LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/274582
52 Landscape Architect and Specifier News Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is designed to showcase the best of horticulture and gardens. Located on reclaimed land in the city's new downtown at Marina Bay, this "City in a Garden" is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world. A Great British Collaboration Following an international design competition, a team led by the U.K. landscape architectural firm Grant Associates (grant- associates.uk.com) was appointed in 2006 by the National Parks Board of Singapore to master plan Bay South Garden, the first and largest of the three planned gardens at Gardens by the Bay. Alongside Grant Associates was a British design team: Wilkinson Eyre (architects); Atelier Ten (environmental design consultants); Atelier One (structural engineers); Land Design Studio (museum and visitor center designers); and Thomas Matthews (communication designers). A Fusion of Nature and Technology Taking inspiration from the form of the orchid, Grant Associates' masterplan is a rich fusion of nature, technology and environmental management. "Our brief for Gardens by the Bay was to create the most amazing tropical gardens in the world, incorporating cutting edge environmental design and sustainable development principles," explains Andrew Grant, director of Grant Associates. We had to factor in the challenges of both the Singapore 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." 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 entire 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. Middle & Bottom The latest addition to Gardens by the Bay is to Bay South, the Children's Garden, which includes the Tadpole & Toddler splashpads and Toddler Playground (foreground). At left is a 300-people capacity canopy-sheltered event amphitheater. To the right is the Cloud Forest dome. The tri-tower structure is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel on Marina Bay, a Las Vegas Sands development designed by Israeli/Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, reportedly the most expensive ($5.7 billion U.S.—including the cost of the land) stand-alone casino in the world. A 150-meter zero-edge pool is atop the roof, precariously close to the edge (below). 50-63.indd 52 2/26/14 4:52 PM