Client: The Eden Project Size: 23,000 sq m Completion: 2001 Cost: £57m Structural engineer: Anthony Hunt Associates Services engineer: Arup Cost Consultant: David Langdon & Everest Main contractor: Mc Alpine Join Venture
The Eden Project is the largest plant enclosure in the world, built in the lightest most ecological way possible. The project is situated in a 15-hectare landscape site, formerly a worked-out Cornish clay pit. It was built in two phases, beginning with a hilltop Visitor Center, which opened to the public in May 2000.
The main focus of the Eden Project is a sinuous sequence of eight interlinked geodesic domes threading around the site, encapsulating humid tropic and warm temperate regions. The centre attracted almost 1,000,000 visitors to its showcase “Big Building”, which afforded visitors a view of the construction of these “biomes”. The biomes are an exercise in efficiency, both of space and material. Structurally, each dome is a hex-tri-hex space frame reliant on to layers. The efficiency of the frame depends on the components of the geometric shapes: steel tubes and joints that are light, relative small and easily transportable. The cladding panels, triple-layered pillows of high performance ETFE foil, are equally efficient, with maximum surface area and minimum perimeter detailing. This maximizes the amount of light penetration while minimizing the weight of the supporting structure.
Source: www.grimshaw-architects.com