16 September 2008

Waterfront promenade at Marina Bay
- design features that delight the senses

A stroll around the Marina Bay waterfront promenade will be a pleasurable experience many will want to keep coming back to. By the end of 2009, Singaporeans and visitors alike to Marina Bay can look forward to an uninterrupted, experiential stroll along the 3.5 km promenade around the bay. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced today the key design features of the new waterfront promenade at Marina Bay, a continuous waterfront loop, linking up the necklace of attractions at the Marina Centre, Collyer Quay and Bayfront areas.

The waterfront at Marina Bay promises to delight the senses. It will be a destination that is easily accessible by the greater community and families, a free attraction for people from all walks of life to enjoy at Marina Bay. Singaporeans and visitors can look forward to a stroll in the mist, a playful splash in the fountain or simply soaking in a panoramic view of the Bay from any spot on the promenade.

The waterfront promenade is designed by an international design team led by Australian architects, The Cox Group, in collaboration with local firm Architects 61 and was selected through a call for design consultancy in 2004.

The key attractions around the bay are listed below. Please refer to Annex 1 for the illustrative plan of the waterfront promenade.

Bayfront - a stroll in the mist

The waterfront promenade along Bayfront, including the stretch in front of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort development, is planned as a two-tier promenade comprising a granite-paved upper-level promenade and a lower-level timber boardwalk. The upper level promenade includes lushly landscaped shady areas and paved areas for people to stroll or jog, as well as for the staging of events. The lower-level timber boardwalk, will incorporate water-taxi landing points and berthing points for boats. It will also be an extension of the Event Plaza and provide direct access to the two floating Crystal Pavilions that form part of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.

This stretch of the promenade boasts a number of unique design features, including a 300m-long sculptural, tubular stainless steel structure. Ranging in height from 3.5m to 10m, the steel structure combines function with mystery. It includes night lighting, power points and audio speakers, providing an integrated light-and-sound experience, as well as fine spray misters. These programmable misters will produce a visible cloud of mist to create a ‘Mist Walk’ which, together with the tree planting, helps to reduce the ambient temperature along this part of the promenade. The interactive misters are programmed using a system of sensors that monitors the ambient temperature, relative humidity and people movement.

The lower-level boardwalk will include a generous expanse of tiered-seating and steps that allow visitors to go right down to the water’s edge, and double up as seats for watching events and activities taking place within the Bay.

At the southern corner of the Bay, the promenade will widen to create a family-oriented public open space, with a series of linear water features. These will be both aesthetically pleasing and include dancing water jets to engage the young and old alike. The water jets can be turned off to allow the area to double up as a space to stage events and activities.

A Visitor Centre with information, exhibition and ticketing facilities and a small café will be located within this area, adjacent to the linear water features. As part of the efforts to make Marina Bay an eco-friendly district, the Visitor Centre will also include sustainable design features, such as natural ventilation, natural daylighting and solar roof panels.

Marina Boulevard C a shady, breezy walk

The stretch of the waterfront promenade along Marina Boulevard will be a shaded tropical walk with flowering shrubs and shade trees to create a lush and delightful experience. It will also include three ‘Breeze Shelters’ - pavilions with large solar-powered fans C which will provide a cool and breezy ‘pause point’ for visitors to rest.

This part of the promenade will also include a continuous seat along the seawall to allow visitors to rest and soak in views of the bay. Multi-functional smart poles will provide power outlets and speaker points to be used during events. There are plans to introduce public art work along the promenade, to provide a visually engaging experience for visitors and enhance the sense of community and identity in Marina Bay. The promenade will be lit with attractive night lighting integrated into the design features.

The Central Promontory Site, immediately fronting the Marina Bay Financial Centre, will continue to be used as an interim event space and public gathering space during major national events, such as the Marina Bay Countdown. To facilitate the staging of the events, subsoil drainage will be introduced to the turfed area. In addition, the site will be paved with a 6m-wide pedestrian walkway with new lighting along the water’s edge, creating a continuous waterfront route for pedestrians. As part of its role as the Development Agency for Marina Bay, URA will continue to work with other agencies and stakeholders to programme activities on the site. One such example is the Containart Pavilion designed by Shigeru Ban C an artistic architectural structure which doubles as a unique gallery space for artworks C currently installed as part of the Singapore Biennale 2008.

Continuous Loop

The Marina Boulevard stretch will connect to the stretch along Collyer Quay, which is being constructed as part of the new Fullerton Heritage development. It will include parts of the historic pier structures at the Former Clifford Pier and Customs Harbour Branch buildings, as well as

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