Massive "supertrees" holding more than 200 species of plants opened to the public in Singapore on Friday (June 29) at the Gardens by the Bay.
The eleven structures range from 25 to 50 meters in height, and host species from countries like Brazil, Panama and Costa Rica.
The project's lead architect Andrew Grant said he drew inspiration directly from nature.
[Andrew Grant, Lead Architect]:
"Real trees, they generate energy from sunlight, that's one of their key functions, they produce oxygen, they are fundamental to the world and life. And here in the "supertrees", one of the big things was to actually take cells onto the tops, which produce energy, which help contribute to the overall energy load of the project."
At night, the "supertrees" light up, and organizers said the electricity to power these lights is generated solely from the solar panels installed at the tops of the structures.
U.S. pop singer and Grammy award winner Jason Mraz performed at the opening.
[Jason Mraz, U.S. Pop Singer]:
"This vertical garden—you realize that's exactly what it is. In this world of limited space, we can still grew vertically, we can grow air plants, we can grow tropical fruits and trees that use only the few inches of soil. Because people often complain, "we don't have enough room to grow things", but if you look at the "supertrees" here, and a lot of the projects that are being grown here, you discover, "this could actually be done on my roof", or in my kitchen, or my two inches of side yard that I have beside my house."
Visitors poured in to see the colored lights glowing on the "supertrees."
[Mickey Ayong, Tourist from The Philippines]:
"It's very beautiful, it's like in "Avatar", it's like a fairytale in here, yeah."
Organizers said Gardens by the Bay, which also houses cooled conservatories and various themed gardens, aims to bring a bit of greenery into the skyscraper center of the city.