Singapore redefines a city with an abundance of green spaces

It is a challenging task to find room for green spaces. This is especially true for the world's most densely populated ones. Singapore is one such city and in downtown Singapore, when anyone wants a new park to stroll, he might have to turn toward the sky. The CapitaSpring tower is an example of what humans can create to ensure a mix of modern living amidst an abundance of greenery. Its soaring glass and aluminum facade apparently bursts open to reveal plants and trees growing hundreds of feet above ground. From the street level, anyone can queue up to enter an elevator that leads to this so-called "Green Oasis." The spiral garden path winds past exercise equipment, benches and tables on its journey through four stories of tropical flora. The 919 feet high, CapitaSpring is now one of Singapore’s tallest skyscrapers. 'Biophilic' skyscraper bursting with 80,000 plants opens in Singapore. The 51-story building houses over 80,000 trees and plants across 90,000 square feet of landscaped area, which also includes a shady covered plaza at its base.

On the top floor of the building, visitors can stroll through a massive 4,500-square-foot rooftop farm. It supplies fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers to three on-site restaurants. Incidentally, an urban farmer who tends to the garden estimated that it generates nearly 220 pounds of produce on a monthly basis. Most of the plant species found here are indigenous to Singapore and thus adapted to the year-round heat and humidity. This is a commendable achievement. Moreover, the placement of greenery follows a certain pattern. It "mimics the plant hierarchy of tropical rainforests." Those that require the least direct light lying beneath a "canopy" of taller trees. The tower can be considered a vision of a future where city and countryside can coexist with culture and nature. The government of Singapore has long promoted itself as a "garden city." This is a term applied to the country by its founding father and former prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. That was in the 1960s. Subsequently, planners have embarked on citywide tree-planting programs and landscaping projects in its vast public housing complexes.

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Selfie death in Moscow - teenager falls 86 floors from OKO Towers

OKO Towers in Moscow is the tallest building in Europe. An 18-year-old teenager fell to his death from the 86th floor of this building while taking a selfie - he apparently slipped and fell 86 floors on to a parked vehicle on the ground.
OKO Towers is close to a skating rink high above the Russian capital. OKO means the Eye and this is, at present,the tallest building in Europe, at a height of 354 metres.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 16 January 2017.

Apart from the selfie version, there is another version - he had a furious row with his father before running to a rooftop helicopter pad and falling off. As per the building's security, the young man had been with his father at the skating rink.
The sky-high skating rink is located in a skyscraper district known as Moscow City and, the OKO block includes offices and residential accommodation and is one of the most sought after addresses in the city.
Entry fee to the skating rink is around £40, and the ice covers an area of 420 square metres.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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No matter of happenings in the South China Sea and fears of Chinese submarines stealthily creeping up on us, the Chinese dragon has set tongues wagging in Surat, the Diamond City. It seems a proposal is fat gathering momentum about the Chinese building a towering 61-storey headquarters for the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). The concept of such a skyscraper was suggested by the Prime Minister's Office and, hence, the Chinese team has visited Surat.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 4 May 2016.

Once the skyscraper finally gets built, it could be the tallest government building in India and will house commecial outlets also. Till now, SMC has been operating from the historical Mughal Sarai building built way back in 1644 during the reign of Shahjahan.
The Chinese delegation consisting of government firms that are into construction business had visited Surat last year. They have claimed that they could construct this fully environment-friendly skyscraper in very short time using pre-fabricated technology. This means a technology where things are prepared in a factory in advance and later assembled at the site.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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