A Garden Airport in Singapore
Project Jewel at Changi Airport, Singapore / Safdie Architects
Singapore has long aspired to be a "city in a garden." Since the early 1960s, the 300-square-mile city-state has been serious about preserving nature and also greening underused spaces. In 1970, President Lee Kuan Yew dictated that there were to be "no brownfields;" all empty space would be planted. Today there are 5.4 million people packed into the island, but nearly 10 percent of the country is covered in parks, many of them newly created. More than 300 neighborhood and regional parks along with four nature preserves are in the process of being connected through hundreds of kilometers of greenways. Now, Singapore's Changi airport, the sixth busiest in the world, is getting the same treatment as the rest of the country — its being greened, in an exciting way that re-conceives the experience of the airport.
Safdie Architects and PWP Landscape Architecture are creating a spherical "air hub," a 134,000-square-meter bio-dome, in the center of Changi so even brief visitors passing through Singapore will get a sense of this garden-city as they walk through the interior landscape.
According to Safdie Architects, the glass dome will be home to gardens and walking trails, accessible via multiple levels.
The centerpiece will be a "rain vortex," a 40-meter-tall waterfall fed by recycled rainwater collected from the dome.
This being Singapore, the land of shopping malls, some 4 million square feet of retail, hotel, restaurant and entertainment space will circle the exterior of the gardens.
The entire structure will be supported by a ring of tree-like columns at the outside edge of the gardens, which will support the suspended roof.
Safdie told DesignBoom: "This project redefines and reinvents what airports are all about. The new paradigm is to create a diverse and meaningful meeting place that serves as a gateway to the city and country, complementing commerce and services with attractions and gardens for passengers, airport employees, and the city at large."
Work began at the end of 2014, and the dome is expected to open in 2018.
