Eden Project

"The Eden Project" redirects here. For the musician, see Eden (Irish musician).

Eden Project
Map
General information
TypeMultiple greenhouse complex
Architectural styleInspired by James T. Baldwin's Pillow Dome[1]
LocationCornwall, England
Coordinates50°21′43″N 4°44′41″W / 50.36194°N 4.74472°W / 50.36194; -4.74472
CompletedMay 2000; 24 years ago (2000-05)
Opened17 March 2001; 23 years ago (2001-03-17)
Technical details
Structural systemSteel frame and thermoplastic
Design and construction
Architect(s)Grimshaw Architects
Structural engineerAnthony Hunt and Associates
Services engineerArup

The Eden Project (Cornish: Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit.[2]

The complex is dominated by two huge enclosures consisting of adjoining domes that house thousands of plant species,[3] and each enclosure emulates a natural biome. The biomes consist of hundreds of hexagonal and pentagonal ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) inflated cells supported by geodesic tubular steel domes. The larger of the two biomes simulates a rainforest environment (and is the largest indoor rainforest in the world)[4] and the second, a Mediterranean environment.

The attraction also has an outside botanical garden which is home to many plants and wildlife native to Cornwall and the UK in general; it also has many plants that provide an important and interesting backstory, for example, those with a prehistoric heritage.

There are plans to build an Eden Project North in the seaside town of Morecambe, Lancashire, with a focus on the marine environment.

  1. ^ Baldwin, James T. "The Pillow Dome" (PDF). The Buckminster Fuller Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel. ISBN 0-319-23708-7.
  3. ^ "Rainforest Biome". Eden project. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  4. ^ Morris, Steven (8 May 2020). "Lizards, vines, papayas: working solo in the Eden Project during lockdown". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2020.