Gardens By The Bay: A Celebration Of Excellence In Green Urbanism

By Lena Sharp

Photography by Lena Sharp and Ann Seojin

 East-West Tapestry: Cultural Connections Across Continents

Located in the heart of Singapore’s downtown Marina Bay district, Gardens By The Bay is a 101-hectare tropical oasis of edenic proportions. These spectacular high-tech gardens, built on reclaimed land, add to the already impressive line-up of theatrical attractions along  the Bay – the island’s state-of-the-art business and entertainment hub.

 Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

Photos: Anne Seojin

Photo: Lena Sharp

Since its opening in 2012 (to much media attention and fanfare) the Gardens have been hailed by Singapore’s Tourism Board as a ‘world-class attraction’ offering a ‘breadth and depth of family-oriented fun options’ and a haven for ‘discerning travellers’ attracting over a million visitors in just one year, and attaining global acclaim by winning the ‘World Building of the Year’ award at the 2012 World Architecture Festival. 

Photo: Lena Sharp

From the very outset, one of the Garden’s main objectives was to promote Singapore as a leading tourist destination and  major player on the global stage. And yet, the project was also designed with locals in mind, as a ‘People’s Garden’ -  a space for all to stop and appreciate the wonder of nature in the midst of a bustling city. 

Fast forward to  2026, over a decade later, I shall take another stroll through these famous gardens to reflect on the extent to which they have fulfilled their early promise of becoming the ‘leisure destination of choice for all’.  

Birth of a Garden City

But first, let us take a step back in time. Since the nation’s independence in the early 1960s, the idea of a ‘garden’ has been used in various ways to decorate Singapore’s largely urban infrastructure through multiple branding exercises that have positioned the island as a  ‘Garden City’. Indeed, the garden metaphor has been used despite the fact that from the time of British colonisation in 1819, more than 98% of Singapore’s original vegetation of mangrove swamps and rainforests have been depleted to make way for modern developments.

Photo: Lena Sharp

Although the archetypal Garden City is a somewhat unsuitable model for urban Singapore, sustaining its green image remains  a matter of priority. This, combined with its image as a futuristic high-tech city, and its desire to be seen as ‘creative’ in response to criticisms of turning into a  ‘concrete jungle’ – has led to its becoming, rather than a Garden City,  a City In a Garden,  and a hotbed for a new brand of bio-technical ‘green urbanism’– exemplified in a variety of projects, most notably Gardens By The Bay.

This award-winning Singaporean masterpiece is also a triumph of globalism. Designed by a British team: architects Wilkinson Eyre (for the cooled conservatories), landscape architects Grant Associates and engineers Atelier One and Atelier Ten – the idea was inspired by the Valley of the Giants in Australia. The project itself is underpinned by shared cross-cultural values of environmentalism, biodiversity and globalisation. 

There’s no better way of experiencing  the wonder of this technologically-inspired  showcase  of  Supertrees and cooled conservatories than to take a stroll through the gardens.

Photos: Lena Sharp

A Walk in the Garden

There’s no better way of experiencing the wonder of this technologically-inspired showcase of Supertrees and cooled conservatories than to take a stroll through the gardens.

I shall begin my leisurely stroll at Bay South, the first and largest of the park’s three waterfront gardens, comprising  two strikingly simple, yet breathtakingly beautiful, light-filled,  shell-shaped, crystal-clear glass domes –  the largest of their kind in the world. 

Stepping into the conservatories took me to two completely different worlds. I was greeted at first by the cool, calm, Mediterranean climate of the giant Flower Dome - a pleasant respite from the tropical heat. This was followed by the roar of the  world’s  tallest man-made waterfall thundering down a 35-metre high mountain shrouded in mist, and covered in rare tropical plants – in the mysterious Cloud Forest Dome.

Photo: Lena Sharp

If the aim of the conservatories was to accommodate an extraordinary collection of plants that would never grow in Singapore outside of an artificial environment, the engineers of The Bay certainly exceeded their expectations.

