The Gardens by the Bay is a
nature park
A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...
spanning in the
Central Region of
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, adjacent to the
Marina Reservoir
The Marina Reservoir is a reservoir in Singapore formed in 2008 by building a dam across the mouth of the Marina Channel. With the completion of the Marina Barrage on 30 October 2008, the reservoir, which contained mainly salt water, became freshw ...
. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden (in
Marina South
Marina South is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. It is largely home to Gardens by the Bay as well as the Marina Barrage. The name has also been used to refer to the larger peninsula the plannin ...
), Bay East Garden (in
Marina East
Marina East is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore, covering of reclaimed land.
It is the location of NTUC Club's Marina Bay Golf Course (formerly known as the Marina East Course) and the Gardens by ...
) and Bay Central Garden (in
Downtown Core
The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buildi ...
and
Kallang
Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore.
Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...
). The largest of the gardens is the Bay South Garden at designed by Grant Associates. Its Flower Dome is the largest glass greenhouse in the world.
Gardens by the Bay was part of the nation's plans to transform its "Garden City" to a "City in a Garden", with the aim of raising the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city. First announced by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...
at Singapore's
National Day Rally
The National Day Rally ( ms, Rapat Umum Hari Kebangsaan; ; ta, தேசிய தின பேரணி) is an annual message delivered by the prime minister of Singapore to the entire nation, on the first or second Sunday after the National ...
in 2005, Gardens by the Bay was intended to be Singapore's premier urban outdoor recreation space and a national icon.
Being a popular tourist attraction in Singapore, the park received 6.4 million visitors in 2014, while topping its 20 millionth visitor mark in November 2015 and over 50 million in 2018.
Bay Central Garden
Bay Central Garden will act as a link between Bay South and Bay East Gardens. It stands at with a waterfront promenade that allows for scenic walks stretching from the city centre to the east of Singapore.
Bay East Garden
![Singapore skyline at sunset viewed from Gardens by the Bay East - 20120426](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Singapore_skyline_at_sunset_viewed_from_Gardens_by_the_Bay_East_-_20120426.jpg)
Bay East Garden is in size and it has a promenade frontage bordering the Marina Reservoir. An interim park was developed at Bay East Garden in support of the
2010 Summer Youth Olympics
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...
. The first phase of the garden was opened to the public in October 2011, allowing alternative access to the
Marina Barrage
Marina Barrage is a dam in southern Singapore built at the confluence of five rivers, across the Marina Channel between Marina East and Marina South.
First conceptualised in 1987 by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew to help achieve greater sel ...
.
It is designed as a series of large tropical leaf-shaped gardens, each with its own specific landscaping design, character and theme. There will be five water inlets aligned with the prevailing wind direction, maximizing and extending the shoreline while allowing wind and water to penetrate the site to help cool areas of activity around them.
Bay East Garden provides visitors with an unobstructed view of the city skyline. Upcoming developments of Bay East Garden will be based on the theme of water.
In 2018, Bay East Garden was designated as the future site of the
Founders' Memorial
The Founders' Memorial is a memorial under development within the Bay East Garden of the Gardens by the Bay to commemorate the founding fathers of Singapore as well as to cover the country's contemporary history from after World War II to its fi ...
.
Bay South Garden
Bay South Garden opened to the public on 29 June 2012. It is the largest of the three gardens at and designed to show the best of
tropical horticulture
185px, rubber tree (''Hevea brasiliensis''), and a bucket of collected latex
Tropical horticulture is a branch of horticulture that studies and cultivates plants in the tropics, i.e., the Equatorial climate, equatorial regions of the world. The f ...
and garden artistry.
The overall concept of its master plan by Grant Associates draws inspiration from an
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
as it is representative of the tropics and of Singapore, being the country's national flower, the
Vanda 'Miss Joaquim'. The orchid takes root at the waterfront (conservatories), while the leaves (landforms), shoots (paths, roads and linkways) and secondary roots (water, energy and communication lines) then form an integrated network with blooms (theme gardens and Supertrees) at key intersections.
Conservatories
![Gardens by the Bay conservatories 300522](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Gardens_by_the_Bay_conservatories_300522.jpg)
The conservatory complex at Gardens by the Bay comprises two cooled conservatories – the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, situated along the edge of
Marina Reservoir
The Marina Reservoir is a reservoir in Singapore formed in 2008 by building a dam across the mouth of the Marina Channel. With the completion of the Marina Barrage on 30 October 2008, the reservoir, which contained mainly salt water, became freshw ...
. The conservatories, designed by
WilkinsonEyre
WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice ha ...
and Grant Associates, are intended to be an energy-efficient showcase of sustainable building technologies and to provide an all-weather
edutainment
Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainment ...
space within the Gardens. Both are very large (around ) and the Flower Dome is the world's largest columnless glasshouse.
The construction of the glasshouses is special in two ways. First of all by being able to have such large a glass-roof without additional interior support (such as columns). Secondly, because the constructions aim strongly at minimizing the environmental footprint. Rainwater is collected from the surface and circulated in the cooling system which is connected to the Supertrees. The Supertrees are used both to vent hot air and to cool circulated water.
