Orchard Road, Singapore

To construct a channel drainage system around the perimeters of the house.

1. A  50 m³ pit was excavated around the perimeters of the house.
2. VersiTank^® modules enveloped with a permeable geotextile fabric were installed in the pit, covered with coarse sand and topped with planting soil, forming an underground channel drainage system which doubles as a rainwater harvesting and detention system (Image 1 & 2).
3. This system reduces irrigation requirements as rainwater captured and stored beneath the ground is channeled to the plants via the permeable geotextile fabric.
4. VersiTank^® modules enveloped with a permeable geotextile fabric were also installed as a void filler within the planter boxes. (Image 2)

Project Credits
Architect: Park + Associates Pte Ltd
Landscape Architect: Compound Collective Pte Ltd
VersiTank^® Installer: Elite Landscape Pte Ltd

Bukit Canberra Integrated Hub, Singapore

1. Establish Fire Engine Accessway at Community Lawn
2. Provide Drainage System Beneath Intensive and Extensive Green Roofs
3. Establish Sustainable Stormwater Management System

Project Credits
Owner: Sport Singapore
Architect: DP Architects Pte Ltd
Landscape Consultant: Henning Larsen Singapore
Façade Consultant: Arup Singapore
Main Contractor: China Construction (South Pacific) Development Co. Pte Ltd
TurfPave^® XD / VersiCell^® / VersiTank^® Installer: Nature Landscapes Pte Ltd

References
DP Architects, “Design in Print 14.1 – The Green-Well-Tech Issue”, Pg 63, 2023, via https://issuu.com/dparchitects/docs/dipvol14.1_gwt-20231230

Edible Pavilion – URA Centre, Singapore

To construct a sustainable edible pavilion in under 1 month.

Edible Pavilion Installation

Upcycled Art Structure (Image 3 & 4)

Over 300 VersiTank^® 555 and 553 modules were assembled and fastened with industrial cable ties to form the enormous art structure. Steel rods were used to support the cantilever construction.

Project Credits

The Common Good – Edible Pavilion is a collaboration between Surbana Jurong, SAA Architects, SUTD Social Urban Lab, Ground-Up Initiative (GUI), B+H Architects, KTP Consultants, Sunray Woodcraft Construction, and Elmich. This is part of SEEDS Movement, an SAA, SJ, B+H, KTP collaborative. 

VersiTank^® & VersiDrain^® 150 Supplier: Elmich

Edible Community Garden – 28 Dover Crescent, Singapore

To construct a sustainable edible garden in under 2 months.

Designer’s Comments – Breakdown of Structures:

VersiTank^® modules were assembled to form garden structures of varying heights and configurations:

“VersiTower” (Image 2)

A two-meter-high tower for the creeper plants was constructed by vertically stacking and interlocking VersiTank^® 555 modules with stainless steel wires. The VersiTank^® 555 modules at the keeps of the towers was cut at specific areas to allow access for gardeners to the planting soil. The VersiTank^® 555 modules at the base of the tower were filled with soil for stability as it acts as a gravitational counterweight for the tower.

“VersiArch” (Image 3)

Smaller and lighter VersiTank^® 553 modules were used to construct an arch between the towers. For structural stability and safety, two 25 x 25 mm aluminium square hollow sections were added, spanning through the arch sections.

Raised “VersiPlanter” (Image 4) 

Raised planters of varying heights were built, simply by stacking the MEP^® Tray on a VersiTank^® 553 and onto the “VersiPlanter” structure.

“Vertical Planter”

By installing the purpose-made aluminium carrier bars on the sides of the planters, vertical planter pots could be added to the garden.

Tuas Bay Lane, Singapore

To establish a modular underground water storage tank in a portable rainwater harvesting system in the solar farm.

1. An excavation was carried out at the site.
2. The excavated pit was levelled and checked for sharp objects.
3. The Pond Liner (Euraplan^®) which is impermeable was laid on the underlying Geotextile.
4. Several thousand sets of VersiTank^® 555 were deployed and installed in a linear format, interlocked one to the other in the pit.
5. VersiTank^® 555 was then covered with Euraplan^®, lapped, and sealed at all joints.
6. The pit and the entire tank installation were backfilled with sand to the appropriate level and topped with a layer of small aggregate.
7. The soil was compacted with a roller.

