When we think of visiting a plant nursery in Singapore, we usually expect to walk around in the sweltering outdoors, exposed to mosquitoes.
However, Far East Flora has turned that notion on its head, opening a new 11-storey mall in Clementi.
There, customers can shop for their gardening needs in air-conditioned comfort.
The building even has a café and rooftop sky garden.
According to a press release from the chain, the new Far East Flora Centre is Singapore’s first vertical flora centre.
Located on Clementi Road next to the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), the complex officially opened last Friday (29 Sep).
Visitors will be struck by the vast mall with greenery cascading out from its balconies.
In fact, the building is nine storeys high plus a basement and rooftop, adding up to 11 levels of a “floriculture retail and lifestyle destination”.
The aim is to move away from the wide-spread layout of a typical nursery and provide a one-stop shop for all kinds of customers.
Each floor of the Far East Flora Centre has its distinctive features, according to the company, with 1,000 varieties of flowers and over 500 different types of plants on offer.
For example, the first floor has indoor plants, gardening tools and ornaments.
On level 2 is a wholesale market with a cold warehouse for flowers, fruits and vegetables.
There’s also a Pet Lovers Centre where one can procure food and playthings for our beloved furbabies.
In the basement, colourful flowering plants can be found.
In the rooftop sky garden, customers can find larger outdoor plants and trees that require more sunlight, as well as herbs and edibles.
Far East Flora said that the rooftop also offers a “perfect communal place” for people to “immerse themselves in outdoor nature” or view the surrounding area.
No megamall experience in Singapore is complete without food, and Far East Flora Centre certainly doesn’t disappoint in this regard.
In what might be Singapore’s first eatery located in a nursery, its on-site café, F’east, serves up hearty meals for hungry shoppers.
Its offerings include pasta, steak, fish & chips, croissant breakfast sandwiches and desserts like hotcakes and croffles.
While 80% of Far East Flora Centre is sheltered, that doesn’t mean it’s an energy-guzzling behemoth — it turns out that the mall is green in more than one way.
For example, high-volume, low-speed fans are installed across the premises to reduce the mall’s dependence on aircon. The building is also lighted up with energy-efficient LED lights.
There are even solar panels on the rooftop as a renewable energy source.
As for the large amount of water needed for the plants, a rain harvesting system helps provide much of it, while an automated rainwater recycling and self-irrigation system ensures most of their water isn’t wasted.
Whether you’ve green fingers or not, perhaps it’s time to pay a visit to this new landmark — if only to see how Far East Flora has managed to seamlessly integrate nature with the comfort of an indoor environment in humid Singapore.
Here’s some details to note if you’re heading down.
Far East Flora Centre
Address: 435 Clementi Road, Singapore 599873
Opening hours: 8am to 9pm, daily
Nearest MRT station: King Albert Park
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Gwendolyn Clare Thong on Facebook and courtesy of Far East Flora.
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