Gardens By The Bay: Biophilia and Prosperity in Singapore

First name: 
Carol
Last name: 
Lee
Class Year: 
2017
Advisor: 
Michelle Addington
Essay Abstract: 
Issues with built environments are widespread and common every city across the globe. These include concerns about environmental impact and human psychological and physical health. A method of easing these ailments is through the use of biophilic design – a concept that suggests translating the intrinsic human affinity to nature (biophilia) into the design of the built environment. This is meant to be an additional proponent to the general strategy of “sustainable design”. One arena to study the success of biophilic design as as strategy is in Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay – a botanical garden displayed in a theme park style. The Gardens will be analyzed through proposed biophilic design standards given by scholars on the subject. Findings reveal that although Gardens by the Bay has shortcomings in biophilic design in terms of geographical influence, it excels as a biophilic entity through its success as a social, cultural and educational influence in Singapore.