IIMPACT OF ROOF GARDEN ON THE OVERALL ATTRACTIVENESS OF A SHOPPING MALL

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation, development and the increasing loss of natural landscapes and greenery have led to the call for vertical or skyrise greening. Skyrise greenery is a fastgrowing phenomenon and a key strategy for Singapore to achieve its ‘City in a Garden’ vision. Hence, it is critical to examine the contribution of such skyrise greenery to the performance of real estate. This paper investigates the impact of different types of roof gardens, specifically on retail malls. Surveys had been carried out at the three selected malls (each representing one type of roof garden) to find out the impact of incorporating a roof garden. The awareness level is generally on the high side. However, patronage level remains low, thus the need for improvement. Majority of the respondents found the presence of skyrise greenery an attractive factor but it is not a crucial factor for success of the malls. Nevertheless, it can be a value-adding attribute in enhancing the aesthetic design of a mall. Among the three types of roof gardens, the Sky Park was identified to be the most attractive with the highest level of awareness and patronage. ANOVA tests revealed that there is no significant gender, age and marital status differences in terms of the attractiveness of a roof garden in a mall. There is also no relationship between patronage and the demographics of the respondents as indicated by the Chi-square test.