GARDENS IN THE SKY: A STUDY OF ROOFTOP GARDENS IN SHOPPING MALLS

Abstract

The rapid development of Singapore’s landscape has led to a major loss of open public spaces for social and recreational activities to take place. The lack of such spaces greatly affects the engagement of public life for its people. With the nation’s goal of being a City in a Garden, extensive steps have been taken to improve the environment that we live in. More green open spaces are introduced back to our neighbourhoods as well as the city area. In a high-rise city like Singapore, we have taken a step further by looking skywards. Greater emphasis have been placed on extending greenery onto our buildings. Green open spaces are no longer something found at grade. Advancement in technology and engineering has allowed us to incorporate such spaces within our high rise structures. This has broaden our horizon when planning for public spaces. Public spaces no longer have to exist on ground level. The introduction of skyrise greenery gives us the opportunity to provide public spaces above ground. One such form of skyrise greenery is the rooftop garden. The current trend of rooftop gardens can be seen in many recent high-rise developments in Singapore, ranging from residential to commercial. The subject for this dissertation was motivated by the ongoing trend of incorporating rooftop gardens into shopping malls. Many new shopping malls included such spaces to enhance the shoppers’ experience and at the same time boost the aesthetic image of the mall. Old malls that are undergoing makeovers also choose to include this feature in order to keep up with their competitors. This study closely examines the performance of rooftop gardens in shopping malls and assess the role they play as public spaces. Rooftop gardens of Orchard Central and Serangoon Nex will be evaluated for the purpose of this study. Field observations, surveys of users, analysis of drawings and interview with designers are conducted to provide insights into the user’s perspective and the design methodologies of the garden. The results of this research offers architects, developers and authorities an understanding the opportunity and importance that such spaces can provide for the future of public spaces in Singapore.