Read more on the spectacular project installation:
Portable Rainwater Harvesting with VersiTank^® | Singapore’s First Land-Based Solar Farm

Paya Lebar, Singapore

To create an on-site non-structural stormwater detention tank system to slow down runoff, improve stormwater quality, reduce time and cost impact.

More than 7,000 units of Elmich’s VersiTank^®  enveloped with geotextile were installed underneath a series of rain gardens to prevent solid particles from penetrating and clogging the stormwater filtration and management system. The filtered stormwater is temporarily stored in the approximately 980 m³ tanks to reduce flooding from the peak runoff flow during heavy rain occurrences before being discharged into the Geylang River.

Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza, Singapore

To provide a drainage layer for event space to prevent ponding during heavy rainfall.

To provide community green benches for sitting.

VersiCell^® was used to create a flooring platform for the Archifest 2018 Event Pavilion at Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza. A total of 1000 pieces of VersiCell were used to create a 250m² area, after which a layer of sustainable material made of bamboo charcoal was laid over as the finishing.

To create the community green benches, 9 VersiTank^® 553 modules were joined together in a 3 by 3 configuration. VersiDrain^® 60 was affixed to the top of the modules and filled with carpet grass to create a comfortable and natural bench for Archifest visitors to rest on. The open nature of the event space meant that our community green benches were exposed to rain. The drainage capabilities of the VersiDrain® 60 allow the turf to stay dry and functional for sitting.

A total of 9 sets of community green benches were created and installed around the event area.

Pasir Ris, Singapore

To provide a rainwater retention solution to harvest and reuse water for irrigation.

Large pits were excavated to specification on-site. The base of each pit is compacted and leveled with a layer of coarse sand and lined with an impermeable membrane.

190 sets of VersiTank® units were then assembled on-site and positioned in the two respective pit locations.

Subsequently, the tanks were covered over with geotextile lapped and sealed at all joints to envelope the entire exposed tank surface area.

The retained rainwater is used for irrigation of surrounding turf and landscape.

Retention of rainwater also prolongs the residence time of run-off during torrential downpours, effectively reducing the incidence of waterlogging or ponding.

23 Teban Gardens Road, Singapore

To provide stormwater infiltration system to manage rainwater runoff from the landscaped grounds of the HDB estate.

VersiTanks were assembled on site and positioned within excavated pits of various shapes and sizes in accordance with the landscaped garden design. The base of each excavated pit was first compacted and filled with 100 mm layer of washed sand. A geotextile layer was then laid to envelope the VersiTanks installed within the pits. Washed sand was used as infill up to 100mm above the tank installation to create “dry ponds”. Planting media was added to enable planting around the perimeter of the dry pond features.
Forming a “rain garden”, the VersiTank installation, acts as a stormwater detention facility that decreases peak flows and filters suspended solids and pollutants from runoff. Aboveground phytoremediation by plants filter particulates and their associated pollutants from runoff. The system prevents waterlogged grounds and creates attractive green landscape features that enhance aesthetics of the HDB Estate.

304 Clementi Ave 4, Singapore

To provide green alternative to concrete drains within the park to control, manage and reduce rainwater runoff from the park at source.

VersiTanks were assembled on site and positioned within linear excavations in accordance with the landscape design of the park to allow water to flow and be channeled to outlets where the gradient of the park is lowest for discharge into the local drainage network.
A 100mm layer of coarse sand was first placed at the base of the excavated trenches and compacted. A geotextile was laid to completely envelope VersiTank installed in a continuous row within the trenches. The geotextile filter fabric allows rainwater to percolate through into the tank below but not suspended solids. Sumps were installed at intervals along the length of the swale to facilitate maintenance and easy inspection. The excavations were filled in with coarse sand up to 100mm above the geotextile.
The bioswale allows drainage within the park to be vegetated replacing conventional concrete drains which do not blend into the greenery of the park. Phytoremediation by the plants of the vegetated swale helps to remove organic contaminants and reduce suspended pollutants carried by runoff at source. In addition to allowing the overall landscape design of the park to remain seamlessly green, the system prevents waterlogged grounds and enables the integration of more usable recreational space within the park.
The slow percolation and infiltration process together with the inherent water retention capability of the bioswale network also minimises downstream impact from high volumes of water in downpours that often cause flooding.