Project Eden

26,000m2 of botanical gardens under giant biomorphic bubbles

The Eden Project enables visitors to experience at first hand both the biological variety that exists in global terms, and the significance of the plant world for human existence. Trees and plants from both the warm Mediterranean regions and the hot and humid tropics are enclosed in the greenhouses while the surrounding landscape represents the cooler, more temperate climes.

Nicholas Grimshaw Architects designed the two gigantic clusters of geodetic domes, the so-called biomes. With a minimum of surface area, they envelop a maximum of volume. The "space frames", ultra-lightweight hexagonal tubular steel structures up to 60m high, are clad with triple-layered "cushions" of ETFE film (ethyltetrafluoroethylene). The transparent film material is 10 times lighter than glass. Thanks to the basic hexagonal structure, it was possible to fit the biomes organically into the varying topography of the area without the need for wholesale explosive work to smooth the partially rocky ground. Moreover, this approach meant that the rocks in the surrounding area could be integrated within the energy concept as heat storage units.

The final shape of the biomes was developed by planning engineers Arup. In their concept, the conventional logic of structural engineering -  with its beams and supports - carried no weight. Instead computer-aided models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) determined the design. Geometry and poetry combined.

The starting point for the tour through the plant world is the Visitors’ Centre. This building has also been adapted to its natural environment. It crouches as a flat, greenery-covered dome that appears to grow organically out of its surroundings.

Finding the perfect synergy between architecture and nature constitutes the guiding principle governing the overall composition of the Eden Project.

Prominent Features

An impressive symbiosis of architecture and nature that exploded into a people magnet of unforeseeable proportions.

Just 12 months after the facility was opened, Haskoll Architects and DORMA were asked to assist in finding a solution to the overwhelming stream of visitors. "The problem was that the Visitors’ Centre had been designed for a capacity of 750,000 arrivals per annum. However, the Eden Project attracted around two million people in its very first year," reports Haskoll’s chief designer David Mitchell.

The Visitors´ Centre was divided into three main areas: ticket hall, conference gallery/presentation auditorium, and shop. Structurally it was impossible for these separate rooms to be utilised to optimum effect. The ticket hall was filled to the brim during the morning while the other rooms were empty - and in the afternoon the roles were reversed.

Haskoll´s solution involved opening up the three rooms to create a central hall large enough to contain the influx of people without overcrowding. The conference gallery was redesigned to create the Gallery Café that can be separated for closed group events by means of an automatic HSW-EM partition from DORMA - reminiscent of a Japanese screen with its matt glass, wooden frames and battens.

"We chose an HSW-EM horizontal sliding wall because, when automatically stacked together, the panels only take up a minimum of space - a decisive consideration for the Eden Project," explained David Mitchell. "Moreover, the system is reliable and robust and offers the right aesthetic elegance for the building in which it is installed."