AusLeisure

The surfacing under foot at Singapore’s futuristic Gardens by the Bay parklands and outdoor recreation space is as bright, inviting and appealing as the skyward view.

With the view above filled with the award-winning project’s ‘Supertree’, the underfoot experience of the Children’s Garden splash pad aquatic play area features 794 metres² of a vibrantly coloured, springy PolySoft surface in which giant orchids spout water and fountains spring up in response to sensors that register movement. PolySoft’s kind-to-feet coverage promotes children playing and gets adults kicking off their shoes.

The latest in a series of high-profile, playful projects for PolySoft, the Sydney-based company’s involvement in Singapore’s imaginative transformation of reclaimed land confirms its desirability as a durable product.

PolySoft’s innovative polyolefin plastic-derived pour-in-place system enables:

• Constant foot traffic while maintaining its gentle give.
• Use in tropical climates - Polysoft keeps its cool with a surface temperature up to 20°C cooler than concrete.
• Constant streaming and splashing of chlorinated water. Polysoft’s UV-stable pigments - Viridian, Liquid Turquoise and Morning Sky, for example - resist fading;
• The surface to remain slip resistant and hygienic.

In Singapore, as in New York City’s Summer Streets Festival, PolySoft seamlessly integrates with other landscaping components, and can easily be shaped to create natural run-off and water-collection points.

British landscape architectural firm, Grant Associates, was appointed to lead planning of the Gardens by the Bay development in 2006.

Explaing the project to landscapeonline, Grant Associates Director Andrew Grant stated “our brief for Gardens by the Bay was to create the most amazing tropical gardens in the world, incorporating cutting-edge environmental design and sustainable development principles. We had to factor in the challenges of both the Singapore climate and working on a reclaimed waterfront. We wanted to capture people’s relationship with nature and use innovative technology to create rich lifestyle, educational and recreational experiences for both local residents of Singapore and visitors from around the world.”

The opening of the fantastically landscaped scene began in June 2012, and it has already welcomed more than seven million visitors. The Children’s Garden, with its rainforest tree houses, tree-top trails and the water-play Splash Pad as its centrepiece, was revealed to the public in January this year.

PolySoft Chief Executive Ophelia Zhu adds “it’s great to see our hard-working surface used so creatively. In harsh city environments people really appreciate a little … tenderness. This spectacular city-garden project shows our ingenious, resilient product at its humanising best.”

For more information about PolySoft surfacing click here to contact the company via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

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