A Moving Experience Of Water
“If you go down and walk around the funnel, it’s a sensational experience because all that power of water is right in front of your nose, but you can’t hear it because it’s absolutely soundproof. So you’re sitting there mesmerised and having a coffee, while daylight is streaming into the two retail levels,” says Moshe Safdie. The funnel is a spectacular moment within the overall experience of Jewel, magnetic to adults and children alike.
confesses Safdie. A displacement ventilation system, chilled slabs, the shading provided by the triangulated roof structure and PV cells are elements of the energy story of Jewel. So too is a fine spray of cooling mist that builds on Safdie’s ‘mystical garden’ narrative. The project has achieved Green Mark’s Gold Plus rating.
Atelier Ten was responsible for the environmental design and air-conditioning strategies for the Canopy Park (level 5 attraction zone) and Shiseido Forest Valley (garden) areas, as well as site-wide sustainability strategies and Green Mark energy-performance modelling. The firm’s experience of working on Gardens by the Bay gave the team a good understanding of the daylight and thermal needs of plants and people, and the challenges inherent in achieving both. But whereas Gardens by the Bay prioritised the thermal requirements of the plants, the thermal comfort of people was also paramount at Jewel.
New computational tools enabled Atelier Ten to optimise the glass and fritting specification for the dome and accurately control the amount of daylight reaching particular locations. “We didn’t want to provide any more daylight than what was required for plant health,” explains Henry Woon, Director at Atelier Ten’s Singapore office, “because every percentage of excess daylight would imply another percentage of additional air conditioning requirement.”
Jaron Lubin, Principal at Safdie Architects, describes Atelier Ten as “probably the most forward-thinking on energy optimisation in the world.” The displacement ventilation system employed at Jewel cools the area closest to where people are – the first couple of metres above the floor of the occupied levels – rather than the entirety of the dome. A small number of roof panels can be opened to release hot air that can build up during the day.
Finding the right lux level for both plants and people was a considerable challenge for lighting designers Lighting Planners Associates (LPA) – as was positioning the lighting fixtures themselves. “Mounting lighting fixtures on the complex latticework structure was completely avoided to prioritise a clean visual of the internal dome. Hence all lighting for the Forest Valley and Canopy Park were either mounted on the floors, walls, planter boxes, pole structures, or integrated into the furniture,” explains Reiko Kasai, Managing Director at LPA’s Singapore studio.
Airport regulation also influenced the placement of lighting fixtures; uplights were limited to trees while all other lights were aimed downward to avoid visual distraction to Changi Airport’s control tower. On most days, there is sufficient natural light entering the dome during the day to make artificial lighting of the Forest
Valley unnecessary. Sensor-activated, dimmable artificial lights kick in on cloudy days when lux levels hit a low.
One of the biggest challenges for the architectural and engineering teams was the requirement to retain the existing track for the airport’s people moving system (PMS). “[If] the oculus was in the middle of the building that would have meant that … every three minutes the train would come through the waterfall,” says Safdie. He continues, “So we had to shift the toroid off-centre. That was a geometric nightmare, but I think it also made it so much more beautiful and it created a tension in the geometry.”
RSP faced the additional challenge of keeping the PMS operable
(for maintenance-related train transfers at night, not for passengers) during the construction of Jewel. This was overcome with temporary columns and a transfer plate. The sudden appearance of the Rain Vortex right beside the train carriages is now a special experience for transiting passengers making their way between terminals.
As a piece of architecture, Jewel Changi Airport can be read as both a form and a conduit. Its triangulated dome simultaneously impresses upon us a distinct shape (a plump doughnut) and plays on the memory of its domed cousins elsewhere on the island. It “addresses the important question of placemaking in the aviation context,” suggests Benoy Director and Head of Singapore Studio, Terence Seah. Yet at the centre of the ‘place’ is a void – the much gazed-upon Rain Vortex. Despite its status as the main attraction, its water is unable to be touched directly except in the form of mist.
Jewel is, in short, a curious entity to contemplate. But it is one that has the power to move you, leaving an indelible impression. “There’s a difference between the ten-minute ‘wow’ and the long-lived ‘wow’,” says Safdie. Indeed, Jewel is a spectacle with services, bearing national importance. It creates a dream-like reality with a narrative that can be translated by all. It is also characteristically ‘Singapore’ – a convergence of tourist attraction, commercial space, and place for the people. It begs the question: where does the journey of travel begin and end?