Jewel Changi Airport

Jewel Changi Airport (also known as Jewel) is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex surrounded by and linked to one of the passenger terminals of Changi Airport in Singapore. Its centrepiece is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, which is surrounded by a terraced forest setting.
Jewel includes gardens, attractions, a hotel, about 300 retail and dining outlets, as well as early baggage check-in aviation facilities. It covers a total gross floor area of 135,700 m (1,461,000 sq ft), spanning 10 storeys—five above-ground and five basement levels. Its attractions include the Shiseido Forest Valley, an indoor garden spanning five storeys, and the Canopy Park at the topmost level, featuring gardens and leisure facilities.
Jewel receives about 300,000 visitors per day. In October 2019, six months after its soft opening, it had welcomed 50 million visitors, exceeding its initial target for the whole year. The complex and airport is located in Changi, at the eastern end of Singapore, approximately 20 km (12 mi) northeast from Singapore's Downtown Core.
Jewel was conceived to maintain Changi Airport's status as a major aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific. It was first mentioned by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech in 2013 as part of Changi Airport's long-term plans to double its capacity by the mid-2020s and "create more opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans".
Built over the former open-air car park in front of Changi Airport Terminal 1, Jewel expanded Terminal 1's arrival hall and baggage reclaim areas by 70%, and its handling capacity was also expected to increase from 21 to 24 million passengers a year. Jewel was officially opened on 18 October 2019 by Lee, six months after its soft opening. During this time, it received 50 million visitors—about 300,000 per day—exceeding its initial target of 40–50 million visitors for the first year.
The concept was developed by Jewel Changi Airport Trustee Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Changi Airport Group (CAG) and CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping mall business, CapitaLand Mall Asia. The project cost S$1.7 billion and did not involve any government funds or taxpayer money, despite both entities being either wholly or partially owned by Temasek Holdings, the state-owned investment company.
Jewel's toroidal glass-and-steel façade was designed by a consortium of architects, led by Moshe Safdie, who also designed Singapore's Marina Bay Sands. Local firm RSP Architects Planners & Engineers were the executive architects and structural engineers. The landscape architect was PWP Landscape Architecture, who co-designed the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City and worked with Safdie on the landscaping of Marina Bay Sands. Benoy were the interior designers, BuroHappold Engineering were responsible for the façade, and Lighting Planners Associates handled the lighting. The Rain Vortex was engineered by water design firm WET Design; it has a 360-degree light and sound show projected onto it.
Jewel was envisioned to combine a marketplace and an urban park. "The component of the traditional mall is combined with the experience of nature, culture, education and recreation, aiming to provide an uplifting experience. By drawing both visitors and local residents alike, we aim to create a place where the people of Singapore interact with the people of the world," said Safdie.
The glass panels of the dome are framed in steel that rests on a complex latticework. At night, the glowing dome is visible from surrounding areas.
The Shiseido Forest Valley (資生堂フォレストバレー, Shiseidō Foresutobarē) is one of Asia's largest indoor gardens, spanning five stories and approximately 22,000 square metres (240,000 sq ft), located in the heart of Jewel Changi Airport. It houses around 3,000 trees and 60,000 shrubs of 120 species that live in high-altitude tropical forests around the world. It was conceived and designed by PWP Landscape Architecture and features the SENSE art installation, a collaboration between Shiseido and the Japanese art collective teamLab.
The Rain Vortex is the world's largest and tallest indoor waterfall, standing at 40 metres (130 ft) high. Recirculating rain water is pumped to the roof to freefall through a round hole at up to 37,850 liters (8,330 imp gal; 10,000 U.S. gal) per minute to a basement-level pool. An acrylic funnel at the bottom prevents splashing and insulates the sound of the cascade. The toroid-shaped roof has more than 9,000 pieces of glass spanning 200 by 150 meters (660 by 490 ft), with a sloped oculus as the mouth of the waterfall acting as "a continuation of the building... completed in a liquid form". At night, the circular walls of the waterfall become a 360-degree stage for a light-and-sound show.
To prevent excess humidity in the Jewel, the waterfall's flow alternates between cascades and trickles that reduce air turbulence. The design process, by WET Design engineers, included testing a one-fifth-scale model and a full-size partial prototype.
The Changi Airport Skytrain connecting the terminals passes above ground near the waterfall, allowing passengers remaining airside to see the Vortex and Jewel itself.
At the topmost level of Jewel, the 14,000 square metres (150,000 sq ft) Canopy Park houses recreation and leisure attractions. About half of the total landscaping is hosted at Canopy Park, including two gardens: Topiary Walk and Petal Garden. The Topiary Walk features animal-shaped topiaries at every corner, while the Petal Garden has seasonal floral displays. The park includes a suspension bridge called the Canopy Bridge that is located 23 metres (75 ft) above the ground and offers a panoramic view of the Rain Vortex. At 50 metres (160 ft) long, the Canopy Bridge also has a glass-panel floor at the centre section that offers a view down to level 1 of Jewel.
The park also consists of two mazes, situated at the eastern end of the Jewel, called the Hedge Maze and Mirror Maze. The Hedge Maze is Singapore's largest, with hedge walls standing at 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) high. The maze features gates that can be pushed inward and thus change the path of the maze. It ends at an elevated watchtower that offers a bird's-eye view of the entire maze. The Mirror Maze is located under the dome, with plants branching across the top. It makes use of mirrors and various reflections.
The Changi Experience Studio is a 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) space with interactive games and displays relating to the airport's history that allows visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how the facility is run.
YOTEL operates a hotel within Jewel, with approximately 130 rooms, which opened on 12 April 2019.
An "integrated multi-modal transport lounge" provides ticketing, boarding pass collection, and baggage transfer service in a single location. Early check-in facilities enable passengers to drop off luggage up to 24 hours ahead of regular check-in times.
Jewel houses both local and international brands. Tenants include one of the largest Nike stores in Southeast Asia, the first Apple Store located inside an airport complex, Marks & Spencer, Muji, Zara, Uniqlo, Don Don Donki, Massimo Dutti, a Shaw Theatres cinema that includes an IMAX theatre, a FairPrice Finest supermarket, as well as a food court.
Jewel also includes the return of the American burger chain A&W Restaurants to Singapore after a 16-year-hiatus, another American burger chain, Shake Shack, which opened their first store here, the Norwegian fast casual restaurant Pink Fish, the Swiss artisanal chocolatier Läderach, the Chinese restaurants Xiao Bin Lou and Yu's Kitchen, the American ice cream shop Emack & Bolio's, the British casual eatery Burger & Lobster, the Peruvian restaurant TONITO, Japan's Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory, and the first permanent Pokémon Center in Asia, outside of Japan.
Jewel Changi Airport was accorded the 2016 International Architecture Award by the Chicago Athenaeum, an international museum of architecture and design.
In November 2019, the airport received the Special Jury Award at that year's Mapic Awards.
The song "The Right Time" by Singaporean singer JJ Lin was inspired by Jewel, which was featured in the music video.
It also appeared in Coldplay's music video for the 2024 song "Man in the Moon".