Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay wins 2013 RIBA Lubetkin Prize

Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore by London-based Wilkinson Eyre Architects is the winner of the 2013 RIBA Lubetkin Prize for the best new international building. This is the second year running for Wilkinson Eyre, who also won the prize last year for Guangzhou International Finance Center in China.

The Lubetkin Prize trophy was presented at a special ceremony this evening in London where the RIBA also announced the winner of the prestigious Stirling Prize.

Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay are the biggest climate-controlled greenhouses in the world and a key project in the Singapore Government’s vision of transforming it into a ‘City in a Garden’.　

The project had the tough brief of creating cool growing environments in a pair of glasshouses, which are more commonly associated with creating warm conditions. The architects worked with structural designers, environmental engineers, landscape architects and horticulturalists to create an elegant and integrated solution to an unusual design brief.

The two other outstanding buildings competing with Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay were for the 2013 RIBA Lubetkin Prize were Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China by Zaha Hadid Architects and Via Verde – The Green Way, Bronx, New York City by Grimshaw with Dattner Architects (previously on Bustler).

The 2013 RIBA Lubetkin Prize jury was: RIBA President Stephen Hodder, architects Alison Brooks, Meredith Bowles and Peter Clegg and RIBA Head of Awards Tony Chapman.

Speaking about Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay, RIBA President and judge, Stephen Hodder said: "There have been a number of attempts to design greenhouses to show people unable to travel widely what the natural world has to offer. The UK led the way with Kew and latterly the Eden Project. What Wilkinson Eyre have done in Singapore is much harder and an even more impressive achievement, in that cooling plants in a sub-tropical climate is necessarily less energy efficient than keeping hot-house plants warm in a temperate climate. Yet here they have produced greenhouses covering two hectares that are carbon-positive. What’s more they have pushed the boundaries not only environmentally but also structurally, giving the city a new and public landmark. I am delighted to award Wilkinson Eyre the 2013 Lubetkin Prize."

Project Details:

Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Architect: Wilkinson Eyre
Landscape Architects: Grant Associates
Client: National Parks Board
Structural Engineers: Atelier One
Environmental Engineers: Atelier Ten
Contractor: Who Hup Pte Ltd
Completion date: June 2012
Gross internal area: 20,280 sq m