Draft 2

According to the “Sustainability Efforts” (n.d.) webpage taken from Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) website, heavy emphasis has been placed on achieving environmental sustainability. Firstly, GBTB uses their lake system to filter water naturally with aquatic plants. This system aims to promote the importance of clean water and how plants can play a significant role in our ecosystem. Also, the web page further explained the two conservatories which consume lesser energy due to the specially chosen glass, along with the incorporation of thermal stratification and “Combined Heat Power (CHP) steam turbine”. Some “Supertrees” in GBTB act as the exhaust air storage while others have solar cells to collect solar energy. I acknowledge the effort GBTB did to reduce pollution and conserve energy however

Environmental sustainability start by protecting our environment. We should be protecting our ecosystems by not wasting any resources (Mason, n.d.). Protect our environment from any preventable damage will be the key to this sustainability. 

References: 

Sustainability Efforts (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/about-us/sustainability.html 

Reader response  

In my opinion "The Garden By The Bay" did a great job to conserve energy and reduce pollution.The Dragonfly lake and the Kingfisher lake is able maintain the aquatic ecosystem for the fish and dragonfly living in the lake by using reed beds and aquatic plants for the water cleaning process, like provides the benefit of nutrients and pollution absorption  . It does not requires a lot of energy input hence it is very environmentally friendly (“Reed-Beds,”n.d.).  

The meaning of Sustainability , is the ability of a system to maintain its function over a extended period of time. Hence it also mean that sustainable is design to be made of recycled material, renewable energy ,non toxic to the environment. (Gardens By the Bay and its sustainability"[October 2013])  All the method stated in the webpage is telling us how it is able to conserve energy, preserve habitat for animals, without showing any evident or statistic to support the claim.However it can prove to be true if the "Gardens By The Bay " is able to endure the test of time and maintain the conditions for the next few decades. Since it is sustainable infrastructure, the function should not only be a tourist attraction but also a function as a research institute and help to educate public the importance of energy saving.   

The "Super Tree" is a large structure that is made of reinforced concrete wrapped with a steel frame . Planting panel are installed on the trunk. It is as tall as a 16 -storey building. Some of it have photovoltaic cells to harvest solar energy for lighting up the Supertrees, while the other is build with the Cooled Conservatories and serve as air exhaust receptacles. 

Sustainability is important in both developed and developing nations around the world, a lack of, or compromised access to, clean water, sanitation, energy and transportation severely compromises well-being and the economy.  Sustainable infrastructure design is not just about new infrastructure. It is about rehabilitation, reuse or optimisation of existing infrastructure. This will reduced the cost of building a new building , it will also conserve more energy, material and minimising the waste produce. The aim of  "Sustainability" is to reduce the waste as much as possible , as to prevent the problem such as global warming to get worst then it is now.                   

References: 

Gardens By the Bay and its sustainability(October 2013)  https://sites.psu.edu/designthinkingksk/2013/10/30/gardens-by-the-bay-and-its-sustainability/comment-page-1/#comments 

Supertree Grove(n.d) Retrieved September 19, 2016http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/supertree-grove/facts-and-figures.html 

Sustainability Efforts (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/aboutus/sustainability.html