Singapore's leisure-filled airport attraction on track for 2019 opening, complete with 40m indoor waterfall and forest valley
– Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of Changi Airport Group
Construction is nearing completion on “a world-class, signature lifestyle destination” at Singapore’s Changi Airport, which has been designed to boost the city-state’s appeal as a stopover point for global travellers.
Conceived as the world’s most ambitious airport leisure attraction, the complex, called The Jewel, is being built inside an enormous glass dome covering a 40m-high indoor waterfall and a five-storey ‘forest valley’ with 2,500 trees and 100,000 shrubs.
The building – which is 75 per cent complete – will be connected directly to the airport’s Terminal 1 and linked to Terminals 2 and 3 via air-conditioned bridges with travelators, which will overlook the waterfall.
Occupying a 3.5 hectare site on a former car park, the 10-storey project will have five basement floors housing an estimated 300 retail, food and beverage outlets.
Canadian architect Moshe Safdie collaborated with international firm Benoy and local practice RSP on the design, which is intended to be “architecturally iconic from both Airport Boulevard and the sky.”
The installation of the more than 9,000 pieces of glass that form the dome is set to be completed by June 2018, according to airport officials, who confirmed The Jewel is on track for a 2019 opening.
When complete, attractions will include a Canopy Park, featuring the world’s largest indoor ‘walking and bouncing’ sky nets – suspended 25m above the ground – and discovery slides overlooking the site’s public gardens. A hedge maze and mirror maze and a topiary walk will also be included in this zone.
In the evenings, the waterfall will be the centre of a ‘Rain Vortex’ light and sound show.
Speaking when The Jewel was first launched in 2013, CEO of Changi Airport Group, Lee Seow Hiang, claimed that the development was a response to the trend of airports around the world actively growing their destination appeal.
“To strengthen Changi Airport’s competitive advantage and ensure that we continue to capture passenger mindshare and traffic, we must take deliberate steps to enhance Changi’s attractiveness as a stopover point,” he said. “With Project Jewel, we are pleased to be developing an exciting product that will swing travellers to choose Changi Airport, and Singapore.
“Meanwhile, for tourists, we envisage Project Jewel to be a must-visit Singapore attraction. For Singaporeans, it will be an exciting world-class destination right here at home, where they can relax and enjoy with their loved ones, again and again.”
In related news, architecture firms Kohn Pedersen Fox and Heatherwick Studio have recently won an international competition to design Changi Airport Terminal 5, which will add an initial capacity of up to 50 million passengers per year, described as “a city within itself – and an integral piece of Singapore.”
Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, said: “This is an extraordinary opportunity to break away from the sterility and soullessness we’ve come to expect from typical airport environments. We’re excited to treat this next phase of Changi as a new piece of city and bring together the rigour of airport planning with an uncompromising interest in the quality of human experience for passengers.”
Singapore Changi Airport The Jewel Moshe Safdie Benoy RSP Kohn Pedersen Fox Heatherwick Studio










bbspa_Group to realise urban destination spa inside Sardinian football stadium

Thinkwell to deliver the world's first Play-Doh attractions in Saudi Arabia

Jayasom partners with Amaala to unveil multigenerational health resort in Saudi Arabia

OMA's Ellen van Loon is the visionary behind new cultural centre for Manchester

James Corner Field Operations creates Highline for London

Esbjerg’s landmark maritime center, designed by WERK Arkitekter and Snøhetta, opens to the public

SEVEN to open world’s first indoor Discovery Adventures centres in Saudi Arabia

Fun and fear drive new Universal attraction concepts for Texas and Las Vegas

Voelker Gray Design creates 10-acre hot springs wellness haven for Atlanta

AIDarchitecten create healing spa for Antwerp's Botanic Sanctuary

Hollaway Studio's Seahive would bring blue health to South-East England

SEVEN to invest US$13bn in developing entertainment destinations across Saudi Arabia

World Spa’s expansive 50,000sq ft urban bathhouse and wellness club opens in Brooklyn

Floating Salmon Eye visitor attraction by Kvorning Design highlights sustainable aquaculture

White Arkitekter's Wood Hotel in Skellefteå Swedish Lapland is climate positive and made from local timber

Nohlab's 'Everything' installation among Noor Riyadh festival highlights

Bob Iger's return to Disney sparks major restructuring focused on creativity and storytelling

Therme Group plans US$200m urban wellbeing resort in South Korea

Digital art installation in Nanjing helps the public keep an eye on exoplanets

First glimpses revealed of flagship Blue Zones Centre in Miami

Warner Bros. and Infinite Reality launch metaverse experiences for live sports fans

Storyland Studios' Nigeria's film city project will break ground in Q1 2023

Canyon Ranch preps for major expansion with new destinations in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston

WilkinsonEyre-designed Battersea Power Station development opens as leisure district following £9bn redevelopment

Healthy cities conference to discuss diversity and inclusivity in urban planning and design

Foster and Partners reveal design for sustainable marine life centre on the Red Sea

Anaheim's US$4bn ocV!BE project approved by planners

Construction marches ahead for Saudi giga-projects Amaala and The Red Sea

HBG Design behind Michigan’s six-storey Aquadome inspired by the sun’s path across the sky

Seventh International Museum Construction Congress to be held in Norway this year
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates