I think Babylover may have the answer to Wanda's question
regarding the NLB gardens:
Originally posted by BabyLover:
July 23, 2005
Green and bear it
The National Library's 14 gardens are part of its award-winning
green features, but only four are open to the public. What a
pity
By Tay Suan Chiang
VISITORS to the newly opened National Library could be forgiven for
thinking they have stumbled into The Secret Garden by Francis
Hodgson Burnett.
Always open: The spa garden on level 10 (above) is open to the
public and has seven 12-m tall plant towers, a reflexology path and
pebbled pathways. It looks up to the pod (below) on level 16. --
DESMOND FOO
The building in Victoria Street has 14 pockets of greenery located
up and down its 16 floors and basement.
The gardens, with vegetation forming 35 per cent of the total site
area, provide a relaxing respite from the endless bookshelves and
all that reading.
A pity then that only four of the 14 are open to the public.
'The gardens were mainly to help keep the building cool. That is
why not all are open to the public,' says Mr Surjit Singh, the
library's director of properties and facilities management.
The four gardens that are open to the public are: The sky garden on
Level 5; spa garden on Level 10; and two within the Central Lending
Library in Basement 1.
Even then, the two in the basement are accessible only during
certain times, such as when the library holds literature and poetry
reading sessions outdoors.
One of these features sculptures by local artist Chong Fah Cheong
that were commissioned for the library. The sculptures sit against
a backdrop of 5,000 bricks salvaged from the remnants of the old
Stamford Road library.
The gardens on levels 5 and 10 are the only two with free access
during library hours.
The one on Level 10 is the most impressive. The space - soaring to
a height of three storeys - features seven 12m-tall plant towers
for growing multiple plants in vertical stacks.
Sometimes open: One of two gardens in the basement within the
Central Lending Library, it is open to the public only during
reading sessions.
In keeping with its theme as a spa garden, you can find plants such
as aloe vera as well as pebbled paths for those seeking a spot of
reflexology.
Landscaping for the 14 gardens was done by landscape consultants
DLQ Design, while maintenance will be by landscaping company Eco
Flora.
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Mark of success
All in, a total of 120 species of tropical plants helps to lower
the temperature surrounding the building and reduce the load on
air-conditioning.
So, it is no surprise that the building was designed by Malaysian
architecture firm T R Hamzah and Yeang, which is known for its
climate-sensitive projects.
Malaysian architect Ken Yeang, who designed this library, has a
reputation for using plants both inside and outside his
buildings.
Never open: This garden on Level 7 is one of 10 gardens that are
not accessible to the public.
For him, plants are not just decorative items but essential in
helping to make a building more eco-friendly.
One of his most famous works is the Menara Mesiniaga Building in
Selangor, which has segments cut out of several floors to insert
high-rise gardens.
The gardens in the new library are just part of other eco-conscious
features which won it the Platinum Award for the Green Mark Scheme.
The award, by the Building and Construction Authority, is its
highest for environmentally friendly buildings here.
One of these energy-saving features is the use of automatic blinds
that are lowered in the late afternoon when the sun's rays into the
building are strongest.
Others include shade fins all around its facade to keep the sun off
its wide glass windows; daylight sensors that dim or switch off the
lights when there is enough natural light; and rain sensors that
shut off garden sprinklers when there is enough water for the
plants.
Even the building is built off the sun's east-west path and the
atrium spaces are located to channel breezes using natural
ventilation.
Still, it may be the spa garden that is the big attraction for
visitors.
Housewife Susie Lee, 35, was excited when she heard about it. She
says: 'After shopping at Parco Bugis Junction opposite and
borrowing my books, I can still get a foot reflexology session at
the library.'
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