Gardens by the Bay in 2009 - 2010

Two international landscape design teams have been named joint winners of an international master plan competition to conceptualise and create the master plan for Gardens by the Bay, which is set to be the crown jewel of Singapore's Garden City.

The winning entries are for Marina East and Marina South Gardens. No winner was chosen for the Garden at Marina Centre as NParks will be seeking public feedback on this.

The competition, organised by the National Parks Board and launched in January, attracted over 70 entries from 170 firms from 24 countries. Of these, eight were shortlisted and they presented their submissions to an 11-member international jury.


Winning design by Grant Associates, a landscape architecture consultancy based in Bath, England

The team that created the winning design for the Garden at Marina South is Grant Associates, a landscape architecture consultancy based in Bath, England. Grant Associates' recent projects include the Chongqing Botanical Garden in China and the New Islington Millennium Village in Manchester. It collaborated with several other design companies such as Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Atelier One, Atelier Ten, Land Design Studios and Meinhardt Infrastructure on the winning design.

Grant Associates' design philosophy for the Gardens sees the Marina South Garden as an "intelligent" space, which will have "Edutainment Gardens" as well as event spaces, show gardens and a conservatory.

The judges say Grant Associate's design "captures the essence of a Garden in a downtown setting - the experience of colour and vibrancy all year round. This was achieved by the strategic location of display gardens and activity spaces, with careful consideration given to day and night programming."

The team that created the winning design for the Garden at Marina East is Gustafson Porter, an international landscape design practice based in London. Its recent projects include the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London's Hyde Park, and the Great Glasshouse at the National Botanical Garden of Wales.


Winning design by Gustafson Porter, an international landscape design practice based in London

The judges say that Gustafson Porter's design concept for the Garden at Marina East "positioned it as a key Garden, leveraging off the attractive views it offers of the city skyline, looking across the water." The design's strength lies in "the way it addressed the site conditions, thereby bringing forth the essence of Marina Bay in a subtle and elegant manner."

Both winning teams also collaborated with Davis Langdon & Seah Singapore, which provided cost and management services.

Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, said the Gardens by the Bay would "exemplify the Garden in our Garden City", by adding colour and vibrancy through flowers and coloured foliage.

"It will showcase the best of tropical horticulture and floral displays. It will be a central park for all residents and visitors alike," said the minister at the launch of the Gardens by the Bay Master Plan exhibition at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and the official opening of the redeveloped Tanglin Core this morning.

He said that the judges were impressed with how the designers pushed the envelope of design, while taking into account the climate, culture and context of Singapore.

"They strived to come up with something iconic and innovative, and at the same time ensuring that their designs would blend in well with the surrounding developments at Marina Bay," added Mr Mah.

On the two winning designs, he said both teams had very unique design concepts that encompassed aesthetic elements that were "implementable and flexible."

"Grant Associates' strength showed in their design for the garden at Marina South, while Gustafson Porter excelled in their design for Marina East," he added.

But the Minister emphasised that the designs were not the final blueprints, and both teams would continue to work with NParks to develop the details of the designs.

Members of the public can view an exhibition of the winning designs and scale models at the Function Hall in the new Botany Centre, Tanglin Core, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens from now to Sept 24, from 7am to 8pm daily. The winning designs can also be viewed on the Gardens by the Bay website ( http://www.gardensbythebay.org.sg).

The exibition also serves to canvas feedback from the public, and their ideas and views would be taken into account in the detailed design stage.

Copyright ©2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.