Jewel Changi Airport (also known as Jewel or Jewel Changi) is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex surrounded by and linked to one of the passenger terminals of Changi Airport, Singapore. Its centrepiece is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, that is surrounded by a terraced forest setting.[5]
Jewel includes gardens, attractions, a hotel, about 300 retail and dining outlets, as well as early baggage check-in aviation facilities. It covers a total gross floor area of 135,700 m2 (1,461,000 sq ft), spanning 10 storeys – five above-ground and five basement levels.[6] Its attractions include the Shiseido Forest Valley, an indoor garden spanning five storeys, and the Canopy Park at the topmost level, featuring gardens and leisure facilities.[7]
Jewel receives about 300,000 visitors per day. In October 2019, six months after its soft opening, it had welcomed 50 million visitors, exceeding its initial target for the whole year.[2] The complex and airport is located in Changi, at the eastern end of Singapore, approximately 20 km (12 mi) northeast from Singapore's Downtown Core.[8]
Conception
Jewel was conceived to maintain Changi Airport's status as a major aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific.[9] It was first mentioned by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech in 2013 as part of Changi Airport's long-term plans to double its capacity by the mid-2020s and "create more opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans".[10][11]
Built over the former open-air car park in front of Changi Airport Terminal 1, Jewel expanded Terminal 1's arrival hall and baggage reclaim areas by 70%, and its handling capacity is also expected to increase from 21 to 24 million passengers a year.[12][13] Jewel was officially opened on 18 October 2019 by Lee Hsien Loong, six months after its soft opening. During this time, it had received 50 million visitors – about 300,000 visitors a day – exceeding its initial target of 40–50 million visitors for the first year.[2]
Jewel was developed by Jewel Changi Airport Trustee Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Changi Airport Group (CAG) and CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping mall business, CapitaLand Mall Asia.[14] The project cost S$1.7 billion,[15] and did not involve any government funds or taxpayers' money, despite both entities being either wholly or partially owned by Temasek Holdings, the state-owned investment company.[16]
Design and development
Jewel's toroidal glass-and-steel façade was designed by a consortium of architects, led by Moshe Safdie,[12] who also designed Singapore's Marina Bay Sands.[17] Renowned local firm RSP Architects Planners & Engineers were the executive architect and structural engineers.[18] The landscape architect was PWP Landscape Architecture,[19] who co-designed the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City, and worked with Safdie on the landscaping of Marina Bay Sands. Benoy were the interior designers; BuroHappold Engineering were responsible for the façade and Lighting Planners Associates handled the lighting.[20] The Rain Vortex was engineered by water design firm WET Design. It has a 360-degree light and sound show projected onto it.[21]
Jewel was envisioned to combine a marketplace and an urban park. "The component of the traditional mall is combined with the experience of nature, culture, education and recreation, aiming to provide an uplifting experience. By drawing both visitors and local residents alike, we aim to create a place where the people of Singapore interact with the people of the world," said Safdie.[22]
The glass panels of the dome are framed in steel which rests on a complex latticework.[23] At night, the glowing dome is visible from all surrounding areas.[24]
Attractions
Shiseido Forest Valley
Shiseido forest valley to the left and right
The Shiseido Forest Valley was conceived and designed by PWP Landscape Architecture, and features the SENSE art installation, a collaboration between Shiseido and art collective teamLab. The Shiseido Forest Valley (資生堂フォレストバレー, Shiseidō Foresutobarē) is one of Asia's largest indoor gardens, spanning five stories and approximately 22,000 square metres (240,000 sq ft) located in the heart of Jewel Changi Airport. It houses around 3,000 trees and 60,000 shrubs of 120 species that live in high-altitude tropical forests from around the world.[25][26][27]
The Rain Vortex
Rain Vortex in Jewel Singapore at night
The Rain Vortex, previously sponsored as the HSBC Rain Vortex, is the world's largest and tallest indoor waterfall, standing at 40 metres (130 ft) high.[28] Recirculating rain water is pumped to the roof to free fall through a round hole at up to 37,850 liters (8,330 imp gal; 10,000 U.S. gal) per minute to a basement-level pool.[25] An acrylic funnel at the bottom prevents splashing and insulates the sound of the cascade. The toroid-shaped roof has more than 9,000 pieces of glass spanning 200 by 150 meters (660 by 490 ft)[25] with a sloped oculus as the mouth of the waterfall acting as "a continuation of the building...completed in a liquid form."[29] At night, the circular walls of the waterfall becomes a 360-degree stage for a light-and-sound show.[30]
To prevent excess humidity in the Jewel, the waterfall's flow alternates between cascades and trickles that reduce air turbulence. The design process by WET Design engineers included testing a one-fifth-scale model and a full-size partial prototype.[31]
The Changi Airport Skytrain connecting the terminals passes above ground near the waterfall, allowing passengers remaining airside to see the Vortex and Jewel itself.[32]
Canopy Park
Topmost level at Jewel Changi
At the topmost level of Jewel, the 14,000 square metres (150,000 sq ft) Canopy Park houses recreation and leisure attractions.[33] About half of the total landscaping is hosted at Canopy Park, including two gardens: Topiary Walk and Petal Garden.[34] The Topiary Walk features animal-shaped topiaries at every corner, while the Petal Garden has seasonal floral displays.[35] The park includes a suspension bridge called the Canopy Bridge that is located 23 metres (75 ft) above the ground which offers a panoramic view of the Rain Vortex. At 50 metres (160 ft) long, the Canopy Bridge also has a glass panel flooring at the centre section that offers a view through to level 1 of Jewel.