Flower Dome
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 replicates a cool-dry
mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
. 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.
Here is the list of some plants growing in the Flower Dome:
Cloud Forest
![Cloud Forest, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Cloud_Forest%2C_Gardens_by_the_Bay%2C_Singapore.jpg)
The Cloud Forest is higher but slightly smaller at . It replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between and above sea level, found in South-East Asia, Central- and South America. It features a "Cloud Mountain." After ascending to the top by an elevator, visitors descend the mountain via a circular path which crosses underneath the waterfall multiple times.
The "Cloud Mountain" itself is an intricate structure completely clad in
epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike- and
clubmoss
Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching ...
es,
bromeliads and
anthurium
''Anthurium'' (; Schott, 1829) is a genus of about 1,000Mantovani, A. and T. E. Pereira. (2005)''Anthurium'' (section ''Urospadix''; subsection ''Flavescentiviridia'').''Rodriguesia'' 56(88), 145–60. species of flowering plants, the largest ...
s. The design by Grant Associates 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.
The following is a partial list of plants growing in the Cloud Forest:
In April 2022, a Maori kuwaha sculpture was presented to Singapore by Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern
Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...
of New Zealand during her first official trip abroad since the 2020 pandemic. Representing strong friendship between New Zealand and Singapore, it is the work of master carvers from New Zealand's Maori Arts and Crafts institute.
Supertree Grove
![Supertree Grove Singapore (36623029551) (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Supertree_Grove_Singapore_%2836623029551%29_%282%29.jpg)
Supertrees are the 18 tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens' landscape with heights that range between and . They were conceived and designed by Grant Associates, with the imaginative engineering of Atelier One and Atelier Ten. They are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens.
The Supertrees are home to enclaves of unique and exotic ferns, vines, orchids and also a vast collection of
bromeliads
The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...
such as ''
Tillandsia
''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to ...
'', amongst other plants. They are fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological function of trees:
photovoltaic cells
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. that harness solar energy which can be used for some of the functions of the Supertrees (such as lighting), similar to how trees photosynthesize, and collection of rainwater for use in irrigation and fountain displays, similar to how trees absorb rainwater for growth. The Supertrees also serve air intake and exhaust functions as part of the conservatories' cooling systems.
![Singapore (SG), Gardens By The Bay -- 2019 -- 4755](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Singapore_%28SG%29%2C_Gardens_By_The_Bay_--_2019_--_4755.jpg)
There is an elevated walkway, the
OCBC Skyway, between two of the larger Supertrees for visitors to enjoy a panoramic aerial view of the Gardens. Every night, at 7:45pm and 8:45pm, the Supertree Grove comes alive with a coordinated light and music show known as the Garden Rhapsody. The accompanying music to the show changes every month or so, with certain themes such as A World of Wonder and A Night of Musical Theatre, which features excerpts/pieces from films like ''
Jurassic Park'' and ''
Pirates of the Caribbean''.
There is also a newly opened attraction called the Supertree Observatory, which opened on 27 December 2019. This attraction is housed inside the tallest Supertree which is 50 metres tall. It comprises three levels, the ground floor, the Observatory Space and the Open-Air Rooftop Deck. Visitors would take the lift up to the Observatory Space and thereafter take a flight of stairs up to the Rooftop Deck. The Observatory Space is located one level below the rooftop deck and it consists of an indoor area with full-height glass windows, as well as a peripheral outdoor walkway. Here visitors can also experience a message about the effects of climate change creatively conveyed through digital media. The Open-Air Rooftop Deck, which is an open-air
observation deck
An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclos ...
on the canopy of this Supertree, offers 360-degree unblocked views of the Gardens and the
Marina Bay area.
Italy's Pavilion in
Expo 2015
Expo 2015 was a World Expo hosted by Milan, Italy. It opened on May 1 at 10:00 CEST and closed on October 31. Milan hosted an exposition for the second time; the first was the 1906 Milan International.
The Bureau International des Expositi ...
, featured a structure called ''Albero Della Vita'' (or "Tree of Life" in Italian), which proved visually similar to Singapore's Supertrees.
Children's Garden
Designed by Grant Associates, which also designed Gardens by the Bay, the Children's Garden was fully funded by Far East Organization for $10 million. This attraction was opened on 21 January 2014. The children's garden is near the treehouse and the adventure trail. The adventure trail consists of trampolines, balancing beams, hanging bridges and more.
It is open from Tuesdays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed on Mondays, or on the next working day if Monday is a public holiday.
Horticultural themed gardens
There are two distinctly different sets of horticultural themed gardens which centre on the horticultural heritage of the various cultural groups in Singapore and on the biology and ecology of gardens and forests. They are an important part of the Gardens' edutainment programme, which aims to bring plant knowledge to the public.
The "Heritage Gardens" theme features gardens that highlight the various cultural groups in Singapore and the important role that plants play in their respective cultures, as well as the country's colonial history. It also focuses on economically important plants in Singapore and South East Asia. The four gardens are the Indian Garden, the Chinese Garden, the Malay Garden and the Colonial Garden.
