Flower Dome and Cloud Forest are the two cooled conservatories located inside ‘Gardens by the Bay’ which is a park spanning 101 hectares (250 acres) of reclaimed land in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The conservatories are intended to be an energy efficient showcase of sustainable building technologies and to provide an all-weather edutainment space within the Gardens.
FLOWER DOME
The Flower Dome is the larger of the two, at 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres). It replicates cool dry conditions and features permanent displays of plants found in the Mediterranean and semi-arid tropical regions.
Eagle’s eye view of the conservatory
The Dome has Gardens dedicated to each region of the world with a display of the native flora from that particular region.
CLOUD FOREST
The Cloud Forest is slightly smaller at 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres). It replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level. It features a “Cloud Mountain”, accessible by an elevator, and we descended the mountain via a circular path. The highlight of the Cloud forest is a 35-metre (115 ft) waterfall which is also the world’s tallest indoor waterfall and showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000-metres above sea level.
Waterfall @ Cloud forest, Singapore
The mist of the waterfall as seen from the top. The mist is what the plants in the Cloud Forest thrive on! High in tropical mountains, these plants would absorb the abundant rainfall, releasing the water gradually to create a constant, long-lasting supply for the land beneath them – supporting even more plants!
Notice the outlines of the mountain and a waterfall in the Cloud forest dome?!
