News Releases

10 May 2008

PM Lee Hsien Loong officially opens two Pedestrian Bridges and HortPark – the gardening hub at the Southern Ridges

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially opened two pedestrian bridges and HortPark - the gardening hub at Singapore’s Southern Ridges during a community walk this morning. The event was attended by about 800 guests, including more than 500 residents from the neighbouring Ayer Rajah-West Coast, Radin Mas and Telok Blangah GRCs as well as representatives from industry and the public sector.

A new recreational playground amidst nature

The Southern Ridges comprise a nine-kilometre chain of green, open spaces spanning the rolling hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending at West Coast Park.

The completion of the two pedestrian bridges by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) – to be named Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch - brings to reality the earlier plans of URA to seamlessly connect all the hill parks and transform the Southern Ridges into a new recreational playground amidst nature.

Names of bridges unveiled

The first bridge, named Henderson Waves, is also Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge. It spans Henderson Road to connect Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill Park. The other bridge, named Alexandra Arch, spans Alexandra Road. On one end, it continues to Forest Walk, which is made up of an elevated walkway for pedestrians and earth trails for cyclists through the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill Park. On the other, it links via a floral path to the Horticulture Park - or HortPark for short.

HortPark: Southeast Asia’s first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub

The latest addition to the National Parks Board (NParks)’s series of thematic parks, HortPark is Southeast Asia’s first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub. It brings together gardening-related recreational, educational, research and retail activities under one roof in a park setting. The hub also serves as a park connector linking Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.

Transforming plans into reality

Said Mrs Cheong Koon Hean, CEO, URA: “Today, Henderson Waves, Alexandra Arch and HortPark, together with a series of other existing walking trails, will allow people to take a seamless stroll from HarbourFront MRT station all the way to Kent Ridge Park. This brand new experience will offer visitors a chance to enjoy the lush greenery of the hill parks while taking in panoramic views of our city, the harbour and the Southern Islands. We are very pleased that, together with partner agencies, we have been able to tap the natural beauty of the Southern Ridges to create yet another enchanting spot in our city for all to enjoy.”

Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch: Distinctive Links at the Southern Ridges

URA first announced its plans to link the Southern Ridges at the Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plan exhibition in July 2002 as part of the Master Plan 2003 Review. At that time, the popular hill parks at Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill and Kent Ridge were separated by either major roads or wooded vegetation. URA’s vision was thus to have a seamless connection through these popular parks and offer Singaporeans and visitors a brand new experience to walk, jog and explore nature while taking in breathtaking views of the surroundings.

In search for compelling designs

In 2003, URA, in collaboration with NParks and the Singapore Institute of Architects, organised an international design competition to select outstanding design concepts for the connections that were to be built. The concept by LOOK Architects (Singapore) was selected for Alexandra Arch and the elevated walkway at Forest Walk, while that of IJP Corporation Ltd (UK) & RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd (Singapore) was selected for Henderson Waves.

A series of monthly Design Review Meetings were organised to discuss the design development with the consultancy firms and to ensure that these new structures complemented the rustic character of the Ridges’ natural landscape, respected the terrain of the surroundings and created a memorable impression and experience for visitors.

Convenient connections created

Today, these plans have become a reality with the completion of these two linkages. Henderson Waves has an interesting sculptural wave-form which is made up of seven undulating curved “ribs”. These form alcoves that alternately rise over and under the bridge deck. These curved “ribs” form alcoves, providing visitors with shelter and seats within. The wave-forms will be lit with attractive warm lighting at night.

Alexandra Arch, with its curved deck and tilted arch, spans Alexandra Road like an opened leaf. On one end, it links to Forest Walk that comprises a step-free elevated walkway and ground level earth trails through the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill. The modules of the elevated walkway derived their design from the triangular-shared leaves of the fast-growing “Mile-a-Minute” plant, which is native to the area. The elevated walkway rises to between three to 18 metres above ground in the hilly terrain, and expands into viewing decks at selected locations to enable visitors to pause and take in the scenic natural surroundings. On the other end of the bridge at Hyderabad Road is a Floral Walk that links to HortPark. The bridge will dazzle with colour-changing and moving LED lights between 7pm and 12am daily.

