The garden for the city of the future

A garden for cities of the future has been created, writes Leisa Tyler.

While small in size, Singapore has no shortage of ambitions. Among them is a wish to transform itself into a "city in a garden", where lush vegetation and the latest in eco-tech help power the city while at the same time beautifying it.

At the heart of this plan is the $SG1 billion Gardens by the Bay, a 101-hectare park on reclaimed land between Marina Bay (location of the city-state's grandiose casino complex) and the Singapore Straits.

In less than two years since its opening, Gardens by the Bay has become one of Singapore's most popular and distinctive attractions.

And this is just the beginning. The scheme comprises three unique garden projects: the 54-hectare Bay South; 32 hectare Bay East which, when finished, will have a water education centre amid rice paddies and lotus ponds, and Bay Central, a three-kilometre promenade offering views of Bay East and Bay South.

For now, only Bay South is finished and open. Designed by the British firm Grant Associates and six years in the making, Bay South's landmarks include two stunning, asymmetrical, ribbed bio-dome plant conservatories and 18 steel super-trees.

The domes are shaped like paper nautilus shells and clad in vented glass, which allows for minimum heating but maximum light. They house 217,000 plants from 800 species, most chosen for their vulnerability to climate change and human activities.

The Flower Dome, the larger of the two conservatories, features the cool, dry environments found in the Mediterranean basin, the western parts of South Africa and southern Australia. Inside are ancient olive trees from Turkey, Chilean wine palms, African baobabs and Australian grass trees.

The Cloud Forest dome replicates the tropical montane climate, which is found at elevations of 1500-3000 metres, such as at Mount Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah, and the Himalayan foothills. This dome has lush vertical gardens and a 35-metre mountain complete with a waterfall, blossoming rhododendron trees and exquisite white orchids.