Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore botanic garden is at an important crossroad of times; it seeks to become Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site but also has an ambitious forward looking program of renewal and reinvention to be at the forefront of scientific research and global plant conservation.

The botanic garden forms an important cornerstone and active participant in Singapore’s national mission of making a ‘city within a garden’ and –importantly- it is the most visited botanic garden in the world. The orchid collection at Singapore Botanic Garden is one of the world’s most unique and largest of its kind. They are the crown jewels of one of the world’s most beautiful botanic gardens in the world. They also are at the very core of the important role of the botanic gardens in representing and expressing Singapore’s national identity. The orchid breeding and conservation program at Singapore Botanic Gardens is a unique scientific research program both in terms of conservation of native orchards and the breeding of novel orchid hybrids. The proposal addresses the brief at different scales and with different sensibilities but following a common identity inspired by the form of the orchid, proposing an iconic symbol for the new Tropical Montane Orchidetum, a series of small scale signature interventions along the existing landscape, which give coherence and legibility while respecting the beautiful natural scenario, and non-invasive yet elegant intervention to the existing heritage buildings integrated with a petal’s inspired roofed extension and gardens. The new Tropical Montane Orchideum will represent and celebrate the extravagant wonders of orchids at the forefront of the integration of research, conservation and education. The natural habitat and unique ephytic growth can be architecturally expressed and become a key landmark fully integrated and articulated in the unique free flowing natural English style landscape setting of the Singapore Botanic Garden.