teamLab museum to be built in Gardens by the Bay as part of expanded urban wetland
Ng Keng Gene
The Straits Times
March 4, 2026
International art collective teamLab – known for its immersive displays and exhibitions – will set up a new museum in one of Singapore's biggest tourist draws, as part of an area called Wetlands by the Bay that will open in stages from end-2028.
Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan told Parliament on March 4 that Wetlands by the Bay will be three times the size of the existing Kingfisher Wetlands.
He added that work will start on a new bridge that connects Bay South Garden and Bay East Garden, which is currently being redeveloped and will open in 2027.
Wetlands by the Bay will span about 5ha, or roughly the size of seven football fields.
In addition to the existing Kingfisher Wetlands, it will take in open-air foodcourt Satay by the Bay, as well as spaces currently occupied by a carpark and a nursery.
Satay by the Bay will be replaced by a new two-storey dining block. Other additions include a new 3,500 sq m event space called Glade Lawn, as well as a boardwalk that links Gardens by the Bay MRT station to the Gardens' main entrance.
Kingfisher Wetlands – a 1.5ha freshwater wetland habitat that was opened in 2021 – will also be expanded to include more than 50,000 plants of various species, of which 600 will be mangrove and other coastal plants.
This is double the about 25,000 plants currently in the area, of which 200 are mangroves and coastal plants.
An ecological study of these mangrove plants that was released in 2023 showed that despite typically being found in coastal saline conditions, the plants could thrive in a man-made freshwater wetland and effectively capture planet-warming carbon.
The mangroves showcased at Wetlands by the Bay will include species that originate in countries such as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste, offering visitors a chance to see plants from beyond Singapore's shores.
In a statement, Gardens by the Bay chief executive Felix Loh said the development of Wetlands by the Bay comes on the back of the Gardens clocking its highest yearly visitorship since it officially opened in 2012.
Some 16 million people visited Gardens by the Bay in 2025, said Mr Loh, who added that the Gardens "is ever-evolving to continuously provide fresh experiences for both Singaporeans and visitors from all over the world".
Wetlands by the Bay will strengthen the Gardens' reputation as a must-visit destination in Singapore, he said.
Mr Jason Yeo, general manager of master planning at Gardens by the Bay, told The Straits Times that the planned teamLab museum was selected from several proposals.
He said that the museum will have both indoor and outdoor areas, including a pedal kayak experience – a first in museums and exhibitions put up by teamLab.
Founded in 2001, teamLab has been behind several other experiential artworks and exhibitions in Singapore, such as the National Museum of Singapore's Story of the Forest, which ran from 2016 to 2024, and teamLab Future World, which opened in 2016 at the ArtScience Museum.
The art collective's works are also found on permanent display in cities such as New York, Jeddah and Hamburg, with teamLab's two museums in Tokyo drawing more than 4.2 million visitors in 2025.
Mr Yeo said that the concepts for the wet and dry areas of teamLab's museum – which will be built on a 1.2ha site – are being finalised.
The new bridge that will connect Bay South Garden and Bay East Garden, said Mr Yeo, will be completed in 2028, while the waterfront dining block that will replace Satay by the Bay will be the first facility to open in Wetlands by the Bay in that year, ahead of spaces such as Glade Lawn, which has a 1,000-person capacity.
He said the operator of Satay by the Bay is on a lease that expires in December 2026, ahead of the construction of Wetlands by the Bay, which is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
"The new concept, while retaining the accessible food options that the current Satay by the Bay offers at the ground level, will also have casual eateries on the upper deck to increase the range of dining options for our visitors," said Mr Yeo of the upcoming two-storey dining block that will include a viewing gallery which offers views of Marina Reservoir and the Founders' Memorial.
He added that existing tenants of Satay by the Bay will be referred to the new facility's operator for consideration.
Without revealing the project cost, Mr Yeo said that the development of Wetlands by the Bay will be funded by Gardens by the Bay's financial reserves, which stood at about $235 million as at March 2025.
As for the upcoming bridge, it will be about 550m long, with a width of 5.8m at its widest point, and be accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.
The bridge, which will cost $75.7 million to build, will have a sinuous curved design and can also accommodate mobility aids such as wheelchairs.
The end of the bridge closer to Bay South Garden will be elevated, while the other end slopes gently down towards Bay East Garden.
A 175m-long section of the bridge will rest just above the surface of Marina Reservoir, offering visitors the experience of "walking on water", said Gardens by the Bay.
It added that works on the bridge will affect pedestrians and cyclists travelling to and from Marina Barrage, and that route diversions will take effect when construction starts in the second quarter of 2026, with cyclists expected to travel along the perimeter of Bay South Garden to get between Marina Bay Sands and Marina Barrage.
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