By Margaret Badore, Source: Treehugger

Singapore

Parkroyal Singapore

Singapore is a city, a country and an island. Land is at a premium, but green space has been made a priority. This includes 60 hectares (148 acres) of greenroofs.

The Parkroyal hotel on Pickering takes the rooftop garden to new levels. The building has 15,000 square meters of “sky gardens” in addition to green walls in the front lobby.

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Parkroyal Lobby

In addition to the gardens outside, the Parkroyal’s lobby brings vegetation inside. This wall of plants frames the elevator.

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Hong Lim Park

Across the street from the Parkroyal is Hong Lim Park, which was the city’s first public garden. It was created by businessman Cheang Hong Lim, who purchased the land in 1876.

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Gardens by the Bay

Singapore expanded its land area with man-made fill, accounting for about 124 square kilometers (48 square miles) to date. Some of that land has been set aside for green space, such as the dramatic Gardens by the Bay. The “supertrees” pictured here serve as vertical gardens, where tropical plants can climb.

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Singapore River

The government began cleaning up the Singapore river in 1977, which was heavily polluted by sewage, industry runoff and garbage dumping. The clean up was completed ten years later.

Today, the river is landscaped with trees, bushes and flowering plants. George Madhavan, the director of Singapore’s Public Utilities Board, says that making the city’s waterways attractive and lush helps people to value the natural environment.

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Pinnacle

The Pinnacle at Duxton is a residential complex build by Singapore’s housing board. The seven 50-story towers are connected by two levels of green walkways, and the lower level of the complex is a park.

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Pinnacle Park

By making very tall buildings that can accommodate many apartments, the city planners were able to preserve open space for parks around the base of the Pinnacle complex. Dr. Liu Thai Ker, the former CEO of the Housing Development Board, says that if you compare a building that covers an entire block to one that allows for open space, the increase in density doesn’t have to be noticeable, but “the difference between having a park and not having a park is very noticeable.”

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Green Walkway

The strategic placement of ground-level plants makes a big visual impact along this wheelchair-accessible walkway at the Pinnacle.