The Hanging Gardens of Singapore: 6 Battery Road gets a Babylonian makeover

Named the “Rainforest Rhapsody”, the vertical garden of about 2,000sq ft is populated by a rich array of about 120 plant species.

According to the manager of the CapitaCommercial Trust, the vertical garden, installed at the main lobby of Six Battery Road, a Grade A office building, will be an iconic attraction and a testament to the Green Mark Platinum award received by the building in May last year from the Building & Construction Authority of Singapore. Six Battery Road is the first building in the Trust to receive the Platinum award. In its commitment towards environmental sustainability, the Trust has received Green Mark Gold awards for its three prime office buildings, namely, Capital Tower, One George Street and Raffles City, and certified Green Mark awards for four of its other commercial properties.

Rainforest Rhapsody was unveiled at Six Battery Road by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, at an official opening event yesterday, 24 March 2011. The design and installation of the vertical garden cost about S$750,000.

This is the first vertical garden in Singapore created by Dr Patrick Blanc, in close collaboration with the CapitaLand team. Dr Blanc is an award-winning French botanist and creator of over 140 vertical gardens around the world. Rainforest Rhapsody is designed with the various plant species arranged and planted in an oblique direction, inspired by the natural growth pattern of plants which grow along the cracks of rocks or any vertical surface. It also represents the highest biodiversity level in terms of number of plant species per square foot amongst all the vertical gardens Dr Blanc has designed. Using a technique pioneered by Dr Blanc, the way the plants are grown in the vertical garden is similar to how plants grow without soil on natural vertical cliff surfaces as well as epiphytically on the branches of rainforest trees throughout the world. At Six Battery Road, the vertical garden creates a new habitat for the 120 plant species in a built environment. Harvested rainwater and nutrients are absorbed by the plants through a controlled irrigation process. The plants absorb environmental pollutants, add oxygen to the air, and also refresh the building’s lobby.

Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, said, “This vertical garden is the centerpiece of the revitalised Six Battery Road’s main lobby. It represents CapitaLand’s commitment and leadership in environmental sustainability. I am happy to see such strong support from developers to integrate greenery with their skyrise developments. Skyrise greenery not only enhances the buildings aesthetically, it also brings about many other tangible benefits. In Singapore, skyrise greenery helps to reduce the urban heat island effect and enhance our biodiversity. It is one of the critical components of being truly a City in a Garden, where greenery is lush and pervasive.”

Part of S$92-million asset enhancement initiative

The installation of the vertical garden at Six Battery Road is part of a S$92-million asset enhancement initiative announced last May, which also won the building the Green Mark Platinum award for the substantially improved energy efficiency. The entire asset enhancement works will be implemented in phases while the building remains operational, and expected to be completed by end-2013.

Phase One of the asset enhancement works has been completed with the official opening of Rainforest Rhapsody and the refurbished main lobby. New lobby features include upgraded lift lobbies, new turnstiles and a fresh scent of “Green Bamboo” that greets visitors as they enter into the building. Three art pieces on display at each of the ground level lift lobbies are the “Waterfall” paintings by Japanese artist, Mr Hiroshi Senju. Complementing the visual, olfactory and gustatory senses, Da Paolo Group will be opening its Gastronomia outlet in the lobby at the end of March. The café will offer its renowned array of sandwiches, pasta, pizza, salads, coffee and cakes. All these elements and Rainforest Rhapsody contribute to a warm and hospitable main lobby at Six Battery Road.

Ms. Lynette Leong, Chief Executive Officer of the Manager, said, “In this asset enhancement, we have successfully combined environmentally-sustainable features together with upgraded aesthetic and technical specifications. As far as possible, we have used green label materials for the furnishings and finishes, and reused the onyx wall tiles in an attractive way. We have also changed the existing light fittings in our common areas to light emitting diode (LED) which will consume less energy. Additionalasset enhancement works will be executed in the next phases. These include the use of highly efficient chiller plant, installation of thermal energy storage system, high performance solar light tubes to reduce reliance on artificial lighting and the piloting of renewable energy source by harnessing energy from exhaust air on the rooftop to power a vertical wind turbine. Upon completion of the entire asset enhancement works, we expect to achieve 25% savings in the building’s energy consumption. With this asset enhancement, Six Battery Road will uphold its attractiveness as a landmark Grade A office building strategically located in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District.”