Humans Invent spoke to director of the firm Andrew Grant about designing the garden, the focus of which is a grouping of 18 so-called ‘supertrees’. Ranging from 25-50m high, these metal structures have been designed to act as vertical gardens from which tropical climbers, epiphytes and ferns can grow.
The underlying philosophy for the whole project was to display plants in an unusual or fantastic way
Grant says, “The supertrees became the central emblem for the project, doing all the things we said we wanted to do. We new we needed to have something quite substantial to create an immediate impact in the garden and, in the longer term, to hold the scale of the place in the context of 250m high tower blocks that will surround the park at some point. We really wanted them to show off the plants; the underlying philosophy for the whole project was to display plants in an unusual or fantastic way.”
Some of the ‘supertrees’ have been fitted with photovoltaic cells to light up the trees at night, others have rainwater harvesting systems and a few will serve as air exhausts for the two conservatories that have been constructed in the garden.
The many plant varieties grown on the trees will create a habitat for various bird species and insects. Between two of the largest ‘supertrees’ a 128-metre long aerial walkway 22 metres up in the air, has been designed to give visitors a different perspective of the garden.
The two climate controlled conservatories have been designed and constructed by Wilkinson Eyre, Atelier One, Atelier Ten along with Grant Associates. “We worked with them on the internal landscape planning of the spaces. There is one which reflects a Mediterranean region, so it’s relatively dry and cool. In here it is possible to do big displays of flowers such as Tulips and Roses that you can’t display outside in Singapore.
“The other one is more about the biodiversity of a tropical, cloud forest; a high elevation, cooler and much moister environment. It is much more about 3D immersion and working your way up through a mountain and through the different canopies of a forest.”
Allowing space for wildlife and habitat contained in the city so that it’s not just an urban sprawl
The Gardens by the Bay project is being developed by Singapore in order to promote the state as an environmentally friendly place for tourists to visit. Grant says, “Gardens by the Bay has become quite a key symbol in Singapore presenting itself as a city in a garden. They are promoting the idea that Singapore is a green space and by building high elsewhere there is always going to be the protection of open areas, allowing space for wildlife and habitat contained in the city so that it’s not just an urban sprawl.
If Gardens by the Bay turns out to be a success it could serve as a model for how other high-rise cities could protect and develop green spaces in densely populated areas in the years to come.