Civic District undergoing facelift to be more pedestrian-friendly

Channel NewsAsia 7 May 15;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Civic District is undergoing a facelift, which involves the moving of trees and the landscaping of open spaces near the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. It is an engineering feat that National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has lauded in his blog.

The Civic District is home to several arts institutions. Apart from the Asian Civilisations Museum, the area also boasts the National Gallery and Victoria Theatre.

The authorities hope that the presence of the new trees will rejuvenate the area and make it more pedestrian-friendly.

"These are your first class arts and culture developments,” said Mr Bernard Chan, a senior architect of the Conservation and Urban Design Group at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). “So what we want to do is to come in and create a nice lawn for which these developments can sit within, so we have got a garden setting with monuments nestled within it.”

He added: “The other thing that was important for us is to create an environment that is safe and comfortable for pedestrians. With that, we have started to remove some roads, Old Parliament Lane, that will be paved over and made pedestrianised."

It takes about two weeks to move each mature rain tree, which is about 40 years old and weighs more than 90 tonnes. They had to first be inspected by an expert to ensure that they were in good condition. The area around the trees was then excavated before the trees were lifted and moved.

Said Mr Chan: "I think for most of us the transplant itself is quite mechanical, but it is really the tender loving care that the team puts into the roots and the trees that will really ensure the survival of the tree."

Esplanade Park will also see some new trees. The National Parks Board’s director of Streetscape, Mr Oh Cheow Sheng, said: “In the 1960s to the 1980s, this was a popular meeting place for couples. It was commonly referred to as 'gor zhang chiu kar', or under the shade of the five mature angsana trees. In the 1990s unfortunately due to a fungal wilt disease, all these trees had to be removed.

“As part of the improvement of the park at Esplanade, we will be transplanting five mature angsana trees back to the site. This will help to bring back a sense of nostalgia back to the site."

Works around the Civic District will be fully completed by October 2016.

- CNA/hs

Angsana trees transplanted at Esplanade Park
AMANDA LEE Today Online 8 May 15;

SINGAPORE — It is called Esplanade Park now but, from the 1960s to 1980s, the popular spot for lovebirds was known as “gor zhang chiu kar”, Hokkien for “under the shade of five trees”, in reference to the prominent, strapping Angsana trees there.

After a fungal disease attacked the tree species, the five mature trees had to be removed in the 1990s.

In a few months though, the public will get to relive the vibes of “gor zhang chiu kar” again, when five new Angsana trees that the National Parks Board’s (NParks) horticulturists have fortified to be resistant to the fungus are transplanted into Esplanade Park.

The transplanting is part of moves to pedestrianise the Civic District, including the planting of an eighth mature rain tree at a new 4,400 sq m lawn in front of Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall yesterday to provide shade.

In a blog post yesterday on the rejuvenation of the Civic District, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan urged visitors to go and enjoy the enhancements made by NParks.

“We are putting a lot of thought and passion into the rejuvenation of the Civic District. We want an integrated arts, culture and lifestyle precinct set in a lush, green environment,” he wrote.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s senior architect Bernard Chan said the main objective of the project was to provide a nice environment for Singapore’s world-class arts and culture monuments.

“So what we want to do is come in to create a nice lawn (on) which these developments can sit,” said Mr Chan. “We have got a garden setting with monuments nestled within it.”

On a media tour of the area yesterday, NParks Director (Streetscape) Oh Cheow Sheng said the transplanting of the mature Angsana trees to Esplanade Park would “help to bring back a sense of nostalgia”.

By specially propagating new Angsana trees that are genetically resistant to the fungus that had wreaked havoc on the species, NParks’ horticulturists managed to see 115 of these plants to maturity.

NParks has also developed modular suspended pavement systems that can be installed under roads and paved surfaces to allow for greater rooting and breathing spaces. These polypropylene structural cells are being tested under a row of 22 Kayu Arang trees along Queen Elizabeth Walk, which is part of the Jubilee Walk.

NParks senior researcher Genevieve Ow Lai Fern said the technology would extend the space for tree roots and increase soil volume.

“Essentially, when we improve the underground conditions, it will translate to overall healthier trees,” she added. Mr Khaw said more volume and colour are being added to the landscape, with Pigeon Orchids and Staghorn ferns to be planted on trees there.

“Old favourites”, such as the Mussaenda Queen Sirikit, Thai Gardenias and Frangipani Singapore White will also be reintroduced, he added.

8 trees transplanted to new lawn in front of Victoria Theatre
AMANDA LEE Today Online 7 May 15;

SINGAPORE — Eight mature trees have been transplanted to a new lawn in front of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall.

This is one of the initatives between the National Parks Board (NParks) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to enhance greenery and landscaping in the Civic District, which was disclosed at a media tour today (May 7).

Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan also wrote in his blog post today about the ongoing efforts to enhance greenery within the Civic District.

“We are making good progress in our effort to pedestrianise our Civic District,” said Mr Khaw. “Specifically, we are creating a lawn in front of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall”.

He said the plan calls for the transplanting of eight mature rain trees to the front of the national monuments.

Elaborating on the rejuvenation of the Civic District, Mr Khaw said: “We want an integrated art, culture and lifestyle precinct set in a lush, green environment.”

Other initiatives include reinstating five Angsana trees at the Esplanade Park. In October, the NParks and URA will be transplanting five mature trees back to the park, where a fungal disease called “Fusarium” struck down the original five in the 1990s.

This would bring back memories of many young couples who used to sit under the shade of the five trees, said Nparks Director (Streetscape) Oh Cheow Sheng.

90-tonne raintree transplanted to Civic District
Samantha Boh The Straits Times AsiaOne 9 May 15;

An eighth raintree was successfully transplanted to a new location in front of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall yesterday, adding to a row of seven other raintrees that had been moved there earlier as plans to pedestrianise the Civic District progressed.

With the nearby Old Parliament Lane paved over to turn it into a pedestrian path by July, walking in the Victoria Theatre and Asian Civilisations Museum area will be even more of a breeze.

Stepped waterfront plazas and a playground will be built at Esplanade Park.

The walkway in front of the National Gallery will also be widened.

Writing in the Ministry of National Development's blog yesterday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said: "We are putting a lot of thought and passion into the rejuvenation of the Civic District. We want an integrated art, culture and lifestyle precinct set in a lush, green environment."

The eighth raintree, which weighs 90 tonnes, was the second largest and final tree to be transplanted.

The process took two weeks to complete, which included having the tree pruned to minimise stress from water loss.

The seven other trees transplanted earlier are in good health, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the National Parks Board (NParks).

Other works are also under way around the Civic District to enhance its greenery, including the installation of structural cells at Queen Elizabeth Walk, which are being placed under roads and paved surfaces.

They allow tree roots to branch out wider and deeper without becoming obstructed. From mid-this month, biostimulants will be applied to mature trees to improve soil structure, among other benefits.

NParks is also reinstating five Angsana trees to Esplanade Park in October. The place was a popular meeting place for couples between the 1960s and 1980s.

The five Angsana trees were removed in the 1990s as they were affected by a fungal disease that also killed many mature Angsana trees elsewhere in Singapore, Mr Khaw said in the blog.

New Angsana trees that are genetically resistant to the disease have since been propagated by NParks' horticulturists.

The five new Angsana trees at Esplanade Park will be from among these trees.

During a media tour of the area yesterday, Mr Bernard Chan, senior architect at URA's conservation and urban design group, said there are also plans to provide infrastructure such as electricity and water at the new lawn in front of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall.