The Eden Project began construction in 1998 in a disused china clay quarry, Bodelva, Cornwall. The site is comprised of six main buildings, two of which are Biome buildings - the Rainforest Biome and the Mediterranean Biome, designed by Grimshaw Architects.
The topography of the disused clay pit provides fifty percent of the architecture. One of the main problems faced when designing The Eden Project was faced in the initial fazes of construction, because the client did not have the means to buy the site at the time. This meant that the mining process for China clay was ongoing, being a relatively valuable material, so as the architects were designing to what they thought was the existing topography, it was actually vastly changing each day. This is where the idea of the Biomes was born, through studying bubbles and their ability to adapt to any given environment, they used 'bubble' spheres which are cut around the topography of the site, moving up and down several metres, accommodating to the site.
Also inspired by nature, bees and their honeycomb, these Biomes consist on hundreds of hexagonal and pentagonal ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) inflated cells, supported by geodesic tubular steel domes, combining maximum strength with minimum materials, with the materials weighing around 600 tons as well as the air inside of it, making the structure incredibly light, economical and efficient. Ultimately the Biomes act as huge greenhouses, with walls which absorb heat in the day and reflects heat out at night. The following figure explores the visual appearance of the Biomes.
The Rainforest Biome is the largest rainforest in captivity at 200 metres long, 100 metres wide and 50 metres high. As previously mentioned the hexagonal and pentagonal cells are filled with ETFE recycled plastic, like cling-film, which are filled with air, forming an fantastically insulated environment, providing maximum sunlight, mimicking a rainforest environment but in Cornwall.
On arrival into the Rainforest Biome, the environment is sectioned into four different rainforests each inspired by a different part of the world - Tropical Islands, Tropical South America, Southeast Asia, and West Africa, each illustrating a story of the local biodiversity of the plants and people who reside in each location. There is also a deeper story behind the Rainforest Biome, as a piece of rainforest the same size as the Biome is deforested every twelve seconds, not only do these rainforests across the globe provide habitat for native species of fauna and flora, but provide livelihoods for people within those regions, keeping the global climate four degrees cooler than it would be other wise.
The Mediterranean Biome, the smaller of the two Biomes, is filled with wonderfully aromatic plants, which can be experienced and enjoyed through the senses, native to Western Australia, South Africa, California and the Mediterranean Basin, which typically have a fierce hot summer and a cool dry winter. This Biome focuses on how plants have evolved to adapt to these harsh climates, and the crops - vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs which grow in these locations. The copper sculpture of Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of fruit and vegetation, reminding visitors of the balance of cultivation and vegetation needed for Earth to thrive.
Since opening in March 2001, the message behind The Eden Project is ultimately bigger than the diverse environments it provides, connecting people with the natural world in the UK and across the globe on a mass scale, whilst celebrating plants and the natural world, reconnecting people with these, and regenerating landscapes.
Below are some of the early sketches of The Eden Project and before and afters.
Comments
Post a Comment