The "World of Plants" theme emphasizes the web of relationships amongst the various plants within a fragile forest setting, showcasing the biodiversity of plant life on the planet. It consists of six subthemes illustrated by six "gardens", which are named Discovery, Web of Life, Fruits and Flowers, Understorey, World of Palms, and Secret Life of Trees.
Bayfront Plaza and Floral Fantasy
![Gardens at Marina South model](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Gardens_at_Marina_South_model.JPG)
The Bayfront Plaza is the main entry precinct into the Gardens from Bayfront MRT station. It includes an attraction called Floral Fantasy which consists of four garden landscapes of floral artistry and a 4D ride experience. The Floral Fantasy features floral artistry, as well as a 4D multimedia ride simulating the journey of a dragonfly's flight path through Gardens by the Bay. Included is also an indoor events space, the Bayfront Pavilion, a cafe and a
pop-up markert on weekends.
Budget
The final construction cost for the project, not including the price of the land but including an access road, drainage works, and soil improvement, was within a $1.035 billion allocated budget. The annual operating cost was expected to be approximately $58 million, of which $28 million was for operation of the Conservatory buildings. The project received 1.7 million visitors between June and October 2012, who had free admission to most portions of the park but were required to purchase tickets for entering the Conservatories.
In 2006, an international competition for the design of the park was held, attracting more than 70 entries submitted by 170 firms from 24 countries. Two British firms – Grant Associates
and Gustafson Porter – were awarded the contracts for the Bay South and Bay East Gardens respectively.
Alongside the lead designers Grant Associates, the design team for Bay South included
WilkinsonEyre
WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice ha ...
, Atelier Ten (environmental design consultants) and
Atelier One Atelier One is a British structural engineering company, established in 1989 with offices in London and Brighton. The company has collaborated with architects, designers and artists (including Anish Kapoor and Rachel Whiteread), and is consistently ...
(structural engineers). They were supported by a number of Singapore firms including
CPG Consultants (architecture, civil and structural, mechanical and electrical), Meinhardt Infrastructure (civil and structural),
Langdon & Seah
Langdon & Seah is an international construction consultancy firm in Asia operating independently in 13 countries from 39 offices and a staff resources of nearly 3,000.
History
The firm has its roots traced to the quantity surveying practice in th ...
(cost consultants) and PMLink (project management).
Transportation
The nearest
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations are
Thomson-East Coast Line and
Bayfront MRT station (
Circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
and
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Lines).
Bus Service 400 also serves the Gardens.
In popular culture
*The planet of
Xandar
Xandar () is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The planet is depicted as being in the Tranta system in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is best known as the home world of the Nova Corps, an intergalactic poli ...
in the film adaptation of ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'' took inspiration from the location.
*The documentary series ''
Planet Earth II
''Planet Earth II'' is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to ''Planet Earth'', which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed ...
'' features the Supertree Grove in Episode 7, "A World of Wonder."
*The park was featured in the 2015 film ''
Hitman: Agent 47''.
*An entire mission is set within the gardens in the 2015 video game ''
Call of Duty: Black Ops III''.
*The
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series ''
Plastic Memories
is a Japanese anime television series produced by Doga Kobo and directed by Yoshiyuki Fujiwara. The story was conceived by Naotaka Hayashi, who also wrote the screenplay, with original character designs by Okiura. The series aired in Japan b ...
'' features locations inspired by the supertrees in the gardens.
*The Supertree Grove in the park was featured in the 2018 film ''
Crazy Rich Asians
''Crazy Rich Asians'' is a satirical 2013 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience". He claimed the novel was loosely based on h ...
''.
Events
The center hosts events throughout the year.
Dye-nosaur gardens was an immersive and educational event held at Gardens by the Bay in 2017 as part of the annual Children's Festival. This event involved several dinosaur inspired characters been found in the exhibits.
Gallery
File:Cloud Forest, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore - 20120628-01.jpg, The Lost World
File:Cloud Forest (I).jpg, The Cloud Mountain
File:Singapore - panoramio (131).jpg, Supertree Grove
File:Singapore Gardens by the Bay Dome-01 (11663913363).jpg, Interior
File:Flower Dome @ Gardens by the Bay - panoramio.jpg, The Flower Dome
File:Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Singapore (36712606096).jpg, Exterior
See also
*
List of parks in Singapore
There are numerous parks throughout the sovereign island country of Singapore. This is a list of parks in Singapore that are currently existing and have articles on Wikipedia. Parks in Singapore are managed by the National Parks Board or NParks ...
*
National Parks Board
The National Parks Board (NParks) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore.
History
In November 1989, Minister of National Development, S. Dhanabalan, presented the National Parks Bil ...
References
External links
Gardens by the Bay official websiteGardens' Youtube ChannelGrant Associates official website
{{Authority control
2012 establishments in Singapore
Parks in Singapore
Tourist attractions in Singapore
Visionary environments
Greenhouses
Marina South
Marina East
Kallang