Aug

Sustainable Singapore Gallery and Gallery Cafe (Marina Barrage – Part G End)

Travel Geotac #1: Marina Barrage – Part G End

If the heat of the Green Roof (GR), as covered in a previous post, is too much for you, perhaps you may want to take a tour of the air-conditioned Sustainable Singapore Gallery (SSG) which focuses on how Singapore conserves and manages her water resources as well as how the Marina Barrage (MB) works.

When you first step in you will see this display which focuses on the importance of having keeping pollution at bay so as to ensure fresh air, healthy land and clean water as shown in the shot below.

The lighting in this gallery changes from red to green to blue. Red representing pollution.

Green representing need for fresh air and healthy land.

Blue meaning clean water.

As you walk further in you will see this bright photo panel. It traces how Singapore managed to turn a fast polluting Singapore River in the past into the clean non-polluted one it is today.

It’s interesting that people taking photos aren’t using the bright photo panel as the background but actually using another wall on the right as the back-drop. Why?

Maybe this closer shot may give you an idea? I guess if you are into photography having such a patterned back-drop would make a great shot. Here you can see this lady photographer using the rows of yellow O-rings as lead in lines to the other lady. Good idea! Anyway, if you haven’t figured out what those yellow O-rings are made from, have a look at a closer shot below.

Managed to figure it out? That’s right. The O-rings are yellow painted Os at the bottom of plastic water bottles and arranged into a wall.

Here’s another shot of the wall of plastic bottles from the other end.

Turning around the corner you come into the next gallery where you see all these giant water droplets and TV screens.

Here’s a closer look at one of the TV screens. See that semi-sphere contraption on the left coming down from the top? Don’t stand under it unless you want a free shower! Nah, just kidding! Step under it if you want to hear that is being narrated for the video being screened.

Again turing round the corner, you will this lighted pillar. Before you walk further into the next gallery beyond, do turn to your right and you can see the Central Courtyard (CC), coverd in an earlier post, through a large glass-panelled window.

A closer shot of what’s on the lighted pillar.

Walking further in, you see a bench where you can take a seat if you need a rest.

In this gallery, there are hand-shaped panels where you can place to light up various exhibition panels. Do be careful as some of the exhibits have water features. So don’t lean in too much or you may get wet! No, this time it’s not a joke.

Moving on to the next corner you will enter the MB gallery where you will see a working model of the MB as well as this huge wall drawing of the MB giving you a bird’s eye view of how the whole MB looks like. The Marina Bridge is on the top left, Pump House on the left, space-age canopy (entrance to Green Roof) top middle, the Solar Park on the top right, Central Courtyard in the middle and the water-pump sculpture at the main entrance to the MB is at the middle right.

On the left you can see a working model of the MB showing you how it works and of course reminding you of the 3-in-1 benefits as seen in the following photos…

And if you look up you can see a mirror above the working model MB below (see the following photo). If you look carefully you can also see showers coming down into the model MB simulating rainfall. How fun!

Moving on, you will come into the fifth cool blue gallery with a glass floor as seen below.

Here you have various screen exhibits to learn more.

There is also a 3D model map of how large the Marina Reservoir is and where the MB dam is located to keep sea-water out while keeping fresh-water in. From the photo below, you can see that the Marina Reservoir is one huge letter Y!

By the way can you locate the MB in the 3D model map? It’s somewhere towards the bottom and slightly to the left of the middle. Yes, it’s that small.

Before you enter the sixth and last gallery, you will see this information board outside (see below).

What does the 3Ps stand for? According to the information board the 3Ps represent Public (Government), Private (Businesses) and People (Communities). This means that it takes 3 specific groups of people to work together to ensure fresh air, healthy land and clean water leading to a sustainable Singapore. So the theme of the sith gallery message can really be summed up into 1P – People.

So you enter the sixth gallery via a tunnel-like passage with darkened walls with tiny sparkling lights, small TV screens and…

small cameras where you can get your photos taken which would immediately be splahsed onto the small TV screens along the walls. But your fame will only last a short while as the photos will be deleted at the end of the day… or

Here’s an example of how your day long worth of fame can look…

If you prefer to have your shots taken and an epostcard emailed to family, friends or yourself, walk further in and you can use the sPostcard pillars to do that (see below).

Finally at the end of the sixth gallery into the Gallery Cafe (GC). Smart move as it would tempt you to sit down and have a break… at a cost.

