1. Bay Central Garden

2. Bay East Garden

3. Bay South Garden
    Conservatories  Flower Dome  Cloud Forest  Supertree Grove  Children's Garden  Horticultural themed gardens  Bayfront Plaza and Floral Fantasy 

4. Budget

5. Transport connections

6. In popular culture

7. See also

8. References

9. External links

Gardens by the Bay is 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 the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, at the National Day Rally in 2005, Gardens by the Bay was intended to be Singapore's premier urban outdoor recreation space, and a national icon.

Being one of the popular tourist attractions in Singapore, the park received 6.4 million visitors in 2014, while topping its 20 millionth visitor mark in November 2015.^[5]

Bay Central Garden

Bay Central Garden will act as a link between Bay South and Bay East Gardens. It stands at {{convert|15|ha}} with a {{convert|3|km|adj=on}} waterfront promenade that allows for scenic walks stretching from the city centre to the east of Singapore.^[6] More developments of Bay Central Garden are coming in the next few years.

Bay East Garden

Bay East Garden is {{convert|32|ha}} in size and it has a {{convert|2|km|adj=on}} promenade frontage bordering the Marina Reservoir. An interim park was developed at Bay East Garden in support of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. The first phase of the garden was opened to the public in October 2011, allowing alternative access to the Marina Barrage.^[7]

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.

Bay South Garden

Bay South Garden opened to the public on 29 June 2012.^[8] It is the largest of the three gardens at {{convert|54|ha}} and aims to showcase the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry.

The overall concept of its master plan draws inspiration from an orchid 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

The conservatory complex at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, comprises two cooled conservatories – the Flower Dome (Chinese: {{lang|zh|花穹}}) and the Cloud Forest (Chinese: {{lang|zh|云雾林}}), situated along the edge of Marina Reservoir. The conservatories, designed by WilkinsonEyre, 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 {{convert|1|ha}}) and the Flower Dome is the world's largest columnless glasshouse.^[9]

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 aims 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.^[10]

Flower Dome

The Flower Dome is the lower but larger of the two, at {{convert|1.2|ha}}. It replicates a mild, dry climate and features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions (e.g. parts of Australia, South America, South Africa).

The Flower Dome is {{convert|38|m}} high and maintains a temperature between 23 °C and 25 °C, slightly lower at night.

The Flower Dome features seven different "gardens" as well as an olive grove with a bistro and a central changing display field has also been incorporated to enable flower shows and displays to be held within the conservatory.

Here is the list of some plants growing in the Flower Dome:^[11]

• Adansonia grandidieri
• Adansonia madagascariensis
• Adenanthos sericeus
• Agave guiengola
• Agave victoriae-reginae
• Aloe barberae
• Anigozanthos flavidus
• Araucaria araucana
• Bombax ceiba
• Brachychiton rupestris
• Brahea armata
• Bulbine namaensis
• Camellia japonica
• Carnegiea gigantea
• Ceiba chodatii
• Cleistocactus winteri
• Crassula ovata
• Cyphostemma juttae
• Dasylirion longissimum
• Dianthus barbatus
• Dorstenia gigas
• Dracaena draco
• Echinocactus grusonii
• Euphorbia horrida
• Faucaria tigrina
• Ferocactus glaucescens
• Ferocactus pottsii
• Fouquieria columnaris
• Jubaea chilensis
• Magnolia grandiflora
• Olea europaea
• Phoenix canariensis
• Phoenix dactylifera
• Protea cynaroides
• Pseudobombax ellipticum
• Xanthorrhoea glauca

Cloud Forest

The Cloud Forest is higher but slightly smaller at {{convert|0.8|ha}}. It replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between {{convert|1,000|m}} and {{convert|3,000|m}} above sea level, found in South-East Asia, Middle- and South America. It features a {{convert|42|m|adj=on}} "Cloud Mountain", accessible by an elevator, and visitors will be able to descend the mountain via a circular path where a {{convert|35|m|adj=on}} waterfall provides visitors with refreshing cool air.

The "Cloud Mountain" itself is an intricate structure completely clad in epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike- and clubmosses, bromeliads and anthuriums. It 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:^[12]

• Arundina graminifolia
• Coelogyne usitana
• Dracula diana
• Gongora gratulabunda var. aceras
• Masdevallia ayabacana
• Nepenthes jamban
• Nepenthes truncata
• Nepenthes ventricosa × singalana
• Odontoglossum cirrhosum
• Oncidium Sharry Baby 'Sweet Fragrance' (O. Honolulu × O. Jamie Sutton)
• Paphiopedilum maudiae
• Paphiopedilum rothschildianum
• Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi
• Phalaenopsis schilleriana
• Rhynchostylis gigantea
• Sarracenia sp.
• Wollemia nobilis

Supertree Grove

Supertrees are tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens' landscape with heights that range between {{convert|25|m}} and {{convert|50|m}}. They are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens.^[13]

The Supertrees are home to enclaves of unique and exotic ferns, vines, orchids and also a vast collection of bromeliads such as Tillandsia, amongst other plants. They are fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological function of trees: photovoltaic cells 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.

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. A food and beverage outlet is planned atop the {{convert|50|m|adj=on}} Supertree. 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.

Italy's Pavilion in Expo 2015, 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 is an attraction for kids aged 6 and below and 6–12 years old. This attraction was opened on 21 Jan 2014. The children's garden is near the treehouse and the adventure trail. The adventure trail consists of trampolines, balancing beams, hanging bridges and many more.

It is open on 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 will be closed on Mondays, or on the next working day if Monday is a public holiday.^[14]

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 highlights 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 to Singapore and South East Asia. The 4 gardens are the Indian Garden, the Chinese Garden, the Malay Garden and the Colonial Garden.^[15]

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 6 subthemes illustrated by 6 "gardens", which are named Discovery, Web of Life, Fruits and Flowers, Understorey, World of Palms, and Secret Life of Trees.^[16]

Bayfront Plaza and Floral Fantasy

The Bayfront Plaza is the main entry precinct into the Gardens from Bayfront MRT station. It includes a brand new attraction called Floral Fantasy which comprises of 4 garden landscapes of floral artistry and a futuristic 4D ride experience. The 1,500 sqm Floral Fantasy will be featuring four diverse garden landscapes – each showcasing a different concept of 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 food and beverage fair 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.^[17] 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.^[18]

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 Dominic White^[19] – 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, Atelier Ten (environmental design consultants) and Atelier One (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 (cost consultants) and PMLink (project management).

Transport connections

The nearest Mass Rapid Transit station is Bayfront MRT station. The Gardens by the Bay MRT station, under construction, will open in 2021.^[20]

Bus Service 400 also serves the Gardens.^[21]

In popular culture

• The planet of Xandar in the film adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy, took inspiration from the location.^[22]
• The documentary series Planet Earth II features the Supertree Grove in Episode 7, "A World of Wonder."
• The park was featured in the 2015 film, Agent 47.^{[23][24][25][26]}
• An entire mission is set within the gardens in the 2015 video game, Black Ops III.^[27][28][29]
• The anime series Plastic Memories features locations inspired by the supertrees in the gardens.^[30]
• The Supertree Grove in the park was featured in the 2018 film, Crazy Rich Asians. ^[31]

See also

• Neom, a planned future city in Saudi Arabia which featured pictures of the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome in its promotional material
• List of parks in Singapore
• National Parks Board

References

External links

• Gardens by the Bay official website

• Sunder Lal Patwa ministry (1990–92)
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