Gardens by the Bay Singapore, Supertrees, Biomes, Southeast Asian waterfront garden masterplan design, Architect
Gardens by the Bay : Singapore Landscape
Supertree Landscape Development design by Wilkinson Eyre / Grant Associates
post updated 10 February 2024
30 June 2022
Gardens by the Bay Conservatories Building News
Design: Grant Associates / Wilkinson Eyre Architects
photo courtesy of Grant Associates
Gardens by the Bay Singapore
Previously on e-architect:
23 Sep 2017
Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Design: Grant Associates with Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Location: Bay South
Gardens by the Bay Conservatories Supertrees feature in global expo about urban nature.
Grant Associates’ Supertree design concepts to feature at EDIT Expo, Toronto
New photos released of these spectacular Singapore landscape designs
Grant Associates’ designs for the Supertree Grove of Singapore’s internationally acclaimed Gardens by the Bay are to feature at the Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology (EDIT) in Toronto, Canada. The Supertrees will appear in ‘The Green and the Gray’, an interactive exhibition curated by international design studio Carlo Ratti Associati, 28 September to 8 October 2017.
Grant Associates’ designs for the Supertree Grove of Singapore’s internationally acclaimed Gardens by the Bay are to feature at the Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology (EDIT) in Toronto, Canada.
Supertrees at night:
photographer Darren Soh. Grant Associates 2017
The Supertrees will appear in ‘The Green and the Gray’, an interactive exhibition curated by international design studio Carlo Ratti Associati that runs from 28 September to 8 October 2017.
Part of the wider EDIT Expo, the exhibition investigates the evolving relationship between nature and cities. Grant Associates’ founder Andrew Grant will also present a talk about the Supertree Grove at the event on 2 October 2017 to tie in with World Architecture Day.
photographer Darren Soh. Grant Associates 2017
Organised by Canada’s national design museum Design Exchange (DX), the over-arching theme of the main exhibition is ‘Prosperity for all’. EDIT will coincide with celebrations of Canada’s 150th anniversary, and mark the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 – Montreal’s much lauded 1967 International and Universal Exhibition.
photographer Darren Soh. Grant Associates 2017
The aim of “The Green and The Gray” is to showcase progressive projects in fields such as urban development, housing and product design. From hydroponics to sensors for climate engineering, to vertical gardens and sensitive lighting systems, the exhibition will explore how new technologies can bridge the rift between city and nature – or urban and rural – in unprecedented ways.
EDIT will take place within a former Unilever Soap factory in Toronto’s Port Lands – a five-floor building that will host all of the expo events and exhibition. ‘The Green and the Gray’ will occupy a 2000 sq ft (200 sq m) immersive environment in which living elements such as plants are seamlessly juxtaposed with built ones. Visitors can explore ‘The Green and The Gray’ while moving over a water floor – a special surface in which a thin transparent layer gives the impression of walking over water.
Other exhibitions at EDIT include work by the distinguished architect and designer Bruce Mau, chef Jamie Oliver, computer scientist Kentaro Toyama, and the physician and innovator Julielynn Wong.
photographer Darren Soh. Grant Associates 2017
Andrew Grant, founder and Director at Grant Associates, comments: “EDIT is an ambitious exhibition that deals with some of the most pressing challenges facing our world, including global urbanisation.
“EDIT and ‘The Green and the Gray’ provide vehicles through which the international design community can explore how to respond to these urgent issues, and help create a sustainable future. It’s a privilege for Grant Associates to be involved with the event and take part in these important discussions.”
photographer Darren Soh. Grant Associates 2017
Further details about ‘The Green and the Gray’:
Highlights of the exhibition include;
● Tree-inspired architectures: Supertree Grove by Grant Associates
Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay is an award-winning showpiece of horticulture and garden artistry. At the core of the site there is Bay South, a waterfront garden masterplanned by Grant Associates, featuring the iconic Supertrees, vertical gardens with a tree-like structure between 25 and 50 meters, embedded with sustainable energy and water technologies and displaying tropical flowering climbers, epiphytes and ferns. At night, these canopies come alive with lighting and projected media.
