A FOREST OF SUPERTREES

Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay is a horticultural mega-project which gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘flower power’.

The highlight of this year’s Singapore Flower Festival was the unveiling of a forest of Supertrees. The Supertrees are crafted of thick steel branches and range from 25-50 metres in height. Their trunks function as vertical gardens, and play host to thousands of individual plants including bromeliads, orchids, ferns and tropical flowering climbers, essentially turning Singapore’s Bay South area into a real urban jungle.

18 Supertrees make up the Supertree Grove, and all of them transplant some fantastic environmentally sustainable concepts. Some of the Supertrees are equipped with photovoltaic cells which harvest solar energy and fuel a visual spectacle of glowing light. Others collect rainwater, serve as air exhaust receptacles, absorb and disperse heat, and generate shade. The design features mimic a real tree.

Singapore has always been known as a ‘Green City’ for its landscaping efforts. In recent years there have been many landscaping projects in Singapore such as the Punggol Waterway, Bishan Park and most recently the launch of Gardens by the Bay with the latest sustainable features such as biomimicry using the ‘supertrees’ as a functional design.

Transforming a city is not a simple task as it requires long-term planning, careful execution as well as disciplined implementation and enforcement, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the opening of Gardens by the Bay. But with overseas and local expertise, Singapore has created a new green urban landscape.

For more information visit: www.gardensbythebay.com.sg