SBG Heritage Museum

The 240sqm SBG Heritage Museum is located in Holttum Hall, which is next to Botany Centre in the Tanglin Core of the Gardens. Built in 1921 to serve as the Director of the Gardens' office and laboratory, the two-storey building has been designated as an Urban Redevelopment Authority conservation building. This was where Professor Eric Holttum, the Gardens' Director from 1925 to 1949, developed the orchid breeding technique which enabled the efficient production of healthy seedlings in sterile flasks from a hybrid seed. This technique, which is still used today, was a key factor that stimulated orchid industries throughout the region.

The SBG Heritage Museum features interactive and multimedia exhibits and panels that detail the Gardens' rich heritage. Historical items that are on display include old photographs, artefacts, plant specimens, rare botanical books and botanical paintings that date back to the early 19th century. Oral recordings of Ridley during his 100th birthday has also been integrated into an interactive display. The exhibits in the Museum are supported by CDL through the Garden City Fund, a registered charity and institution of public character established by the National Parks Board.

NParks is honoured to be one of the recipients of the artillery shell casings from the 21-Gun Salute for Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. The casing is on display at the Singapore Botanic Gardens Heritage Museum.

CDL Green Gallery

Developed and donated by CDL, the 314sqm CDL Green Gallery is a new eco-friendly building sited on Holttum Lawn. It is conceptualised as an extension of the Heritage Museum, and will feature botanical- or greening-related exhibits that will be changed every six to nine months. The first exhibition held there showcased Singapore's greening journey, to commemorate 50 Years of Greening our island.

The gallery will be Singapore's first zero energy Green Gallery. A key feature of the building is the solar photovoltaic (PV) cladded roof panels that are expected to harvest all the energy required for the building's operations. The solar panels are expected to generate an annual energy yield of over 31,000 kWh, which is more than the Gallery's estimated annual energy consumption of about 30,000 kWh/year.

Using innovative design, the development will cause minimal disruption to the site as it will use two eco-innovative features that are introduced in Singapore for the first time - the biomaterial known as Hempcrete (largely made from the hemp plant), and a prefabricated modular system.

A mixture of hemp core (shiv), lime binders, and water, Hempcrete will be used for the external wall cladding of the Heritage Museum. The high thermal material is ideal for Singapore's humid climate as it creates good indoor air quality. It is also highly durable, and naturally pest, mould, mildew and fire resistant.

Another advantage of using Hempcrete is that it can be precast into sections at an external site using a prefabricated modular system and brought to the Gardens for installation. This eliminates massive wet works usually required in building developments, and results in faster construction time with a lower impact on the environment.

Other eco-friendly features at the CDL Green Gallery @ SBG Heritage Museum include:

Green walls - the east and west facade will be cladded with fauna-attracting plant species to enrich biodiversity

Green roof - selected drought resistant plant species will be incorporated to lower the Urban Heat Island effect around the building

Energy efficient interior fittings - the building will be fitted with LED lights and energy efficient air-conditioning systems