● Reversío by Transsolar
Reversío moves beyond the dualities of space towards a continuum of indoors and outdoors by playing with the human senses. By blurring the boundaries between inside and outside, we can extend the range of conventionally acceptable conditions for people, making it much easier to passively provide a comfortable indoor environment. Step into an immersive field that softens the boundaries of space and sensations. (Sponsored by Brens North America and Envirozone Design Inc.)
● Cricket Shelter by Terreform ONE
Cricket Shelter is a dual-purpose shelter and modular insect farm bounded into one structure. Such a hybrid architectural typology is intended as a response to the increasing impact of climate dynamics, armed conflicts, non-stop urbanization and economic upheavals on the world’s most distressed regions. In case of food crisis, Cricket Shelter give people access to good sources of alternative protein, as raising livestock may not be possible at our current rate of consumption and resource extraction.
● Spectral light by Philippe Rahm for Artemide
Designed by Philippe Rahm for Artemide, Spectral Light is a lamp made of 12 light wavelengths emitted by 12 LEDs of different semiconductors, corresponding to 12 wavelengths peaks perceived by different living species: human, dog, cat and plants. The wavelengths that ultimately make up the lamp are therefore to humans 470 nm (blue), 534nm (green), 564nm (amber). For the dog 470 nm (blue) and 555nm (lime). For the cat 500nm (cyan) and 556 nm (green) and for plants 470nm (blue) and 662 nm (deep red).
● Arctic Food Network by Lateral Office
The Arctic Food Network (AFN) project proposes to address the threats of health, poverty, and loss of culture in the Inuit regions of Canada by integrating communities with a unique infrastructure system – a 21st century arctic snow highway. AFN envisions a regional network of hunting cabins, arctic farms and camp hubs, located in relation to existing food sources. AFN seeks to merge new technologies with traditional cultural practices, envisioning an architecture that is adaptable and responsive, rooted in local climate and culture.
photographer Craig Sheppard
Full list of ‘The Green and the Gray’ exhibitors: Grant Associates (Project: Supertree Grove), Lateral Office (Arctic Food Network), Lowline Lab (Lowline), Mathieu Lehanneur (Andrea), MIT Senseable City Lab (Underworlds, Treepedia), Modular Farms (Modular Farms), PikaPlant (PikaPlant), Philippe Rahm for Artemide (Spectral Light), Rebuild By Design (Rebuild By Design), SCAPE Landscape Architecture (Living Breakwaters), Spark (HomeFarm), Susana Soares (Bee), Terreform ONE (Cricket Shelter), Transsolar (Reversio), Carlo Ratti Associati (FICO Eataly World).
19 Nov 2013
The Structural Awards 2013
This project is one of the winners of The Structural Awards 2013.
Award for Arts or Entertainment Structures
– Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Structural Designer: Atelier One with Meinhardt Infrastructure
The Structural Awards 2013 – winners
5 Oct 2012
World Building of the Year Award
image from WAF
Cooled Conservatories at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, designed by Wilkinson Eyre, Grant Associates, Atelier One and Atelier Ten, wins the WAF World Building of the Year Award for 2012.
13 Sep 2012
Conservatories at Bay South Garden, Singapore
Design: Grant Associates / Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Gardens by the Bay Conservatories News
Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, the dramatic leisure destination designed by UK landscape architects Grant Associates, has welcomed over one million visitors in its first two months including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Now the scheme has been shortlisted for two World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards, which is to be staged in Singapore for the first time next month (3-5 Oct 2012).
photos : Craig Sheppard
Over one million people have already visited Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay since its completion on 29 June 2012 by a design team led by UK landscape architects, Grant Associates.
This includes the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday 12 September as part of their Asia Pacific tour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubliee. They toured the Cloud Forest Cooled Conservatory, Supertrees Grove, planted a tree and met the design team.
Now, thousands of architects from around the world are being given a prime opportunity to visit Gardens by the Bay, when the World Architecture Festival (WAF) is held in Asia for the first time at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore from 3-5 October 2012. Gardens by the Bay is shortlisted for 2 World Architecture Festival Awards in the Completed Urban Landscape Design and Display categories. Winners will be announced in Singapore on 5th October 2012.
photos : Craig Sheppard
At 101 hectares, Gardens by the Bay will eventually be one of the largest gardens of its kind in the world comprising Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central. Grant Associates was responsible for master planning the first and largest of the three planned gardens, Bay South, which stretches over 54 hectares and opened in June 2012. Bay East and Bay Central are yet to be completed.