 My experience of walking around  the giant air-conditioned  Flower Dome through a series of  meticulously manicured gardens in a  completely controlled environment, presented me with no less than 380,000 attractively arranged plant species from every corner of the world  in what seemed to be a global metropolis of plants.

I followed the prescribed paths which were - despite their restrictions - designed with great ingenuity. I particularly enjoyed my descent from the mountain in the Cloud Forest Dome in a series of walkways that provided a different horticultural experience at every level.  

The Cooling of Glasshouses in Sweltering Heat?

What struck me more than anything was not the fantastical reception at their entrances, but the question of how it was at all possible to cool two of the largest greenhouses in one of the world’s hottest climates in an eco-friendly way. 

The cooling of glasshouses in the tropics, particularly of this scale,  presents a mammoth engineering challenge. According to the engineers, because glasshouses are designed to admit plenty of sunlight, this results in eight times the cooling load required of a normal insulated building.

Photo: Lena Sharp

Consequently, for both cost and environmental reasons, the Gardens uses award-winning technologies wherever it can, including high-tech double-glazing – and Supertrees to help extract heat whilst shading the domes from direct sunlight. But this alone is not enough. 

According to reports in 2014, around 5,000 tonnes of forestry waste was used as fuel to run the cooling system every month – obtained from Singapore’s 5 million National Parks trees – forming a carbon-neutral cycle at no overall fuel cost.  A seemingly simple yet ingenious solution. In terms of the monetary cost, I have yet to source the figures. Not that one should be  solely concerned about the price of everything and the value of nothing!

Of Supertrees and Super Cities

Towering above the Gardens were eighteen giant solar-powered  Supertrees. These iconic vertical gardens standing at 25 to 50m tall, with their sprawling canopies, represent some of the most visible symbols of the Gardens worldwide. 

On the one hand, the trees appear to be full of environmental purpose  -  acting as both rain-water collectors and air-venting ducts for the two glasshouses. There are also  thousands of  plants growing up their distinctive outer claddings. On the other hand, they  light up at night in a spectacular laser show that turns nature into entertainment. 

These fantastical creations are clearly also structured for the purposes of being imaged and transmitted by visitors across the globe through social media, to  be consumed and experienced in digital form.

Photo: Lena Sharp

Skyway to ‘Heaven’ 

Suspended between the two Supertrees is a 128-metre long  suspension bridge  called the OCBC Skypark (appropriately named after a bank), perfectly  positioned to offer panoramic views of yet another spectacle: the towering line-up of skyscrapers in Singapore’s financial district.

Photos: Lena Sharp

Paradise Lost or Regained?

There is an environmental connect in modern consciousness that looks at nature before humans came about as being the Garden of Eden: unspoilt and without ‘sin’. 

To quote the poet John Milton in Paradise Lost, the garden symbolises ‘sanctitude severe and pure’ and its loss makes nature look ‘sin bred’. Likewise in this project, there is an undertone of going back to a time before the Genesis ‘fall’ which led to the destruction of the eco system.

Photo: Lena Sharp

The admirably eco-friendly efforts of Gardens By The Bay testify to this, suggesting that this project is aimed at redemption: inventing ways of reversing man’s tendency towards destruction.  As Timothy Beatley in ‘Green Urbanism’ argues:

“... our old views of cities, towns, and communities - are incomplete, and must be substantially expanded to incorporate ecology and more ecologically responsible forms of living and settlement.”

In this respect too, if the garden is to be seen as a moral space, it seems that Singapore strives towards leadership by way of  sustainability and green urbanism globally – thus building on its powerful ‘garden city’ metaphor. In this sense, they have fulfilled their early promise of becoming ‘the leisure destination of choice for all’ in more ways than one.  

Photo: Lena Sharp

---

	Lena Sharp is a freelance writer who was born in Singapore and resides in the UK. She enjoys exploring cross-cultural connections that bridge the two worlds she inhabits - whilst taking others on a journey of discovery through her contributions.
	Ann Seojin is a wedding and lifestyle photographer. Known for her candid, heartfelt and documentary-style approach, Ann captures images that celebrate connection and the beauty of everyday moments. She is based in Singapore & Seoul. You can view her work at annpano.com.