help to achieve at least 30 per cent savings in energy consumption. As Dr Tan marvelled: 'Gardens by the Bay will showcase not just the art of the gardener, but also the science behind gardening.'

And while the gardens' plants will be lovingly tended to by skilled gardeners and horticulturists, Singaporeans can also look forward to a welcoming ambience, even in the heat of the day.

Said Dr Tan: 'The temperature at the equator allows for maximum plant growth, but this also means that it isn't as comfortable for humans because of the heat and humidity. So we knew we needed a garden with ample shade and wind movement to mediate this.'

To do so, the team carefully shaped the terrain of the garden, so that offshore winds from the waterfront will be channelled through the park's valleys.

'Ultimately, we want people to relax and draw joy from this place. My message to Singaporeans is: Make this garden yours. After all, it's a garden for the people,' said Dr Tan.