Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Located in Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay is a key project in
delivering the Singaporean Governments vision of transforming
Singapore into a city in a garden.
At the heart of the Bay South Gardens is the Cooled Conservatory
Complex. The two conservatories cover an area in excess of 2ha and
are among the largest climate-controlled glasshouses in the world.
The 1.28ha Flower Dome showcases the cool-dry climate of the
Mediterranean and semi-arid regions, such as South Africa and
Chile. The 0.73ha Cloud Forest replicates the cool moist climate
found in tropical montane regions between 1,000 to 3,500m above
sea level, such as Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. Each has its own
distinct character, but both explore the horticulture of those
environments most likely to be affected by climate change.
The Cooled Conservatories represent an innovative amalgamation of
architecture, structural ingenuity, environmental engineering and
landscape design. As iconic features of the gardens, they showcase
the application of sustainable energy solutions, and offer a
spectacular visual and spatial experience for visitors.
Inside, cool air is delivered at low velocity, trickling in and between
the planted displays, providing the right growing conditions for the
plants as well as comfort for the visitors. Thermal stratification
ensures cool air settles at the lower occupied zone and warm air is
allowed to rise as part of the overall strategy to only use energy
where necessary.

inspiration

Fresh air is drawn in to the plant-room and dried with dessicant prior
to passing through conventional chillers, further reducing the amount
of energy required for cooling. Hot air collected from the top of the
glasshouses is used to regenerate the dessicant by driving off the
moisture and an on-site CHP biomass boiler (fuelled with green waste
from the citys parks and packing waste from the port) generates
5MW of heat and approximately 1MW of electrical power. The heat is
used to assist in regenerating the dessicant and to provide cooling
via absorption chillers whilst the electricity is used to power
conventional chillers. This results in all of the cooling to the
conservatories being delivered in a net zero-carbon manner.
Both biomes have a highly efficient, steel superstructure comprised
of a self-supporting gridshell working in tandem with an array of
radially arranged steel ribs designed to resolve the dynamic (wind)
loads. This creates a large, clear span structure, which is as light as
possible to allow the required amounts of daylight to enter the
building.
The project has been accredited BCA Green Mark Platinum (the
highest grade in the BCA Green Mark environmental assessment
system).

Completion: 2012
Location: Singapore

inspiration