K. Kopter

Singapore's Oasia Hotel Downtown is alive - and growing fast. Covered in 21 species of verdant climbers and flowers, it was designed by local architects WOHA as the first tropical high-rise. "We wanted as many species as possible to recreate an ecosystem," says WOHA co-founder Wong Mun Summ, 54. "It has flowers to attract insects and climbers for squirrels and lizards."

Patrick Bingham-Hall

Work on the 76 million building is due to be completed this spring, and Mun Summ estimates the climbers - planted in 1,793 boxes at the tower's ground corners to allow easy maintenance - will be fully mature within three years. "It will look furry, almost like an animal," he says.

Patrick Bingham-Hall

Located in Singapore's dense business district, the 190-metre-high building was designed to compensate for the area's lack of greenery. "Sustainability is important to us," Mun Summ says. It has open-sided gardens, so there is no need for mechanical ventilation in the hotel's 314 rooms and 100 office units. Most of the water for the irrigation system is harvested from rainfall.

"Singapore is a land-limited country," says Mun Summ. "As it gets denser, it is necessary to create a liveable environment." His next challenge? A building with a beach inside. WIRED hopes it has a volleyball court, too.

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Grow your own hotel: this tropical high-rise in Singapore has its own ecosystem - Wired.co.uk