Yvonne Tan of DP Green on designing landscapes with inspiration from nature and a wellness-focused mindset
Landscape designer Yvonne Tan, space has not been a problem for creating her private oasis of wildlife and greenery. The balcony she has at home measures only 3m by 0.42m. However, she is able to grow mulberry, calamansi, and kaffir lime together with chilli, ginger as well as kale, guchai, along with longevity spinach. She would like to plant sunflowers the next time.
Tan has included plants that attract bees and birds. “It’s an inspired garden that is inspired by nature,” she says.
With her experience in the field of landscape design, Tan is the Director at DP Green, has been part of the jury panel for the EdgeProp Singapore Awards for the last five years. DP Green is the landscape and arboriculture consulting branch of the local architectural firm, DP Architects.
According to Tan she finds it “encouraging” to witness increasing numbers of developers who are aligning their company’s environmental governance, social and social strategy with the climate change issue. “Homebuyers are becoming more sophisticated, and perhaps more optimistic,” she notes. “Their personal beliefs determine their choices for homes. It’s not only about floor area or the location any more. It’s essential to think about sustainability as a factor too.”
Biophilic design, wellness and health are now buzzwords after Covid However, it’s been something architects have been researching for over 10 years. It began as a an idea for a therapeutic landscape that was first used in healthcare facilities in Singapore according to Tan. For example at Khoo The Teck Puat General Hospital, located in Yishun that was built in 2010 nearly every bed has an outdoor view of the greenery.
DP Green was involved in the master plan for transforming Alexandra Hospital to the Alexandra Healthcare Campus; as well as in designing Sengkang General Hospital and Sengkang Community Hospital (collectively called SKH Campus), which was completed in the year 2018. It included green spaces like the roof gardens for therapeutic purposes and landscaping on the first floor.
The emphasis has shifted away from health facilities to other industries including offices and residential. “There’s an increased focus on health and wellbeing in the workplace due to the fact that people spend so much time in there,” says Tan.
One of DPGreen’s latest initiatives within Singapore was a play area in one of their linear parks connected by a connector park underneath the MRT viaduct in Punggol. The playground has been opened. While she was with her colleagues on a particular day, they spotted an individual with a yoga mat sitting in a peaceful pose beneath the concrete viaduct in an azure backdrop. colorful playground.
Wellness means different things to different people, according to Tan. “It can refer to mental wellbeing as well as physical health and the inner being,” she says. “As as we are able to create different kinds of experiences and various types of connections to nature even in the simplest way to practice yoga.”
Within Singapore, DP Green, in conjunction alongside DP Architects, is working on the design for the 6ha Plantation Village in Tengah, that is expected to become an intelligent, futuristic and green town. When it is constructed, Plantation Village will have 1,420 houses, a 164,700 sq ft community centre, as well as 30,570 square feet of common spaces.. Plantation Village is one of five districts of residential development in the newly constructed Tengah town that covers 700ha. When completed, the town will be home to 45,000 people.
DP Green is involved in the design of the landscape for Plantation Village. The main feature will be the Plantation Farmway which is 700m long and 40m wide. It will feature community agriculture and will weave throughout the precincts of housing connecting the recreational and community facilities in the area. The Plantation Farmway will also function as a green connector connecting residents with other vital amenities and facilities within Tengah town, like the town’s centre, Central Park and Forest Stream.
“Although we aren’t able to duplicate Tengah Forest, we are trying to introduce the plant species that can be found in the forest and in the plantation,” says Tan. “We will also be focusing on Tengah as an agricultural plantation, and we’re re-creating certain traditions and memories through the language of plantation. I am convinced that this Plantation Village is going to be among the most green residential areas located in Tengah.”
In the hospitality industry the high-end hotels are adopting a “nature-centric” approach, even as they are focusing on luxurious elements Tan says Tan. An example of this is Raffles Hotel located in Sentosa in the Philippines, in which DP Green will be the landscaping architect who works closely with the international designer Yabu Pushelberg. The hotel’s luxury features include the 61 villas, ranging from 260 sqm one-bedrooms to 450 square meters of four-bedrooms in a lush gardens.
“The main focus lies on diversity, developing ecological connections and ways we can connect nature to our visitors,” says Tan. “It’s inward-looking. And it’s a concept that is applicable to residential condominiums as well -by creating views and garden spaces even on a narrow site.”
The 61-villa Raffles Hotel Sentosa where DP Green is the local landscape architect who works together with Yabu Pushelberg (Credit: Raffles Hotel)
DP Green is also the architect of the landscape on the project of 143 rooms at The Standard Singapore, slated to open in the coming year. The hotel will be located right next to the Shangri-La Hotel on Orange Grove Road. “We create spaces that are experiential which are relevant to any development, whether it’s mixed-use, residential or office space whether it’s high-density condo or a low-density development with low-rise.”
Many visitors are looking for “real experience” when visiting the destination, says Tan. Landscape architecture projects by DP Green extend beyond the shores of Singapore. Through its overseas projects, like for instance, shopping malls in India landscaping design is now a part of the process of creating places. In the majority of cases, it’s about community according to her. The past could involve the construction of an area for sensory gardening. The concept has evolved beyond this. “These days, the emphasis is on the way people use spaces,” the expert says.