Site Visits

This year, WCS2022 offers a selection of in-person site visits for delegates.

Sustainable City - Marina Bay & Gardens by the Bay

The Marina Bay area is known as our Singapore’s new downtown. It is a vibrant space which accommodates the expanded business and finance district from the city centre. The area is also home to public spaces for social engagement and recreation, both newly-created and enhanced, as well as programmed events and activities. Such spaces and endeavours are much appreciated for city residents.

Delegates on this site visit can look forward to understanding the concept, planning, and development of Marina Bay, including a visit to an internationally recognisable public space - Gardens by the Bay, also recognised to be the World’s Most Instagrammable Place in 2022.

Brought to you by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and Gardens by the Bay

Source: Housing & Development Board

Liveable City – Tanjong Pagar

This tour of the Tanjong Pagar district is an excellent showcase of how the Central Business District (CBD) was planned - marrying live-work-play elements, including public housing and social amenities, in a typical commercial area to provide a high quality of life.

The first stop on this site visit is The URA Centre. Here, delegates will visit the Singapore City Gallery to see Singapore’s dramatic transformation over the past 50 years, to become one of the most liveable cities in Asia. It will be followed by a stop-over at a public exhibition on URA’s Long-Term Plan Review - the latest review of Singapore’s long-term land use and infrastructure plans, which provides a forward-looking roadmap for Singapore’s development for the next 50 years and beyond. Delegates can find out more about the major plans and directions shaping Singapore’s future, and how public feedback has been incorporated in the long-term plans to ensure that they remain relevant and cater to the changing needs of residents and trends.

Next on the list is the tallest building in Singapore - GuocoLand-owned Guoco Tower, which serves as an example of a public space within a private development. Delegates will learn about placemaking initiatives and how government land sales are conducted to involve the private sector in CBD development. Delegates will also visit Singapore’s tallest public housing project – the award-winning Pinnacle@Duxton, a case study of Singapore’s innovative approach to meeting housing needs in an urban setting. This iconic residential complex was envisioned by our founding Prime Minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew, to commemorate this site which previously housed the first two HDB blocks in Tanjong Pagar. Here, delegates may better understand how social-communal facilities are integrated into the Pinnacle@Duxton development, exemplifying Singapore as a liveable city.

Other notable spaces on this site visit are the Discover Tanjong Pagar Community Green, the efforts of a voluntary private sector-led placemaking organisation formed by four commercial mall owners and four hotels in Tanjong Pagar with the aim of enhancing this precinct; and the Yan Kit Playfield, a green connector that is a recreational space for residents in the area.

Brought to you by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Housing & Development Board

Source: Singapore Gardens Festival 2022

Liveable City – Singapore Garden Festival 2022 

Be wowed by floral and garden displays by award-winning designers as Singapore Garden Festival returns!

International garden and flower show, Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) was first launched in 2006. The award-winning biennale event is back after a four-year hiatus and returns with a new free-to-attend format with highlights located at the heart of the city, Orchard Road, as well as at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Singapore Botanic Gardens. SGF runs till 7 August at popular Orchard Road shopping malls ION Orchard and Ngee Ann City and till 9 August at various locations within Singapore Botanic Gardens. Organised by the National Parks Board (NParks), the premier international garden and flower show promises to enchant both local and overseas visitors with beautiful floral creations and displays.

On this site visit, delegates will have the opportunity to observe and learn about SGF’s role in the ongoing efforts to rejuvenate Orchard Road as a lifestyle destination and a lush green urban corridor. The festival brings a differentiated concept to the precinct, while enhancing the greenery of the area and its appeal to both locals and tourists. 

You will also get to visit the National Orchid Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where you can view over 400 exquisite submissions for the Orchid Competition, organised in partnership with the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia. The orchid entries will be showcased in Burkill Hall and Tropical Montane Orchidetum, including Tan Hoon Siang Mist House and The Sembcorp Cool House. Their display locations are curated based on the orchids’ natural growing conditions. For instance, cool-growing orchids are displayed at The Sembcorp Cool House.

Loveable City – Bras Basah.Bugis

Conferred the ULI Award for Excellence in 2008, Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) was transformed over two decades into today’s vibrant, synergistic arts and educational cluster. The Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct is known, and loved, for its vibrant arts and culture landscape, as well as its diverse cultural communities. Together with its neighbour, the Civic District, BBB facilitates connections, and strengthens our national identity, making Singapore a most loveable city.

On this site visit, delegates will have the opportunity to observe and learn how land-use planning and the adaptive reuse of conserved buildings promote the development of the arts while preserving Singapore’s multicultural heritage and shared memories.

You will visit conserved religious buildings along Waterloo Street, such as the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple and Sri Krishnan Temple, as well as historical buildings dating back to the 1800s, such as the Stamford Arts Centre, and Singapore Art Museum at the former St Joseph’s Institution.

Brought to you by the National Arts Council and National Heritage Board