It’s the 1st of November 2007, which means we now have just 14 months here at Hyde Park Gate 😦

It has been an entertaining day. This afternoon, Rahul and I looked on in utter delight as a perfect black Naja Sumatrana meandered its way in our back garden, circled a snoozing frog, and devoured it, s l o w l y. Animal Planet could not have done better. Unfortunately neither of us could tear ourselves away from the back patio long enough to crank up the video camera. You will have to take our word for it.

In the last hour, we have enjoyed one of the most spectacular sunsets. A breathtaking mix of pink, orange and red hues. No haze. Leaving this place is going to be hard. So, in an attempt to understand just how definitive ‘Master Plans’ are, I’ve been trawling through the sites, and am allowing myself the distraction of sharing with you an amazing video.

From archiworld

The Gardens by the Bay Master Plan Design Competition was launched by the National Parks Board on 20 January 2006 to invite landscape architects, architects and planners to conceptualise and create Singapore’s three iconic Gardens on 101 ha of prime land by the waterfront. In sep 06, 2006, two design teams have been named as joint winners of the Competition. They are: 1) Grant Ass., Wilkinson Eyre Arch., Atelier One, Atelier Ten, Land Design Studios, Meinhardt Infrastructure Pte Ltd, Davis Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd; 2) Gustafson Porter, Ove Arup, Davis Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd. The film by squint/opera shows the development of the design ideas behind the winning entry (Grant Associates).

This 4 minute 52 second video is worth your time.