Gardens by the Bay was a monumental addition to Singapore’s urban landscape, a vision realized to enhance the green footprint of one of the world’s most densely populated cities. At the heart of this project lies the 54-hectare Bay South Garden, an ecological project designed by WilkinsonEyre. Completed in June 2012, Bay South Garden presents an innovative approach to sustainability, integrating architecture, nature, and cutting-edge technology.
Gardens by the Bay Technical Information
- Architects1-15: WilkinsonEyre
- Master planners & Landscape Architects: Grant Associates
- Location: Singapore
- Area: 54 hectares
- Project Year: 2006 – 2012
- Photographs: © Craig Sheppard, © Robert Such, © Bosco Lam
Sustainability was our starting point for Bay South Garden. To house an organisation focussed on preserving ecology in a building with a huge carbon footprint caused by air conditioning would have been madness. Completing the Conservatories is an extraordinary technical achievement.
– WilkinsonEyre Architects
Gardens by the Bay Photographs
Design and Structural Innovation of the Conservatories
The Gardens by the Bay project represents a bold urban planning initiative by Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) to create a vibrant green lung within the city. Conceptualized as three distinct gardens—Bay South, Bay East, and Bay Central—this expansive project transforms reclaimed land along Singapore’s waterfront into a lush botanical attraction. The Bay South Garden, the largest of the three, serves as the architectural and botanical nucleus, designed to captivate visitors with curated plant life from across the globe.
The conservatories are the architectural jewels of Bay South Garden, both technically and aesthetically. Featuring expansive, curvilinear glass and steel shells, they embody WilkinsonEyre’s signature style: bold, functional, and visually harmonious with the surrounding landscape. The shape of each conservatory was meticulously crafted to integrate with Singapore’s skyline while complementing the lush greenery of the gardens below.
Inside, the conservatories recreate two vastly different biomes. The Flower Dome mimics a Mediterranean climate, featuring drought-resistant plants, olive groves, and a constantly blooming meadow. The Cloud Forest, by contrast, offers visitors an immersive journey through tropical highlands, complete with a cascading indoor waterfall and a series of elevated walkways that lead through vertical gardens and above tree canopies. Each element of the conservatories is precisely calibrated, with engineering insights from Atelier One ensuring the structural integrity needed to support such massive glass and steel enclosures.
These climate-controlled spaces shelter delicate flora and establish a precedent for designing self-sustaining, ecologically sensitive structures in challenging environments. The engineering achievements within Bay South Garden make it one of the most structurally ambitious conservatories worldwide, offering architects a model of ingenuity in creating biophilic spaces within urban frameworks.
Sustainability and Environmental Integration
WilkinsonEyre’s design for Bay South Garden reflects a profound commitment to sustainability, a core tenet guiding every project aspect. In a city where temperatures remain consistently high, the architects faced the challenge of maintaining an appropriate climate for delicate plants within an energy-efficient framework. The solution lies in a combination of passive and active climate control strategies.
The conservatories employ carbon-neutral cooling technologies and an advanced, computer-controlled shading system to manage the internal climate. The domes’ façades are designed to reflect and minimize heat, while dehumidifiers maintain optimal air moisture levels without relying on conventional, energy-intensive cooling methods. This system keeps the conservatories cool and reduces their carbon footprint significantly, representing a breakthrough in sustainable building practices.
Flanking the conservatories is the towering forest of Supertrees, envisioned and implemented by Grant Associates. These 50-meter-high structures are more than decorative elements; they are functional environmental assets, housing over 200 species of plants while contributing to the complex’s energy needs. Solar panels atop the Supertrees capture energy to illuminate the garden by night, while their structure serves to vent heat generated by the cooling systems. This innovative integration of functional architecture with sustainable design elevates Bay South Garden beyond a tourist attraction, positioning it as an exemplar of environmental stewardship.
Impact and Legacy of Bay South Garden
The Bay South Garden has not only transformed Singapore’s urban landscape but has also impacted how architecture and ecology intersect. As one of Singapore’s premier tourist destinations, the Gardens by the Bay project underscores the city-state’s commitment to creating a sustainable future, solidifying its reputation as a forward-thinking metropolis.
Beyond its immediate impact, Bay South Garden’s architectural legacy lies in its influence on sustainable design globally. Architects and urban planners worldwide look to the project as a benchmark for integrating large-scale, sustainable elements into densely populated urban areas. By prioritizing sustainability from the project’s inception, WilkinsonEyre set a new standard for ecological architecture, showing that even structures of such monumental scale can be designed to coexist harmoniously with their environment.
While the Bay South Garden is celebrated for its successes, it also opens a conversation about the future of sustainable architecture. The project prompts reflection on the feasibility and scalability of similar structures, particularly in regions where extreme climates demand high energy inputs for environmental control. Nevertheless, Bay South Garden has laid the groundwork for future explorations into eco-conscious architecture, challenging designers to incorporate sustainability as a fundamental design criterion.
Gardens by the Bay Plans
Gardens by the Bay Image Gallery
About WilkinsonEyre
WilkinsonEyre is a renowned British architectural practice celebrated for its innovative, sustainable, and visually striking designs. Founded in 1983 by Chris Wilkinson and later joined by Jim Eyre, the firm has earned prestigious accolades, including two RIBA Stirling Prizes and the RIBA Lubetkin Prize. WilkinsonEyre’s portfolio spans high-profile projects worldwide, such as the Guangzhou International Finance Center, one of the tallest buildings globally, the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, and the dramatic cooled conservatories at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. Known for their seamless integration of advanced engineering and environmental principles, WilkinsonEyre continues to set new benchmarks in sustainable architecture and urban design.
Notes & Additional Credits
- Structural Engineers: Atelier One
- Building Service & Environmental Engineers: Atelier Ten
- Quantity Surveyors (Cost Consultant): Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd
- Interpretation & Exhibition Designers: Land Design Studio
- Communication Design: Thomas Matthews
- Design Management: Buro Four, UK
- Films & Animations: Squint Opera, UK
- Lighting Design: Lighting Planners Associates (LPA), Japan
- Engineering Support: Meinhardt (Infrastructure) Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Architecture and Engineering Support: CPG Corporation, Singapore
- Project Management: PM Link Pte Ltd
- Irrigation Design: Water Equipment Technology (WET), Australia
- Total Cost: £350 million
- Client: National Parks Board (NParks), Singapore
