A world-class British design team led by Bath-based landscape architects Grant Associates is celebrating the opening to the public of the first phase of Singapore’s dramatic £500m Gardens by the Bay project.
One of the largest garden projects of its kind in the world, it will ultimately cover 101 hectares of reclaimed land in Singapore’s new downtown at Marina Bay and its three distinct gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central – will provide a unique leisure destination for local and international visitors.
Grant Associates were appointed in 2006 by the National Parks Board of Singapore following an international design competition. It has since masterplanned the Bay South Garden, the first and largest of the three Gardens by the Bay and led an all-British design team including Wilkinson Eyre (architects); Atelier Ten (environmental design consultants); Atelier One (structural engineers); Land Design Studio (museum and visitor centre designers) and Thomas Matthews (communication designers).
The project is an integral part of Singapore’s City in a Garden vision, designed to raise its profile globally while showcasing the best of horticulture and garden artistry.
Grant Associates’ masterplan takes inspiration from the form of the orchid and is a rich fusion of nature, technology and environmental management.
Stunning architectural structures are combined with a wide variety of horticultural displays, daily light and sound shows, lakes, forests, event spaces and a host of dining and retail offerings.
The whole plan has an intelligent environmental infrastructure, allowing endangered plants, which could not normally grow in Singapore to flourish, providing both leisure and education to the nation.
Among the highlights are:
* two giant biomes – or Cooled Conservatories – designed by Wilkinson Eyre which display plants and flowers from the Mediterranean-type climatic regions and Tropical Montane environments and provide an all-weather “edutainment” space,
* 18 Supertrees between 25 and 50m high. Designed by Grant Associates, these iconic vertical gardens create a wow factor through their vertical display of tropical flowering climbers, epiphytes and ferns. At night, they come alive with lighting and projected media. An aerial walkway suspended from the Supertrees offers visitors a unique perspective on the gardens. The Supertrees are embedded with sustainable energy and water technologies integral to the cooling of the Cooled Conservatories.
* Two horticultural gardens, The Heritage Gardens and The World of Plants, centre on Plants and People and Plants and Planet and form a spectacle of colour, texture and fragrance in the gardens.
Grant Associates director and founder Andrew Grant said: “Our brief was to create the most amazing tropical gardens in the world, incorporating cutting-edge environmental design and sustainable development principles.
“We had to factor in the challenges of both the Singaporean climate and working on a reclaimed waterfront. We wanted to capture people’s relationship with nature and use innovative technology to create rich lifestyle, educational and recreational experiences for both local residents of Singapore and visitors from around the world. All these elements informed the vision and creation of the gardens.”
Project director at Grant Associates Keith French added: “We were very fortunate to work with the right team to make the vision for Gardens for the Bay work. Our ethos as landscape architects is collaborative. Working with great architects, engineers and environmental specialists we created some very imaginative and innovative ideas that the National Parks Board championed. With these elements the end result at Gardens for the Bay is wonderful, impactful and powerful. It’s been a dream project to work on.”
Established in 1997, Grant Associates has built up a reputation for innovative, ecologically-based design and the ability to shape useful and sustainable landscapes with distinctive contemporary character. Clients include The National Trust, Urban Splash, Rolls Royce, English Partnerships, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Wessex Water.
