Category: Gardens By The Bay

Gardens By The Bay – Sneak Peak

For the past 2 years I have been documenting the progress of Gardens by The Bay, a 54 hectare garden project in the Garden City of Singapore. The project is due for completion in June 2012 but this November National Parks Board opened it’s doors for a sneak preview to coincide with the World Orchid Conference hosted by Singapore.

This ‘soft’ opening gave me the opportunity to finally capture a portion of the completed gardens. It was quite surreal composing images including layers of people on building on landscape when I had spent 2 years shooting a construction site. The addition of people adds an extra element to the shots and I enjoyed capturing the public experiencing this extraordinary place. I can’t wait to shoot the completed gardens next year. For now, this will have to do!

Welcome to the Flower Dome.

The Flower Dome with the shading deployed.

Spectacular by night as well.

Inside the Flower Dome.

View taken looking down from The Baobabs.

The Gridshell is impressive from every angle (above) and The Canopy illuminated at night.

The Main Gardens were popular.

The new addition to Singapore’s skyline as viewed from Marina East.

 

Gardens By The Bay – Visit 6

September 2010 – Access to shooting locations outside of the site was impossible during the end of August, the whole of September and the beginning of October due to the Singapore Youth Olympics and the Formula 1.  Entry to all of my off-site locations were guarded and barricaded by hot and bothered security guards so all this months photos are taken from within the site boundary.

The Cool Dry Conservatory gridshell has been prepared for receiving the glass panels and installation has started at the rear and is rapidly moving forward.  Inside the conservatory the construction of the Baobab leaf, a huge Post-tensioned concrete structure floating over a 1000 Seat Events Space, is almost finished.  The cultivated world planters and viewing terraces are also well under way.

The Cool Moist mountain has reached level 5 and has continued to climb skyward.  The Contractor has obviously learnt from the construction of the Cool Dry and has started erecting the gridshell before any of the arches have been erected.

Gardens By The Bay – Visit 5

August 2010 – The Cool Dry Conservatory has progressed quickly over the last month and the final arches have been erected.  The gridshell has been completed and they have started to remove the external scaffolding. Support hangers between the arches and gridshell and the gridshell bracing are being installed on the Cool Dry.  The Cool Moist Conservatory core is rising out of the ground at an alarming rate and monthly visits don’t seem enough to keep up with the speedy rate of construction. Sandwiched between the two conservatories is the Visitor Hub area where builder’s works are moving fast, you can see the construction sequence of the fairfaced concrete elipse-shaped columns in a progression of photos below.

Gardens By The Bay – Visit 4

July 2010 – Visit 4 proved to be very busy! The arches for the Cool Dry conservatory are almost completed and the Cool Moist concrete core has been poured up to level 4 with the formwork for level 3 slab ready for casting. The photos included in this blog are a bit more varied to my previous visits for a number of reasons, the first being that we are currently in the South-West monsoon season in Singapore and my visits were interrupted by torrential downpours! I have also decided to include some candid shots of the workers onsite as their style varies from that of Construction workers in New Zealand. In addition to my standard shots I took a trip up to the ‘Skypark’ of Singapore’s newest building, Marina Bay Sands, Integrated Resort which towers 56 stories above the Gardens By The Bay site and provides fantastic views across the site and beyond.

Gardens By The Bay – Visit 3

June 2010 – Visit number 3 proved to be a very long and hot day of shooting.  The Cool-Dry Conservatory construction is continuing to move along at a considerable rate and is proving to be a challenge to capture.  Critical locations for shooting are either inaccessible or have large machinery parked in the way.  The Cool-Moist Conservatory is also now starting to take shape and come out of the ground.  The main core is well under way and the concrete shoes for the arches are being cast.

Gardens By The Bay – Visit 2

May 2010 – As you will see from the images below the Cool-Dry Conservatory construction is progressing extremely fast.  More arches are being erected every week.  The gridshell, which is a self supporting structure, can be seen behind the white, unpainted arches.  The red structure is called a ‘crash deck’ and is a temporary structure to support the arches and gridshell during erection.  This is a major piece of engineering on it’s own.

Gardens By The Bay – Wilkinson Eyre Architects – Singapore

April 2010 – I have started documenting the construction of two large conservatories designed by UK Architects, Wilkinson Eyre Architects.  They form part of the new Gardens By The Bay development in Singapore.  Each conservatory has it’s own role to play in the scheme of the entire 54 hectare garden at Marina South.  The cool-dry conservatory will explore issues related to plants and people, whilst the cool-moist conservatory will focus on plants and the planet.

The Cool-Dry Conservatory under construction.

Gardens By The Bay – Off-Site Part 5

The Cool Dry Conservatory has finally been revealed in all its glory with the removal of the external scaffolding.  It is certainly a very impressive structure.  Only a few remaining glass panels remain to be fitted and a capping off ceremony is scheduled for mid February with National Development Minister Mr Mah Bow Tan invited to attend as the special guest who will install the last piece of glass.

Meanwhile, the Cool Moist Conservatory continues to progress at an extraordinary rate.  The Gridshell is almost complete and the last remaining ribs are being erected.

Below are images from December 2010 and January 2011.

December 2010

January 2011