Gardens by the Bay

urban park in Singapore

Gardens by the Bay is an horticultural theme park south of Marina Bay in Singapore. Opened in June 2012, Gardens by the Bay is made up of three waterfront gardens: Bay South (54 hectares), Bay East (32 hectares) and Bay Central (15 hectares). It is a part of Singapore's plan to become a "City in a Garden”.[2] Singapore wants to be a leader in Asia in environmental sustainability and landscape architecture.

Gardens by the Bay
Taman di Persisiran  (Malay)
滨海湾花园 (Chinese)
வளைகுடா தோட்டம் (Tamil)
The Supertree Grove Trees from the Lily Pond at Gardens by the Bay
TypeNature park
LocationDowntown Core, Kallang, Marina East, Marina South, Singapore
Coordinates1°17′5″N 103°51′54″E / 1.28472°N 103.86500°E / 1.28472; 103.86500
Area101 hectares (250 acres)
Opened29 June 2012; 11 years ago (2012-06-29)
Operated byNational Parks Board
Visitors50 million (as of October 2018)[1]
OpenDaily
Public transit access CE1  DT16  Bayfront
 TE22  Gardens by the Bay (from 2021)
 TE22A  Founders' Memorial (from 2027)
Websitewww.gardensbythebay.com.sg

In January 2006, Gardens by the Bay began an international master plan design competition to get world-class ideas for the Gardens. The competition attracted more than 70 entries sent by 170 firms, from over 24 countries, including 35 from Singapore. Grant Associates[2][3] and Gustafson Porter,[2][4] both from UK, were awarded the master plan design for the Bay South and East Gardens in September 2006.

Gardens by the Bay, a 101-hectare horticultural attraction, contains 250 thousand rare plants in domed conservatories. There are two distinctively different conservatories: the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.[5] Both are planned for sustainable cycles in energy and water throughout Bay South Garden. The conservatories are the biggest climate-controlled greenhouses in the world and aim at creating cool growing environments in a pair of glasshouses.

Bay South Garden change

Bay South Garden opened to the public on 29 June 2012.[6] It is 54 hectares (130 acres) wide, the largest of the three gardens.

Conservatories change

 
Exterior of the two cooled conservatories at Gardens by the Bay

The conservatory complex at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, is made up of two cooled conservatories – the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. They are situated along the edge of Marina Reservoir. The conservatories, designed by WilkinsonEyre and Grant Associates, are intended to be an energy-efficient showcase of sustainable building technologies and to provide an all-weather edutainment space within the Gardens. Both are very large (around 1 hectare (2.5 acres)) and the Flower Dome is the world's largest columnless glasshouse.[7]

Flower Dome change

The Flower Dome is the largest greenhouse in the world as listed in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records at 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres) and has a cool-dry mediterranean climate. It features a changing display, the flower field, and eight other gardens, namely The Baobabs, Succulent Garden, Australian Garden, South African Garden, South American Garden, Olive Grove, California Garden and the Mediterranean Garden. These eight gardens exhibit exotic flowers and plants from the Mediterranean and semi-arid regions from five different continents.[8]

Here is the list of some plants growing in the Flower Dome:[9]

Cloud Forest change

 
The Cloud Mountain
 
Misting of the Cloud Forest at night

The Cloud Forest is higher but slightly smaller at 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres). It replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level, found in South-East Asia, Central- and South America. The conditions are also simulated by misting[10] which occurs every two hours.[11]

The Cloud Forest features a 42-metre (138 ft) "Cloud Mountain". It is accessible by elevator and is completely covered in epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike- and clubmosses, bromeliads and anthuriums. The design was inspired by the Maiden Hair Fungus and consists of a number of levels, each with a different theme, including The Lost World, The Cavern, The Waterfall View, The Crystal Mountain, The Cloud Forest Gallery, The Cloud Forest Theatre and The Secret Garden.[12][13]

The following is a partial list of plants growing in the Cloud Forest:[14]

Related pages change

References change

  1. "Gardens by the Bay's visitorship reaches 50 million". Singapore. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Gardens by the Bay". Singapore: National Parks Board. 24 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. "Gardens by the Bay". Grant Associates. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. "Bay East". Gustafson Porter + Bowman. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. Vinnitskaya, Irina (26 August 2011). "Gardens by the Bay / Grant Associates and Wilkinson Eyre Architects". ArchDaily. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. "Gardens by the Bay opens to the public". Channel NewsAsia. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  7. "Flower Dome". Gardens by the Bay. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  8. "Flower Dome - Visitor Information". Gardens by the Bay. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  9. "Flower Dome, April 2014". Independent Travellers. independent-travellers.com. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  10. Jacobs, Harrison (18 August 2018). "I visited the futuristic park filled with towering 'supertrees' featured in 'Crazy Rich Asians' and it looks like something straight out of science-fiction". Business Insider.
  11. "Cloud Forest - Visitor Information". Gardens by the Bay. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  12. "Cloud Forest - Explore Cloud Forest". Gardens by the Bay. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  13. "Gardens by the Bay Cloud Forest: Misty Mountain in a Dome". Little Day Out. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  14. "Cloud Forest, April 2014". Independent Travellers. independent-travellers.com. Retrieved 17 June 2018.

Other websites change