Gardens by the Bay: High performance through design optimization and integration

This is a case study on the development of the Gardens by the Bay, Bay South and Conservatory Complex to provide intelligent and integrated building responses. This article demonstrates the effectiveness of combining a number of environmental design and building services optimization steps to achieve a sustainable design. Key initiatives undertaken include high-level daylighting design of the building skin to achieve exacting natural light requirements inside the spaces, while at the same time limiting thermal loads. Desiccant dehumidification systems are applied to minimize system cooling loads, so that waste heat from biomass combined heat and power (CHP) can drive substantive portions of the conditioning requirements. A waste stream made up of horticultural biomass is also identified and proposed to be utilized to provide the primary fuel for the biomass CHP system. In addition, this article provides a case study of how external structures are integrated to the building to provide ventilation and renewable energy harvesting.