Singapore’s Changi Airport has long been called the “best airport in the world” and on April 17, when it will officially opens the dazzling presecurity attraction known as Jewel, it will cement that title.
Singapore is known as a “City in a Garden” and Changi Airport is well-known for its grand floral installations and its butterfly, sunflower, cactus and other gardens.
Inside is a lush four-story tiered garden, 280 retail and dining outlets, a hotel, a multi-screen IMAX theater and its centerpiece: a 40 meter-tall Rain Vortex, which is the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
Jewel builds on that theme with the four-story, 220,000-square-meter Forest Valley, featuring more than 900 trees and palms and more than 100,000 shrubs sourced from around the world.
When Jewel’s upper level Canopy Park opens in June, it will feature mirrored mazes and themed gardens, a walkway lined by topiary and floral animal sculptures depicting birds, monkeys, elephants and other animals created by Jewel’s team of horticulturists.
Grand floral installations will celebrate holidays and change with the seasons.
The Jewel Rain Vortex sends rain-harvested, recirculated water seven stories down from the roof in a circular waterfall.
At night, the waterfall becomes the backdrop, or canvas, for a first-of-its kind, 360-degree projected light-and-sound-show.