The park also consists of two mazes, situated at the eastern end of the Jewel called the Hedge Maze and Mirror Maze.[25][36] The Hedge Maze is Singapore's largest with hedge walls standing at 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) high. The maze features gates that can be pushed within that will change the path of the maze. It ends at an elevated watchtower that offers a bird's-eye view of the entire maze. The Mirror Maze is located under the dome with plants branching across the top of the maze. The maze makes use of mirrors and various reflections.[30][37]
Sky Nets - The Manulife-sponsored Sky Nets, provide children's play facilities, including a Bouncing Net and a Walking Net. The Bouncing Net is 250 metres (820 ft) long, suspended 8 metres above ground at its highest point.[38] A separate 50 metres (160 ft) long Walking Net enables visitors to look down 25 metres (82 ft)s to Jewel's Level 1.[34]
Discovery Slides - The Discovery Slides feature four integrated slides: two tube slides and two sliding surfaces.[38] The entire structure sits at an incline, 3 metres (9.8 ft) high on one end, and close to 7 metres (23 ft) on the other,[39] and enables visitors to view the Forest Valley and the Rain Vortex.[40] The Discovery Slides were designed by Carve and built by Playpoint in Singapore.[38]
Foggy Bowls - The Foggy Bowls are four concave bowls with depths of between 30 centimetres (12 in) and 65 centimetres (26 in) for people to jump in while mist is released to create an illusion of playing among clouds.[30]
Changi Experience Studio
The Changi Experience Studio is a 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) space with interactive games and displays relating to Changi Airport's history and allows visitors a behind-the-scenes look of how the airport is run.[30]
Facilities
Hotel
A hotel within Jewel, with approximately 130 rooms, operated by the international hotel brand, YOTEL, opened on 12 April 2019.[41][42] It is YOTEL's second hotel in Singapore after the 2017 opening of the YOTEL on Orchard Road.[42]
Aviation facilities
An "integrated multi-modal transport lounge" provides ticketing, boarding pass collection and baggage transfer service in a single location. Early check-in facilities enable passengers to check-in and drop off luggage up to 24 hours ahead of regular check-in times.[41] There are dedicated facilities for fly-cruise and fly-ferry passengers.[41]
Retail
Pokémon Centre Singapore
Jewel houses both local and international brands. Tenants include the largest Nike store in Southeast Asia,[43] the first and only Apple Store located inside an airport complex and its second store in Singapore,[44]Marks & Spencer, Muji, Zara, Urban Revivo, Uniqlo, Don Don Donki, Weston Corp, Massimo Dutti, Singapore's second basement cinema operated by Shaw Theatres with 11 screens including an IMAX theatre with a seating capacity of 828 and Five Spice, a food court by Food Junction with 19 unique stalls and supermarket chain FairPrice Finest.[45] As of 2022, the Five Spice food court has been revamped into a Food Republic food court, as Food Junction was previously acquired by Food Republic.
Jewel also includes the return of American burger chain, A&W Restaurants after a 16-year-hiatus,[46] another American burger chain, Shake Shack, which opens their first store here, Norwegian fast-casual restaurant Pink Fish, Swiss artisanal chocolatier Läderach, Sichuan restaurants Xiao Bin Lou and Yu's Kitchen, Boston-based ice cream parlour chain Emack & Bolio's, British casual eatery Burger & Lobster, Peruvian restaurant TONITO, Japan's Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory and the first permanent Pokémon Center in East Asia outside of Japan.[47][48][49][50][51][52] Most shops at the Basement 1 level, which included Pink Fish and Hoshino Coffee, closed down. Since April 2022, Rubi Shoes was temporarily closed but there are plans to reopen in case-to-case basis and Typo and PrettyFIT is permanently closed.[53]
Awards
Jewel Changi Airport was accorded the 2016 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum, an international museum of architecture and design.[54]
In November 2019, Jewel Changi Airport was awarded the Special Jury Award at the year's Mapic Awards.[55]
In popular culture
The song "The Right Time" by Singaporean singer JJ Lin was inspired by Jewel, which was featured in its music video.[56][57]
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