A remarkable blend of nature, technology, environmental management and imagination, highlights of Bay South include 18 Supertrees (25-50 metre vertical gardens that light up at night) and two giant Cooled Conservatories, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, housing Mediterranean and Tropical climate plants. The project also includes a rich variety of Horticultural Gardens, designed around the themes ‘Plants and People’ and ‘Plants and Planet’.
photo : Robert Such
Teamwork key to the success
Alongside lead designers Grant Associates, the British design team for Bay South included Wilkinson Eyre Architects (architects); Atelier Ten (environmental design consultants); Atelier One (structural engineers); Land Design Studio (museum and visitor centre designers); Thomas Matthews (communication designers). Squint Opera (animations) and Buro 4 (design management).
This team was supported by a number of Singapore Consultants including CPG (architecture, civils and structures, M&E), Meinhardt Infrastructure (civils and structures), Langdon Seah (cost consultants), LPA (lighting design), PMLink (project management) and WET (irrigation).
The client, National Parks Board of Singapore, and the Gardens by the Bay project team were instrumental in delivering the world class collections of plants.
photo : Darren Chin
A growing force in Asian landscape architecture
Gardens by the Bay is one of a series of significant landscape architecture projects that Grant Associates is currently working on in Singapore and throughout Asia. These include the landscape masterplan for TRX in Kuala Lumpur with Machado and Silvetti Associates; the landscape and public realm design for Capitol in Singapore with Richard Meier and Partners; Raffles City in Shenzhen with Benoy; and an environmental tourism study for Endau Rompin National Park in Malaysia with PEERS Consult.
28 Jun 2012
Conservatories at Bay South Garden, Singapore News
Design: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Gardens by the Bay Conservatories
Wilkinson Eyre Architects have completed two of the largest climate-controlled conservatories in the world, as the architectural centrepiece of Singapore’s new 54-hectare Bay South Garden, which is the first completed part of the spectacular Gardens by the Bay project and opens to the public on June 29th.
photo © Tan Yew Siong
Located in Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay is a key project in delivering the Singapore Government’s vision of transforming Singapore into a ‘City in a Garden’ and is expected to pull in five million visitors a year. At a total of 101 hectares, the Gardens by the Bay project comprises three distinct waterfront gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central.
At the heart of Bay South Garden is the Cooled Conservatory Complex designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, which is the focal point of the Gardens with the largest climate-controlled glasshouses in the world.
The glass and steel cooled conservatories bring the climates and plant life of Mediterranean and Cloud Forest regions to tropical Singapore. Highlights of the attraction include an indoor waterfall, a perpetually flowering meadow, cascading levels of vertical planting and high level walkways through and above the tree canopy.
Conservatories Bay South Garden
Conservatories at Bay South Garden Singapore images / information from Wilkinson Eyre Architects
19 Jun 2012
Gardens by the Bay Singapore
Design: Grant Associates
Gardens by the Bay
Bay South is the largest garden at Gardens by the Bay and it stands at 54 hectares located next to the Marina Bay Sands. Masterplanned by UK-based landscape architecture firm Grant Associates, this lively and vibrant garden showcases the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry with a mass display of tropical flowers and coloured foliage and more. Key highlights are:
photo : Darren Chin
Supertrees
• Designed by Grant Associates as tree-like structures between 25 metres and 50 metres in height (9 to 16 storeys), the 18 Supertrees are uniquely designed vertical gardens, with emphasis placed on creating a “wow” factor through the vertical display of tropical flowering climbers, epiphytes and ferns. At night, these canopies come alive with lighting and projected media produced by Lighting Planners Associates.
• The Supertrees are embedded with sustainable energy and water technologies integral to the cooling of the Conservatory.
• Given the equatorial climate, the grove of Supertrees will help to ameliorate discomfort by providing shade and shelter with the canopy.
• The Supertrees support a bar at the top of the tallest tree (designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects) and an aerial walkway experience 20m above the ground (designed by Grant Associates).
Supertrees photos : Robert Such
Cooled Conservatories
• The Conservatory Complex is an architectural icon, a horticultural attraction and a showcase of sustainable energy technology.