HortPark – A Gardening Hub for the People

HortPark is Southeast Asia’s first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub. The 23-hectare park aims to promote gardening as a hobby for everyone, through hands-on educational and interactive activities, and gardening events. It is also a knowledge hub for gardening professionals, and supports Singapore’s Landscape Industry by providing training, networking opportunities and a permanent showground for garden displays.

The first major event held at HortPark was GardenTech 2007, a one- stop gardening fair and trade exposition for the public and regional Landscape Industry. The event also marked the gardening hub’s soft-opening in December last year, and allowed the public to preview HortPark and participate in the growth of the hub in its final stage of its construction.

A hobby plant collector, Mrs Florence Lim is a regular visitor at HortPark since its soft-opening. She said: ”HortPark is like an oasis in the concrete jungle. It is refreshing to find a place that is so tranquil with a wide array of plants with vibrant colours so near the city, amidst tall skyscrapers. Many of the plants seen here are also very unique and not commonly seen in other areas. I often bring my five year old granddaughter here and she loves the place, especially the recycling garden and fantasy garden. The theme gardens are designed very well and both my granddaughter and I learn many new things every time we visit the gardening hub.”

New amenities and enhancements at HortPark

Since its soft opening, HortPark has worked with partners to add new amenities to the hub and enhance its collection of gardens. Some of the new additions include:

On HortPark Mediascape, powered by HP, Mr Ng Lang, CEO, NParks, said: “Technology can add a new dimension to our mission to create memorable recreational experiences and lifestyles for Singaporeans. Our partnership with HP is an important step to giving park visitors personalised, interactive experiences using technology.”

Ms Tan Yen Yen, Vice President and Managing Director for HP Singapore, added: “HP is committed to innovating for the environment. We have a Design for Environment Strategy that touches every aspect of our business – our products and services, development and scientific research, supply chain and operations. With HortPark Mediascape, HP is tapping its creativity and technological expertise to interest and educate the young in nature and flora.”

Aside from gardening buffs, HortPark is also a place for play for everyone young and old, with its myriad of colourful theme gardens, playgrounds, and green lawns. Since December, visitors of all ages have been enjoying HortPark and participating in their outreach activities such as guided walks, gardening, and plant-related workshops. With its lush landscapes, HortPark has also become a choice venue for several private events organised by various individuals and corporations within a short span of five months. Events such as weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, a fashion show and even a friendly Thai-boxing match have been held at HortPark.

Where partnerships bloom

The flourishing HortPark launched by PM Lee today is a showcase of fruitful partnerships between the government, private sector, and community. Some 70 industry partners have contributed and sponsored various landscapes and horticulture-related items worth over S$1million, and also helped to create interesting garden displays that add colourful and educational elements to the hub. A team of avid community gardeners from NParks’ Community In Bloom programme has also contributed by designing, planting-up and maintaining a garden at HortPark.

Beauty of Southern Ridges captured on coins

With the completion of Henderson Waves, Alexandra Arch and HortPark, the Southern Ridges looks set to become yet another recreational and leisure destination for Singaporeans and tourists. This is in line with the Government’s commitment to enhance our green spaces and to recognise and preserve the distinctive charm and character of places that Singaporeans hold dear to.

In conjunction with the official opening of these latest attractions in the area, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a set of four commemorative coins, each bearing the images of Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch and key landmarks of the Southern Ridges: Kent Ridge Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill Park.

This is the fourth set of coins that MAS has issued featuring areas that are part of URA’s Identity Plan, which aims to preserve the unique essence of places that are close to the hearts of Singaporeans. The earlier three sets of coins featured the Old World Charm, Urban Villages and Rustic Coast clusters. For more details on these collectibles, please visit www.singaporemint.com.

JOINTLY ISSUED BY URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND NATIONAL PARKS BOARD

SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG AT THE OPENING OF THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES AND HORTPARK GARDENING HUB AT THE SOUTHERN RIDGES, 10 MAY 2008

WELCOME ADDRESS BY MRS CHEONG KOON HEAN, CEO, URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AT THE OPENING OF THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES AND HORTPARK AT THE SOUTHERN RIDGES 10 MAY 2008, SATURDAY