Singapore Gardens by the Bay

For many of us celebrating the Easter weekend, it is a religious occasion. One theme of Easter is that of new life (hence the tradition of the Easter egg). For me the rejuvenation of gardens and public spaces is akin to this. I have been to Singapore nine times now and enjoy immensely travelling to the city state. It has a buzz and energy about it, while presenting beautiful gardens that are boosted by the tropical climate and rains. Singaporeans enjoy presenting their gardens in new and innovative ways. The Gardens by the Bay at Marina Bay are no different, and they are truly magnificent. We saw them under construction a couple of years ago when we took the opportunity for a stopover in Singapore on the way to Europe, staying at the Marina Bay Sands (you can get amazingly cheap rates on the rooms if there is not a big event on at the same time as your visit). I didn’t know what I was looking at from the hotel balcony view until I got back home and found this article on inhabitat.com . So I said to my wife that next time we go to Singapore we have to see these gardens and their super vertical garden “trees”. Below are a couple of shots of the gardens under construction. BTW – as per usual, all these images link through to my larger photos on Flickr.

Late last year we finally got the chance to go back and visit the gardens, open to the public and in full bloom. To get there you have to walk past the imposing Marina Bay Sands hotel complex, and over the bridge that separates the gardens from the uber-size hotel-casino. When you finally arrive it is like being sucked into another world full of flora and colour. The Supertree vertical gardens greeted us, and I must admit I was awestruck by the genius of their design and construction.

The elevated deck that allows you to walk through the “trees” looks awesome. I think we will take the walk on the deck next time we go, now that the Pok (our son) has properly found his feet.

There are several themed gardens located throughout the site, in many ways reflecting the diverse cultural backgrounds of the people of Singapore. We stopped for a rest in the Chinese Gardens, where the backdrop was the three huge towers of the uber-size hotel-casino. We could see the storm clouds approaching in the distance and it rained briefly on us several times while we were walking around.

You can’t get away from the Supertrees and there are some 18 in total at the gardens. You can go right up to the base of these structures and there is excellent information about the trees and how they work – truly impressive!

There are a few other themed gardens with different plants that are being nurtured. Turning a corner sucks you into what at first appearance would be a completely different garden from the one you just left.

The Pok had an excellent time running around the gardens and spent a lot of time doing laps around the base of the Supertree above. At the time, with him being so young, he found it quite a novelty that he would walk the base of the structure and see Mummy and Daddy again, and again, and again.

Finally, the proper tropical storm approached and brought an end to our visit. We had a fantastic time, and will definitely visit again to see a lot of the parts that were still being finished and maybe seeing the greenhouse too. I think a visit at night would also add a different dimension to our next visit, with the whole site lit up under the different coloured lights. I would definitely recommend a visit to these Gardens if you are spending 48 hours in Singapore. One tip, bring water! The humid Singapore climate coupled with all the walking you will do when visiting the gardens will leave you parched. If you want to know where the gardens are in Singapore, I have inserted the Google Maps link below.

For all of you that are celebrating Easter, have a happy one with family and friends.

Gulliver’s view of Sydney

I was a bit naughty the other day on the return flight I took from Sydney to Melbourne. When they told us to switch off all electrical equipment on landing, I took my camera out to take a photo of the Sydney City skyline from the air. After all, how many times do you get the chance to take a photo from a couple of thousand of feet in the air. It wasn’t the easiest snap to take, given the turbulence and speed the plane was going at, but I got one good one – minus the Sydney Opera House.

And the city continues to grow with new developments and the conversion of a lot of harbour land that 50 years ago had an industrial purpose. The City of Sydney is responsible for approving all developments. So I was quite surprised when I went to the Sydney Town Hall (to get the signature of a Justice of the Peace) to find a 1:500 scale model of the City of Sydney. I truly felt like Gulliver in Lilliput. The detail of the architectural models is amazing.

Here is my local area as captured in the model, the scale of the buildings from above definitely provides a different perspective from the human scale at street level.

Currently, one of Sydney’s most controversial developments is that of Barangaroo. The next shots capture the scale disproportionate to buildings locally. But the height of the proposed constructions is not out of scale compared to other buildings in the Sydney skyline. Regardless of the buildings, I hope that they sort out two things properly – 1. transport that works and services all the increased land usage, and 2. ensure that the continuous harbour foreshore path is built with the land restored as much as possible to its former line.

The rest of the model clearly shows the city scale and how Sydney truly is a global city.

This next shot is of another large development currently under construction in Sydney, and closer to me – the Carlton and United Breweries site on Broadway. This will totally change the fabric of the local area, and hopefully for the better.

Anyone can see this model at the Sydney Town Hall, and the best part is that it is free. I guess, my childhood interest in building cities out of Lego is still piqued by architectural models.

Paddington Reservoir Gardens – Urban rehabilitation at its best

Returning from my morning bike ride the other week I took the Oxford Street bus lane express back home. This is surprisingly quick, with the only danger being overtaking a parked bus picking up passengers. But I noticed to my left that the Paddington Reservoir Gardens was open (at 7:30 in the morning). I had first discovered this through the website inhabitat.com and this article: Sydney Transforms Waterworks Ruins into Incredible Public Park. I was a bit embarrassed to discover this on an American website given that the site is less than 5km as the crow flies from where I lived. It became a mission of mine to photograph this park.

What I found was a stunning example of urban rehabilitation and a small oasis in what is quite a ‘citified’ area of Sydney. It is one whole storey below street level and once you descend you forget that you have just left the bustling city. The architectural design is tranquil and uses the old structures as a skeleton to lay out a modern garden both at street level and on the subterranean level. As an amateur photography who loves buildings, design and architecture, I got a feeling of giddy excitement as I viewed all the lines and patterns. Below are some of the shots. As usual, the images click onto my larger images hosted on Flickr.

I would love to go back and shoot this location again. Since I was last there I have acquired my one and only Canon L series lens. I was a bit disappointed with the light for this shoot too. But as with all photographers, I am always trying to acquire the perfect shot. If you ever visit Sydney, you can find the gardens at this location on Google Maps below:

 

ANZAC Bridge – Break in the Weather

The ANZAC Bridge is Sydney Harbour’s other bridge. It is the one that is often forgotten by the tourists, but equally important in keeping Sydney moving. In my opinion it is an engineering beauty whose elegance lies in its myriad of cable stays and it’s two sentient towers. The area in which the bridge is situated holds lots of Sydney’s working history, with the old sandstone quarries being located on the Pyrmont side (East) and one of the many old dockyards surrounding the harbour foreshore being located on the Rozelle side (West). For many American GIs posted to the Pacific Theatre in World War II, they would have departed from Sydney in boats docked near where the Western footings now stand.

The weather this last weekend has been pretty much rubbish, but at sunset on both days the heavens opened up and provided a spectacular sky show with the ANZAC bridge as its star. Come to think of it, the weather this Summer has just been bizarre – and I think there may be another heatwave coming our way later this month. Both my Canon EOS 400D SLR and Canon Powershot G15 came out for a play and here are the results. As usual all the photos link through to larger images on my Flickr photostream.

The last shot is of the cycle path that loops around on itself on the Pyrmont side to bring you up to the height of the bridge deck. I have ridden this too many times to count. If you are interested in going for a walk to the bridge you can find it at the location below on Google Maps. Make sure you stop at the Sydney Fish Markets for a bit to eat while you are at it as well.

 

Modern Melbourne Architecture – Patterns

I have recently been travelling to Melbourne for work quite a bit. In fact, I have been to Melbourne so many times that I have lost count – and the number of trips would easily number over 200. As a Sydney-sider I find it awkward to say that I love Melbourne. It is a totally different city to Sydney, in the same way that Los Angeles is to New York or Toronto is to Montreal. I love going there, and I love visiting family and friends that I have down there too. The client that I am working for is based in the Docklands, and it is interesting to hear what the locals think about the precinct. Empty, soulless, heartless, dead are adjectives that I have heard numerous times in describing the new modern construction going up all around.

So I decided to see what my perspective would be through the lens. I took my new trusty Canon Powershot G15 to see if I could put it through its paces and what I decided to focus on in the end were some of the fascinating patterns that the modern architecture and buildings presented. There have been huge leaps in building construction since I left university over 15 years ago, and the new materials and manufacturing processes mean that architects and engineers can produce patterns in exterior cladding that were just not possible before (or more correctly cost viable – the Sydney Opera House being a perfect example). So here is what I found. The strange thing is that in some ways, these patterns remind me of the skins of reptiles – but made of metal and glass.

BTW – All the photos link through to the larger images on my Flickr page.

 

My photo excursion was beautifully ended with a spectacularly dusk setting over the unusually calm Docklands with a crescent moon over the water. I love the colour of the sky in this last shot – no Photoshop necessary!

 

My next photo excursion down in Melbourne will probably involve either two wheels or the myriad of cool sculptures that grace the city.