Singapore, Singapore
2014 - 2019
Jurong Lake Gardens
Exemplifying Singapore's vision to become a ‘City in Nature’ and informed by an extensive public engagement process, the lakeside park restores the site’s original freshwater swamp forest as a means of enhancing climate resilience and biodiversity in the area while also connecting people to the richness of local flora and fauna.
Project details
Client
National Parks Board
Status
Revitalizing the site’s original freshwater swamp forest, which was cleared with the area’s industrial development in the 1960s, Jurong Lake Gardens provides a home for recreation and community activities as well as a vibrant green lung amid a developing urban district.
In line with Singapore’s commitment to rejuvenating and expanding its natural assets, the guiding principles for the redevelopment of the 53-hectare Jurong Lake Gardens are decidedly biophilic and restorative. A conscious effort to bring back wildlife that was unique to the Jurong area, the park and gardens provide public access to the restored swamp forests, wetlands, grasslands, a nature-themed play area, allotment gardens, and various lifestyle and sports facilities.
Inclusive by design
Jurong Lake Garden is designed to be a people’s garden, accessible to all. Informed by over 17,000 suggestions collected through an engagement process spanning several years, the design of the park and gardens mindfully invites the particular needs of diverse user groups, offering a canvas for a variety of recreation and community activities.
The first national gardens in the heartlands of Singapore, the area has drawn millions of visitors annually since its opening in 2019.
Enabling active recreation alongside tranquil areas, the park invites a vast range of visitors of all ages and physical abilities. Wheelchairs are available upon request and inclusive playground elements allow children with varying physical abilities to play together at Ramble Forest, a playground inspired by the movements of various animals that inhabit the freshwater swamp. The therapeutic garden and butterfly maze provide sections that cater to children with special needs, as well as seniors suffering from dementia as the barrier-free, admission-free park truly aims to enable all visitors to immerse themselves and connect with nature.
"Jurong Lake Gardens is about making space more livable, and changing residents’ relationship with nature."
Leonard Ng
Country Market Director, Singapore
Enhancing local nature and biodiversity
Enhancing habitats for wildlife and maintaining tranquility were key considerations in the development of Jurong Lake Gardens, enabling visitors to enjoy the richness of local nature while also enhancing biodiversity.
Rasau Walk brings visitors to the water’s edge along the western part of Jurong Lake. Winding through the restored freshwater swamp forest, with views to the grasslands and serene lakeside scenery, the meandering boardwalk takes visitors on an experiential path enriched with 50 species of local plants, including clusters of Rasau trees, Nibung palms, and Sealing Wax palms.
Varying water levels within the wetland habitat and aquatic plants native to the freshwater swamp create inviting zones for water birds to feed and forage as well as habitats for local wildlife including insects that act as a natural mosquito control.
Adapting to the impacts of climate change
Jurong Lake Gardens are designed to accommodate varying weather conditions as much of the area doubles as a floodplain; capturing, slowing down, and cleansing stormwater before it flows into the lake. Adopting a nature-based approach to addressing the impacts of climate change, the design of the site provides a strategic solution to many of Singapore’s climate-related challenges – from sea-level rise, extreme rainfall, flooding, drought, urban heat island effect, and biodiversity loss.
A series of waterways wind around banyan tree clusters, forming the 900-meter-long Neram Streams. Carved out of a previously straight concrete drain, these streams have been naturalized, bio-engineered, and integrated as part of the park. They increase the stormwater catchment area, channeling runoff from the surrounding gardens. Passing through plantings in the streams, the water is cleansed before flowing into Jurong Lake.
Contact
All contacts
Country Market Director
Associate Director
Design Director, Landscape
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