In commenting some of the latest tourism attractions in Singapore, he said spending $1 billion to build Gardens By The Bay is too expensive.
The project was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2005 National Day Rally and set to become Singapore's premier urban outdoor recreation space, and a national icon.
An international competition for the design of the master plan was held and attracted more than 70 entries submitted by 170 firms from 24 countries.
Mr Harrison said the project took its inspiration from and was influenced by The Eden Project in UK, which cost only $270 million to build in 2000.
Well, you could argue that Gardens By The Bay sits on a prime location within the central business district and the land itself is expensive. Furthermore, one was built in 2000 and the other completed in 2011 and you have to factor in inflation. Add to that the different type of materials used, the designs, construction methods and sourcing of exotic plants and faunas, direct comparison is impossible.
However, more important than that is The Eden Project was conceived by a person, Tim Smit, while the other is by the government. In the course of fulfilling his dream, Mr Smit had to keep revising his plan, control and cut his budget and simplify the design in order to raise fund for the project. On the other hand, there's no limit on how much the government will and can spend on Gardens By The Bay.
Mr Harrison said Gardens By The Bay is a competition right from the start. When you are competing for project of such a scale and significance, you will pull all stops to WOW the panel of judges. And when you win, it is going to be very expensive to bring it to fruition. It becomes a matter of face issue.
I visited Gardens By The Bay when it opened. As with anything new, there were many people. And it's free, except for the two domes.
I'm not a person into horticulture and so didn't pay the exorbitant price (to me) to go into the two domes. I'll probably be out in 15 minutes looking at a bunch of weird plants with names I couldn't pronounce (which I will soon forget). The only thing that attracted me about them is the air-con that's so welcoming after walking under the hot sun to get there (couldn't find many shelters there).
One day, I was lucky enough to win two tickets to one of the dome to watch the Tulip exhibition. Now I got a reason to go in without paying. In the end, I passed the tickets to my mom (she loves gardening and flowers) who went with my sister.
I was expecting her to come back singing praises of the giant domes, the beautiful flowers and supertrees she saw. Instead, they were back in two hours (including traveling time). The first comment my mom made was "The flowers weren't that nice and interesting." The worst part was she had to walk so far from the mrt train station to the dome under the hot weather. They didn't even bothered to stop and enjoy the scenery along the way. And I don't think they will be interested to go anymore.
For me, that was the one and only time I went. I'm not sure if I would ever go again. Probably yes if I'm bringing some foreign friends to tour around, provided that is what they want. But not by myself. The food outlets there are also expensive and I'm better off spending my money at cheaper places with tastier food.
Its chief executive, Dr Tan Wee Kiat said they are developing a garden for people who don’t normally come to gardens.
Well, he has successfully got me to go to the garden as I don't normally go to garden. I was WOWed when I saw it. On hindsight, my wow was more because it was huge. Just like when I went Marina Bay Sands (MBS) when it opened. Wow, there's a pool spanning the top of the three hotel buildings. Wow, the shopping mall in MBS is huge. And that was it. I find no reason for me to go again.
There is a Benjasiri Park in Bangkok, just next to Emporium Shopping Mall. It's a small garden with a lake and a fountain. Not many seats (cos most people are sitting on the grass) but lots of shades. It's like a little neighborhood park. There's no wow factor to speak of. No huge structure and sculpture, no exotic plants and no beautifully and carefully crafted landscape. Yet, it offers a sense of peace and serenity. You could sit there doing nothing and watch the world goes by. You'll see some students practicing their dance steps in the pavilion. There's the little toddler learning to walk unsteadily with his mom watching over him. And some couples just lying there chit chatting. It's an oasis of tranquility. Nothing so loud screaming out for attention. No need to rush from one attraction to another.
Wow, there's still a place so quiet and peaceful in central Bangkok.
Isn't this what we need in a big city?
Sometimes, it's easy to create wow factors. Build the biggest, the most expensive, the weirdest, the smallest, the tallest, the most iconic and you're sure to wow someone. When the wow factor wears off, what else is left?
Think what your customers really need and want.
Photo Source : YourSingapore