• Comprising two biomes designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects – the Flower Dome (1.2 hectare) and the Cloud Forest (0.8 hectare) – that display plants and flowers from the Mediterranean-type climatic regions and Tropical Montane (Cloud Forest) environments respectively, the Conservatory Complex will provide an all-weather “edutainment” space within the Gardens.
• The internal gardens and landscapes are designed by Grant Associates in collaboration with Wilkinson Eyre Architects.
• To ascertain the environmentally sensitive energy requirements of the Conservatory, NParks commissioned an energy modeling study. The study shows that, by applying the latest cooling technologies, the energy consumption for the Conservatory is comparable to that of an average commercial building in Singapore of the same footprint and height, normalised to a 24-hour cooling period.
Horticultural Themed Gardens
• Designed by Grant Associates with planting by NParks, these gardens showcase the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry. Together with mass flowering and coloured foliage landscape, they form a spectacle of colour and texture and fragrance within the Gardens, providing a mesmerising experience for visitors.
• There are 2 collections, namely the Heritage Gardens and The World of Plants, which centre on the subjects: ‘Plants and People’ and ‘Plants and Planet’.
Supertrees Singapore photos : Darren Chin
Heritage Gardens
This is a collection of 4 gardens that reflects the history and culture of Singapore’s main ethnic groups as well as the city-state’s colonial heritage. Each Garden explores the rich cultural significance of different plant species including their symbolism, religious significance, trade, food and medicinal uses etc.
• The Malay Garden tells the story of life in a traditional “kampong” (village).
• The Indian Garden’s layout echoes a traditional illustrated flower motif.
• The Chinese Garden reflects the role of gardens in Chinese culture as places of inspiration for writers, poets and artists, through seclusion and tranquility.
• The Colonial Garden tells the story of plants as “Engines of Empire” – lucrative crops, spices and plants that formed important trade routes between the East and the West.
The World of Plants
The second collection of gardens is based on the theme “Plants and Planet” and showcases the biodiversity of plant life on our planet. There are 6 gardens in total:
• Secret Life of Trees examines trees, what they are, their functions and their evolution. It also investigates the role of trees in the rainforest.
• World of Palms celebrates the rich diversity of the world of tropical palms and their particular ecological niches. Different shapes of fronds and seeds, as well as the versatile use of palms are also highlighted in the garden.
• Understorey features the forest root zone & plant species of the forest floor. Stories include how plants have adapted to the specific environments such as low light levels and poor soil as well as the cycle of decomposition.
• Fruits and Flowers is about the amazing world of flowers and fruits. There are stories about the form and function of flowers and fruits, why plants need flowers and fruits and the domestication of rainforest fruits.
• Discovery Garden looks at plant evolution throughout the lifespan of the planet, and focuses on selected ancient groups of plants. By providing visitors with a glimpse of the long time it took for the plant diversity we see today to evolve, it also draws a comparison with the accelerated rate of extinction caused by man.
• Web of Life focuses on the interrelationship of rainforest flora with fauna. The main subject will be the web of life. This will include the keystone species and food chains in the tropical rainforest. The focus will be on the fig as keystone species.
photos : Craig Sheppard
Other Bay South Garden Attractions
In addition to this collection of special gardens, the site includes a wide range of additional Garden attractions. These include:
• Supertree Grove is the largest garden at the heart of the site featuring a cluster of 12 Supertrees. The garden is lined by a 300m long colonnaded walkway providing shaded and dry connection across the site and by a display of Aerial Root pergolas displaying tropical climbing plants.
• Dragonfly Lake is a 1km long lake creating a dramatic setting to the Supertrees and Conservatories. The distinctive Dragonfly Bridge connects the city to the central gardens. The lake is lined by boardwalk and special aquatic gardens and a system of filter beds that are part of the water quality management for the site.
• Marina promenade is a 1km tree lined walkway along the Marina edge linking the city centre with the Barrage
• Tadpole Play Area is a nature themed playground set within a planted rainforest
• Fragile Forest has been planted using native species to simulate a typical S.E. Asian Rainforest.
• Events Lawn is a large open space capable of holding outdoor concerts and events for 10,000 people or more.
photos from Grant Associates
Gardens by the Bay Singapore images / information from Grant Associates
Location: Singapore
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