The document describes the Cloud Forest Dome at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. The Cloud Forest Dome is designed to replicate the environment of a cloud forest through features like a tall central structure housing various tropical plants, a large interior waterfall, and misting systems. It allows visitors to observe epiphytic plants, orchids, pitcher plants, and other species found in real cloud forests while protected from the actual outdoor conditions. However, the dome is primarily a botanical garden rather than an authentic recreated forest ecosystem. Photos illustrate some of the dome's interior plants and design elements, as well as comparisons to natural cloud forests in Malaysia.
1. First created 8 May 2017. Version 1.0 - 1 Jun 2017. Jerry Daperro. London.
The Cloud Forest Dome
All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners.
Available free for non-commercial, Educational and personal use.
A Singapore’s Garden by the Bay
2. The Gardens by the Bay was opened in 2012 in Singapore. It is made up of several botanic gardens, each with
its own theme – Flower Dome, Cloud Forest Dome, Supertree Grove, Children’s garden and the Horticultural
Themed Gardens. The Cloud Forest Dome is its star attraction.
Plan of the Gardens by the Bay
6. Inside the Cloud Forest Dome is a tall building with a roof top pond and planted with flowers & plants
suitable to the Cloud Forest environment.
The Dome - A schematic diagram
7. Angel Trumpet
A pink Angel Trumpet flower Brugmansia (Family Solanaeae). They are poisonous.
8. The most spectacular feature of the Cloud Dome is a 6-7 stories high water fall, which humidity within the
dome for the plants and for the visitors.
The Dome - Waterfall
27. There are a couple of high level walkways extended out of the central building, to allow visitors to look
back onto the external wall, which is covered with plants.
The Dome - Walkway
38. The Cloud Dome is the enclosure on the far side. On the foreground is the Flower Dome.
The Dome
39. Lady’s Slipper Vine
Thunbergia mysorensis (Lady’s Slipper Vine), cultivated in southern Spain and native to tropical India.
40. Cloud Forest
This is a typical view of a cloud forest in the wild (taken in Gunung Brinchang, in the Cameron Highland
Malaysia), with lingering clouds, plenty of mosses and algae. It looks very different from what we saw in
the Cloud Dome. The Cloud Dome is really a botanic garden of tropical flowers growing on a tall building,
with only a few trees.
41. Cloud Forest
This is a simple wild orchid growing in the cloud forest. Occasionally you find flowers in a natural cloud
forest. Most of them are not as showy as those grow in the Cloud Dome. The flowers in the Cloud Dome
are most cultivated tropical species.
42. Cloud Forest
Mountane cloud forests are found only near the equator, typically on high mountain tops, where their
climates are much cooler and wetter. Because they are on mountain tops, each cloud forest become a
unique habitat for its plants, often not found elsewhere. Many cloud forests are isolated by the hot
surrounding lowlands. Mountane cloud forests are islands of unique species.
After saying all that the Cloud Dome in Singapore is
still worth a visit. If you want to find out more about
the Cloud Forest you can look up my Powerpoint on
‘A Cloud Forest’.
43. All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective
owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal
use.
The End
Music – Ernesto Cortazar, Serenade
I visited the Gardens in the Bay early in the year (2017) The garden is quite unique in its architecture design. The Cloud Forest Dome is probably the most spectacular. It has a high waterfall inside the dome. The architecture is unusual. All the external surfaces of the building was covered with plants, in particular tropical exotic flowers.