Jewel Changi Airport leisure precinct opens in Singapore

The much anticipated Jewel Changi Airport, a mixed-use development in Singapore, has opened - presenting a radical rethinking of designing for the passenger experience.

Now able to accommodate up to 85 million travelers a year, the Moshe Safdie-designed Jewel Changi Airport has been described as “an atmospheric leisure complex and air terminus”.

The result of a four-year construction process, the US$1.25 billion structure is roofed by a unique glass and steel geodesic dome that links to its crowning feature, a 40-metre-tall waterfall dubbed the ‘Rain Vortex’.

The complex also offers retail outlets, restaurants, Asia's first Yotelair hotel, mazes, sky nets, a butterfly garden, cinema and a 14,000 metre² Canopy Park which Safdie said was partly inspired by the surrealistic landscapes depicted in James Cameron's science-fiction blockbuster, Avatar.

In a statement announcing this week’s opening, Jewel Changi Airport Development Executive, Hung Jean advised “the vision for Jewel Changi Airport is to be a destination where 'The World meets Singapore, and Singapore meets the World'.

"The unique proposition of world-class shopping and dining, seamlessly integrated with lush greenery, fulfils the needs of increasingly discerning travellers for a meaningful and experiential journey, even for brief layovers."

Lee Chee Koon, President and Chief Executive of CapitaLand Group, one of the property's developers, added "Jewel demonstrates our multi-faceted capabilities in real estate development and illuminates the limitless possibilities we will have to enliven an airport precinct with retail at its core."

Images: Jewel Changi Airport's ‘Rain Vortex’ (top), garden attractions with the complex (middle and below). Courtesy of Jewel Changi Airport.