http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...rgest-20140612

Published June 12, 2014

Vertical garden at CDL condo is world's largest

By Lynette Khoo

[email protected] @LynetteKhooBT


Eco-friendly: Tree House's various green features are expected to yield energy savings of over 2.4 million kWh and water savings of 30,000 cubic metres per year

[SINGAPORE] City Developments Ltd (CDL) has set a world record for the largest vertical garden - a feature in its condominium project completed last year.

Tree House's 2,289-square-metre vertical garden has entered Guinness World Records, trumping the last record set by Keppel Land's Vertical Garden @ Ocean Financial Centre. The latter, which stands 19 metres tall and 110 metres wide, won the coveted spot last year.

CDL's 99-year-leasehold condo is nestled within the Upper Bukit Timah and Chestnut Avenue private residential estate. According to URA caveats, the developer had sold 397 units at a median price of $834 per square foot during its launch in 2010.

"We have continuously pushed the boundaries with breakthrough sustainable designs and features as well as state-of-the-art technologies," said CDL deputy chairman Kwek Leng Joo.

By reducing the carbon footprint and heat absorption in the estate, the vertical garden lowers the energy required to cool indoor spaces. CDL estimates that this could translate to energy savings in air-conditioning by 15-30 per cent, or $12,000-$24,000 annually, for the 48 west-facing master bedrooms that face the vertical garden.

Tree House's various green features are expected to yield energy savings of more than 2.4 million kilowatt-hour (kWh) per year and water savings of 30,000 cubic metres per year, or over $500,000 annually.

CDL said it typically invests 2 to 5 per cent of a new development's construction cost in eco-friendly features and sustainable construction technologies.

D'Nest, another condo project by CDL, also landed in the Singapore Book of Records in 2013 for having the largest solar panels in a condo.

The project will have solar panels measuring 1,520 sq m on its rooftops to offset electricity consumption in the common areas. This solar panels system is expected to harness 219,000 kWh of energy a year, with $60,000 of potential savings in electricity bills, CDL said.

Last year, CDL built Singapore's first zero-energy Green Gallery located in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Its solar roof panels are expected to generate more than 31,000 kWh of energy annually, above the Gallery's estimated energy consumption of about 30,000 kWh per year.

CDL introduced prefabrication methods in the Green Gallery project, with the entire structure being precast off-site before installing the components on-site. The group said this has resulted in speedier completion, higher productivity and reduced environmental impact.