Grant Associates recently won an international design competition to plan the largest garden project ever to be constructed in Singapore, the Marina South Gardens. The structure, which is inspired by the shape of an orchid, features a group of cooled conservatories in its center as well as a series of enormous solar supertrees that provide the gardens with an abundant source of rain water and renewable energy.

Marina South Gardens is composed of a series of conservatories that show off tropical, Mediterranean and temperate species of plants and flowers. The project also contain a series of Supertrees, which are vertical gardens ranging in height from 25 to 50 meters. These structures power the cooled conservatories while serving as energy centers that house solar hot water heaters, solar panels, venting ducts, and rainwater harvesting systems. When not in use by visitors, the conservatories can play host to events and exhibitions.

The Marina’s themes of “Plants and Planet” and “Plants and People” round out the exhibit, providing visitors with a context for the sprawling garden center, which is expected to be completed by 2011.

Via Travel with Frank Gehry