Eden Project

The Eden Project is a botanical garden in Bodelva in Cornwall, England, about 5 miles northeast of St. Austell. The plant is about 50 hectares and is a significant landmark in the south of England: 2011 it was visited by over one million people.

Facilities

Botanical garden

The Eden Project was created after an idea by the English archaeologist and garden lover Tim Smit in a disused china clay pit near St Austell. From the initial idea in 1995 until the opening of the plant in March 2001, it took six years. The garden is characterized by the two huge greenhouses, each consisting of four the intersecting geodesic domes in the construction of Richard Buckminster Fuller. Here, different vegetation zones are simulated. The greenhouses of the Eden Project are currently the largest in the world.

In the larger of the two greenhouses of the complex a tropical wet and in a small subtropical dry and Mediterranean climate zone is simulated. The goal is to mimic a natural environment to accommodate plants and some animal species around the world over there. The Kaolin even been landscaped, planted and equipped with sculptures. However, the garden is still under construction, expansions within the premises are planned.

By his own testimony of the Eden Project, the outdoor area and the greenhouses contain 100,000 plants from around 5,000 species. Above all, these are useful plants of all kinds Particular emphasis is placed on the presentation and breeding of endangered rare and old varieties to obtain the species and thus genetic diversity of crops.

The project has a retentive and educational approach. Visitors are also their medical use and their meaning brought closer next to the names of the plants for our environment to prevent mankind through education of the destruction of the environment. Regular art exhibitions and events that are related to the theme of nature and the environment, therefore, belong also to the program of the park.

Technique of greenhouses

The designs for the geodesic domes are from British architects Nicholas Grimshaw, the structural design of Anthony Hunt, their execution was carried out by the Würzburg Mero. Covered are the multiple blended together domes with double cushion made ​​of ETFE, a particularly lightweight, transparent plastic. The foil pads were fitted into a construction of standardized, six - and five-sided steel frame elements ( space frame ). The space truss structures overlap no supports a total area of ​​23,000 m² ( 30,000 m² surface area ) and have a height of up to 50 m with a diameter of up to 125 m.

Trivia

• The geodesic domes served as the backdrop for the movie James Bond - Die Another Day.