Benefits

Skyrise greenery contributes to Singapore’s “City in a Garden” image and helps us stand out on the world stage. It offers environmental, economic, social and aesthetic benefits.

Environmental

• In what is known as the Urban Heat Island Effect, the temperature difference between rural and urban areas in Singapore has been found to be about 3°C. Bare rooftops and building façades contribute to the problem by acting as a heat sink. Skyrise greenery can alleviate heat islands by shading heat-absorbing surfaces.
• Skyrise greenery improves rainwater retention to help drains cope with severe downpour, reducing flash floods.
• It improves air quality by absorbing airborne particles.
• It also enhances biodiversity in the city by providing additional natural habitats.
• The inclusion of skyrise greenery as one of the assessment criteria in the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark certification system for green buildings further affirms these environmental benefits.

Economic

• Skyrise greenery optimises space that would otherwise have remained unused. It can enhance the aesthetic appeal of a building and increase the value of the property, and the marketability of the building as a whole, especially with accessible green roofs and roof gardens.
• Skyrise greenery can help reduce energy cooling cost, depending on its type and extent, the building’s size, and the climate.
• Skyrise greenery serves as insulation, cooling the building and leading to savings on air conditioning cost.
• It is estimated that green roofs last up to twice as long as conventional roofs, reducing maintenance and savings in replacement costs.

Social

• Skyrise greenery promotes a sense of ownership and fosters community interaction. In office buildings, roof gardens provide an alternative place for employees to de-stress and mingle with co-workers in a more relaxed setting.
• The combination of rooftop and vertical greenery adds green spaces and urban vibrancy to the skyline, bringing greenery ever closer to skyrise occupants.

Aesthetic

• Skyrise greenery enhances architectural designs to create iconic landmarks in our city.
• Skyrise greenery helps to soften the artificial urban landscape and provide visual relief from the concretised environment for residents and office workers.

For more information on the benefits of skyrise greenery, please look to the Handbook on Skyrise Greening in Singapore. The book - Vertical Greenery for the Tropics – is a must-read for those who wish to advance understanding of this new nature-architecture hybrid.