Eden Project (Paradise Project), located in Cornwall, England; It is a facility known as “the world’s largest greenhouse” and is home to thousands of plant species. The Eden Project, once just a clay pit, has undergone an incredible transformation in the last 20 years and has turned into a structure that welcomes thousands of visitors. The construction of the project, which first opened its doors to visitors in 2001, started in 1996. By adding new features every year, it strives to make people conscious about plants and sustainable future. The Eden Project is recognized as a pioneering facility worldwide, providing its visitors with opportunities to learn and explore, by making them feel themselves in nature.
The Eden Project, designed by Grimshaw Architects, consists of two different biome buildings containing the rainforest and Mediterranean biomes. The building consists of several domes, each of which is put together. This architectural design supports the aim of raising awareness about nature and sustainable future with its plant-inspired structures. The Eden Project is not only home to vegetation, but also an exemplary facility with its architecture.
The project offers its visitors the opportunity to see thousands of plant species in one day that cannot be seen in the same geography. An architecturally marvelous structure, the Eden Project is home to thousands of plant species within hundreds of pentagonal and hexagonal biomes. These biomes contain plants that grow in natural environment relationships. Biomes are made of pentagonal and hexagonal plastics supported by steel frames.
Thanks to the different spaces created in the design of the project, children and adults have the opportunity to learn about nature and sustainable living. The Eden Project is also used for this purpose with the workshops organized continuously. The Eden Project, designed not only as a greenhouse but also as a large social living area, hosts plants brought from different parts of the world and offers a spacious stroll with its open-air gardens.
Contents of the World’s Largest Greenhouse
Visitors to the Eden Project not only see the world’s largest rainforest biome and state-of-the-art architecture, but also have an unrepeatable experience wandering through different plants, thanks to year-round garden exhibits. The Eden Project offers arts activities such as music and sculpture, as well as a variety of performing arts. Area; It is equipped with social facilities such as restaurants, cafes and hotels. It also hosts nature walks, outdoor activities, music and performing arts.
Visitors can stroll through the treetops for beautiful views of the rainforest, take a ride on a tractor-pulled black train, or take educational lessons on sustainable living. This project is visited by millions of visitors every year and is constantly improving itself. Bringing together the beauties of nature and people, this project, which will be enjoyed by everyone traveling in England, will take its place in your life as an unforgettable experience.
Biome greenhouses designed by Architect Grimshaw offer an innovative approach with their structural features. The particularly large humid tropical climate biome has been transformed into a forest after only one season. The temperate greenhouse exhibits plants native to the Mediterranean climate zone. Plants that can grow in different climates are exhibited in the open area outside the domed greenhouses. It contains instructive collections such as 20 different types of bananas, the eight most important tropical spices, and animal feeds in the area. There are also scientific exhibitions that explain the life system of plants. These exhibits focus on topics such as pollination methods or environmental tolerance.
The Spectacular Design and Construction of the Eden Project
Buckminster Fuller’s “geodesic dome” concept, which was used during the design of the project, played an important role in the implementation of the project. This concept aims to achieve maximum enclosed volume with minimum use of surface. For this reason, interlocking geodesic domes, chosen as the world’s largest skeletal structure, have been realized in a light and economical way.
However, one of the biggest challenges in the implementation of the project was its planning in a pit that was previously used as a kaolin (porcelain earth) quarry. The fact that this pit is 15 meters below the ground and there is not even a soil (humus) surface has created a significant problem for soil production. However, this problem has been solved by the use of materials such as local quarry residue, waste sand and clay, organic compounds and specific soil types. The cheapness of the land and the suitability of the oceanic climate for the growth of plants were the main factors in the realization of the project here. With this design approach, Land Use Consultants (LUC), the landscape architect of the project, aims to create a unique experience that brings together the past, nature and future of the area.
The architect of the project, Grimshaw, designed two greenhouses with a unique architectural design. These greenhouses consist of two separate “biomes”, one with humid tropical and the other temperate climate. The biomes, each consisting of four domes, are described as the largest and lightest geodesic structures ever built. The piers established during this construction, which also entered the Guinness Book of Records, were recorded as the highest piers ever built.
The domes are made of self-supporting interconnected steel pipes, consisting of hexagons and pentagons. The largest frame has a span of 11 meters, the diameter of the steel pipes is 193 mm. This spider web-like structure was coated with three layers of ETFE. ETFE is a material with better thermal insulation and greater ultraviolet light transmission than glass. It also has a lighter structure than glass and is even lighter than the air inside the structure. Also, the quarry wall was used as a side of each biome. This created a natural terracing effect and provided a theatrical backdrop for the plants. Visitors, on the other hand, see these domes as soap bubbles sitting on the quarry walls.
Problems Experienced During the Realization of the Project
During the realization of the Eden Project, serious construction and technology problems were tried to be dealt with due to the structure of kaolin. Kaolin is a loose soil type and coconut mat added planting terraces were used to stabilize the soil. The water level was above ground level, which created major problems especially during a rainy season. To overcome these problems, a drainage system capable of discharging 22 liters of water per second was installed and 163 million liters of water were discharged in the first three months of construction.
The soil production process of the Eden Project is a very interesting and industrial process. Initially, there was no humus layer and local quarry waste was used. Later, this soil obtained by adding waste sand and clay from kaolin pits, tree bark from the forest as organic component and green waste from houses was used as a base. This manufactured soil is also commercially marketed today.
In addition, different specific soil types were introduced. For example, tropical soils are mainly organic in character, while temperate climate soils contain sand-based clay and tree bark. The soil required for the South American Fynbos plant is a nutrient-free soil composed of rotted bark and sand. In this way, the ecological diversity of the greenhouse is increased by producing suitable soils for different plant species.
