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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Cooled conservatories at Gardens, Singapore by Wilkinson EyreOctober 6th, 2012 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Wilkinson Eyre Located in Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay is a key project in delivering the Singapore. Government’s vision of transforming Singapore into a ‘City in a Garden’. At a total of 101 hectares, the Gardens by the Bay project comprises three distinct waterfront gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central. The commission to design the 54 hectare Bay South garden was won in 2006 by a team led by Grant Associates and including Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Atelier One, Atelier Ten, Land Design and Davis Langdon and Seah.  Image Courtesy Robert Such
 Image Courtesy Robert Such
 Image Courtesy Robert Such At the heart of Bay South Garden is the Cooled Conservatory Complex which is the focal point of the Gardens. The two main Conservatories cover an area in excess of 20,000sq m and are among the largest climate-controlled glasshouses in the world.  Image Courtesy Robert Such They provide a spectacular, all-weather attraction and comprise a 1.28 hectare cool dry conservatory (the ‘Flower Dome’) and a 0.73 hectare cool moist conservatory (the ‘Cloud Forest’). Each has its own distinct character, but both explore the horticulture of those environments most likely to be affected by climate change.  Image Courtesy Robert Such The Flower Dome tells the story of plants and people in the Mediterranean climate zone, and how the plants cultivated in these regions will gradually become endangered as temperatures rise. It has a planted footprint of more than 10,100 sq m and aims to bring alive the experience of seasonal change for visitors more used to Singapore’s eternally tropical climate and lush green vegetation. From the lavender fields and olive groves of the Cultivated Worlds section to the baobab and pachypodium trees in the Strange Worlds area, the visitor is presented with a unique collection of plants.  Image Courtesy Robert Such The landform of the conservatories draws inspiration from Mediterranean landscapes and evokes the language of dry, sun-baked hillsides punctuated with rocky terraces and stony outcrops, and the intimate bond between land, geology, vegetation and cultivation. At the centre of this permanent display is the Flower Field – a vast carpet of flowers in bloom which will change seasonally.  Image Courtesy Robert Such The Cloud Forest highlights the relationship between plants and the planet, showing how the warming of the cool tropical cloud forests will threaten biodiversity. With a smaller footprint but greater height than Flower Dome, it has at its heart a planted ‘Mountain’ from which a 35m high waterfall drops. Visitors can experience the forest at different levels from a Cloud Walk, a Canopy Walk and the Forest Floor and Ravine Walks. Within the mountain, a series of exhibition spaces describe the impact of incremental temperature change and the sustainable technologies employed across the gardens, while at its foot is the Ravine – a series of darkened secret gardens surrounded in mist.  Image Courtesy Robert Such Both conservatories have a dual system structure of gridshell and arches to permit as much light as possible through to the planted displays within. The gridshell portion is very fragile (like an egg) and is designed to only support its own weight and the weight of the glass. Wind loads are resisted by the arches that are set away from the surface of the envelope and arranged radially in line with the geometry of the gridshell. This structural combination creates a distinctive,  Image Courtesy Robert Such Bay South Garden is built on reclaimed land, a low lying, flat area on the shore of Marina Bay. In the absence of a natural landscape the conservatories are envisaged as landforms, a pair of artificial landmarks that prominently address the bay and the skyscrapers of dense urban districts around it.  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such  Image Courtesy Robert Such
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