Here’s a shot of the front of the GC you will exit if you decide not to have a tea-break, coffee-break, lunch-break, dinner-break or whatever break within. But I doubt they will let you just have a sit down break drinking your own bottled water and munching on your mom’s home-made sandwiches while enjoying their air-conditioned environment. For that you will have to use the field up on the GR.

Food and drinks are not cheap at the GC as can be seen below (my lunch)…

So if you plan to stay more than 2-3 hours at the MB, do bring along your own food and drinks. If you intend to visit the GR, you definitely need water to stay hydrated as when it gets pretty hot and sunny up in the open field on the roof top. Suntan lotion, cap and umbrella can be useful too.

Well, this is the last part on the Marina Barrage. I hope you have enjoyed reading and viewing the photos. If you plan to visit by car, there are carpark facilities there. For those intending to take public transport, take a MRT train to Marina Bay MRT Station. Exit the station and look signs guiding you to a bus-stop where you can catch a free shuttle bus ride to the barrage. A paid bus service number 400 can also bring you there too.

Thanks for dropping by and reading! Cheers!

Tags: 3-in-1, benefits, clean water, coffee-break, conserve, dinner-break, exhibition panels, fresh air, fresh-water, gallery, Gallery Cafe, Geotac #1, getting to Marina Barrage, giant water droplets, healthy land, lead in lines, lunch-break, manage, Marina Barrage, Marina Reservoir, O-rings, patterned back-drop, photo, photo panel, Photography, pollution, sea-water, Singapore, Singapore River, sustainable, Sustainable Singapore Gallery, tea-break, travel, wall of plastic bottles, water features, water resources

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15 Responses to “Sustainable Singapore Gallery and Gallery Cafe (Marina Barrage – Part G End)”

Green Olive Tree says:

July 1, 2010 at 3:12 pm

Hi, thanks for visiting my food blog. Will I disappoint you if I tell you that I’m from across the causeway?
absolutjoiz says:

August 19, 2009 at 10:57 pm

thanks for dropping by. I think you take better shots than me!
knickknacks says:

August 19, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Wow…nice shots! Have never been to Marina Barrage before so thanks for sharing! =)
knickknacks says:

August 19, 2009 at 9:09 pm

Wow…nice shots. Have never been to Marina Barrage before so thanks for sharing!
Brooke says:

August 15, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Such cool architecture! Awesome photography too
Garry says:

August 15, 2009 at 1:05 am

Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to dropping by my site.

I did a quick calculation on a similar “lunch” at a very ordinary Swiss restaurant. At minimum you would have to pay 9.50 SGD for roughly the same thing. (Without the ice!) Water would be extra.

Garry.
Brenda says:

August 14, 2009 at 3:40 am

Now that is BEAUTIFUL! I really love all the architectural variety. I’ve been to Singapore and loved it!! Thanks for visiting my blog.
L.L. Barkat says:

August 14, 2009 at 12:38 am

Absolutely stunning. Makes me wish I didn’t live on the other side of the world…
photojoy says:

August 13, 2009 at 11:20 pm

Thank you for leaving a nice message in my blog. I’m very much impressed with Marina Barrage and with your nice shots. Marina Barrage is a “must” in my list when I visit Singapole some day. Thanks for sharing this.
Harriet says:

August 12, 2009 at 4:41 pm

Oh my gosh what an amazing post! That’s such an interesting looking place. I wish I could visit!
Cashmere says:

August 12, 2009 at 4:01 am

Wow! Great coverage…
I’ve been to Marina Barrage many times and I seriously didn’t know these places exist! Ooooops! Now that I know, I’ll be sure to visit them the next time I go there. Looks like a really nice place, with the lights and all.. Thanks for sharing!
Katie says:

August 11, 2009 at 9:56 pm

I love how they’ve managed to demonstrate “green” principles with a sense of playfulness and artfulness. The interactive exhibits look really engaging. Great photos! Thanks for visiting and commenting on my site earlier.
Priscilla says:

August 11, 2009 at 3:41 pm

You should have waited for that marina barrage demo. it was really cool man. Rain from ceiling LOL.
Priscilla says:

August 11, 2009 at 3:40 pm

hey. i like that Sustainable pillar. COOL.:D
Eunice says:

August 11, 2009 at 10:37 am

Hi! What a nice series on Marina Barrage, with engaging shots too! Wow “geotacs” has such profound meaning! A great start here at geotacs.com. All the best to you!