Istana Park
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy datesScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".The Istana Park is a park in the Civic District of Singapore. Bounded by Orchard Road, Penang Road, Penang Lane and Buyong Road, Istana Park is opposite The Istana, which is the namesake of the park. The park has two buildings; My Art Space, a studio-cafe, and the Istana Heritage Gallery, a gallery focusing on The Istana. The Istana Park serves as the gateway to the Civic District.
Plans for the park were first unveiled in February 1992 to make the Istana Entrance more prominent as well as to mark the entrance of the Civic District, with the final plan unveiled in November 1993. Construction began in January 1994 and the park was officially opened on 6 September 1996, even though it was already opened since December 1995. Istana Park was added to the Civic District Heritage Trail in December 1998. My Art Space and the Istana Heritage Gallery opened in March 2014 and October 2017, respectively. In January 2019, it was announced that there were plans for the park as part of the Government's plans of revitalising Orchard Road, with the plans developed by February 2020 to expand the Istana Park as well as to better integrate it with the entrance of The Istana.
The park has the Festival Arch as the centrepiece of the park and the gateway to Orchard Road. The arch's base is a reflecting pool, which creates a reflection of the Festival Arch. It also has three rows of tall and dwarf coconut palm trees, two of which are dwarfs planted within pools to give the illusion that they are growing out of the water. The park's facilities and plants are illuminated as part of a light plan for the Civic District.
History
On 20 February 1992, plans to turn the area in front of The Istana to a landscaped park as the entrance to the Civic District and to make the Istana Entrance more prominent were unveiled at an exhibit in Marina Square. Two proposals were considered but the preferred design consisted of a semicircular concept, with the centre containing a water feature and shrubs of the national colours to be planted around the park.[1] The final plan for the park, conceptualised by Ren Matsui Landscape Design and expected to cost Template:SGDConvert, was unveiled by the Parks and Recreation Department (PRD) on 12 November 1993, with construction supervision by Ren Matsui and architectural and engineering design services provided by the Public Works Department.[2][3] Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Construction of the Istana Park began in January 1994, with expected completion at the end of 1995.[4] In June 1995, it was announced that Istana Park, along with other landmarks in the Civic District, would be lit up by 2000 as part of a Template:SGDConvert plan to make the Civic District a "world-class civic and cultural hub".[5][6] It was announced on 15 June that a section of Clemenceau Avenue between Orchard Road and Penang Road would be permanently closed from 18 June onwards so that it would become part of the Istana Park.[7] By July, there was work on an underpass between the park and Plaza Singapura.[8] By November, it was announced that the park will open next year in 1996.[9] Even though it was open since December 1995, it was officially opened on 6 September 1996 by National Development Minister Lim Hng Kiang,[10] with the lighting plan effectuated by January 1997.[11]
In December 1998, the park was included in the National Heritage Board's Civic District Heritage Trail.[12] In March 2008, My Art Space, a studio-cafe, opened in the park.[13] On 7 October 2017, the Istana Heritage Gallery, located at Istana Park, was officially opened by President Tony Tan.[14] In January 2019, it was announced that there were proposed plans for Istana Park as part of the Government's intention to revitalise Orchard Road. Among the proposed plans included adding horticultural history-themed gardens and connecting the Istana Park to Dhoby Ghaut Green and the open space at Plaza Singapura.[15] A new proposed plan for the park based on public feedback was unveiled in February 2020 which included a "green connection" between Istana Park and other areas as well as Istana Park to be expanded three times its size by including Dhoby Ghaut Green and Penang Road Open Space in its redesign. There are also plans to pedestrianise a section of Orchard Road so that it would be better integrated with the Istana Entrance.[16] In September 2022, it was announced works for the plan will begin in 2025, with a tender called by NParks last month for consultancy services of the plan.[17]
Details
Located in the Civic District, the Script error: No such module "convert". park is bounded by Orchard Road, Penang Road, Penang Lane, and Buyong Road.[18][19] Istana Park is opposite The Istana, which is the namesake of the park.[20] "Istana" means palace in Malay.[21] The park serves as the gateway for the Civic District and is designed "to evoke a feeling of formality and grandeur".[4]
The park has several features. One such is the Script error: No such module "convert". long, four-storey tall stainless steel and concrete Festival Arch as the centrepiece of the park.[4][22] The design of the arch, by Ren Matsui, is based on The Istana entrance's fence. The Festival Arch symbolises the gateway to Orchard Road and is decorated with banners and flags in August to celebrate National Day.[4][22] At the base of the Festival Arch is the reflecting pool, which is about Script error: No such module "convert". deep or one-third the size of an Olympic-size pool and produces a reflection of the Festival Arch in the pool.[4][10] There are also three rows of 120 tall and dwarf coconut trees, with two of the rows containing dwarf coconut trees planted within specially-designed plots in eight small, shallow pools, which makes it "look as if the trees are growing in the water".[3][23] The trees are also reportedly "the first time the PRD made a conscious effort to plant such trees in the city".[24] In order to create the illusion, the plants were made to be grown in a small space in a plant nursery.[23] As of the park's opening, it had 151 species of plants, such as the Elephant Fern, Tree Fern, five Foxtail Palm Trees, and Variegated Giant Reeds. The plants were sourced from Malaysia, Indonesia, and other nearby countries as well as Queensland, Australia for the Foxtail Palm Trees.[23] As part of the lighting plan for the Civic District, the Festival Arch and some of the plants are illuminated at night.[4]
There are several buildings within the park, such as the My Art Space, a studio-cafe that hosts art classes.[13][19] There is also the Istana Heritage Gallery, which aims to educate visitors on the history, interior, and modern-day role of The Istana as well as "to make The Istana more accessible to Singaporeans".[14] Curated by the NHB's Preservation of Sites and Monuments division, there are six sections in the gallery with over 1,500 state gifts in The Istana's collection.[14]
See also
References
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