Forming a focal point in the government-led project to transform Singapore into a ‘City in a Garden’, the cooled conservatories are among the world’s largest climate-controlled glasshouses. Their composite structure comprises a self-supporting gridshell with a superstructure of radially arranged steel ribs. These ribs house a sun-shading system, and the glazing units have very high visual light transmission coupled with a very low solar heat gain coefficient. The 1.8-hectare Flower Dome tells the story of plants and people in the Mediterranean climate zone. The 0.73-hectare Cloud Forest highlights the relationship between plants and the planet, exhibition spaces being housed in a planted ‘Mountain’ with a 35-metre waterfall.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture