Cooled Conservatories

The Cooled Conservatories are the jewel in the crown of the gardens, appearing like an exotic outcrop on the edge of the Marina.  They represent an innovative amalgamation of architecture, structural ingenuity, environmental engineering and landscape design.  As iconic features of the Gardens they showcase the application of sustainable energy solutions and tell the story of plants and their intimate relationships with man and the ecosystem.  At the same time their 2 Hectare area offers a spectacular visual and spatial experience for visitors.

The Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean and semi-arid sub-tropical regions such as South Africa and parts of Europe like Spain and Italy.  The Cloud Forest Dome replicates the cool-moist climate found in tropical montane regions between 1,000 to 3,500 metres above sea level, such as Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, and high elevation areas in South America.

The Conservatories use a suite of technologies to achieve at least 30% saving in energy consumption, compared to conventional cooling technologies.  As a result the energy consumption for the Conservatories is comparable to that of an average commercial building in Singapore of the same footprint and height.  To optimise energy efficiency, the following key architectural and engineering strategies were implemented:

  • Spectrally selective glass and light sensor-operated shadings minimize the solar heat gain and allow maximum light to plants.
  • Thermal stratification to ensure cool air settles at the lower occupied zone and warm air is allowed to rise and vented out at high levels.
  • The efficient de-humidification cooling process is de-coupled first into de-humidifying of the air with a liquid desiccant and then cooling the dry air.
  • A Combined Heat Power (CHP) biomass steam turbine generates electricity to run the electric chillers that produce chilled water to cool the Conservatories. Waste heat is captured in the process to regenerate the liquid desiccant.