Garden of wonders
The Eden Project, located in Cornwall, U.K., is home to the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world. The project is located in a reclaimed Kaolinite (China clay) pit. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The project was conceived by Tim Smit and designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw. The project took 2½ years to construct and opened to the public on March 17, 2001. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The complex is dominated by two huge enclosures consisting of adjoining domes that house thousands of plant species, and each enclosure emulates a natural biome. The domes consist of hundreds of hexangonal and pentagonal, inflated, plastic cells supported by steel frames.The first dome emulates a tropical environment, and the second a Mediterranean environment. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The Outdoor Biome (which is not covered) represents the temperate regions of the world with plants such as tea, leavender, hops, hemp and sunflowers. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The Eden Project includes environmental education focusing on the interdependence of plants and people. Plants are labelled with their medicinal uses. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The Tropical Biome covers 1.56 hectares(3.9 acres) and measures 55 metres (180 ft) high, 100 metres (328 ft) wide and 200 metres (656 ft) long. It is used for tropical plants, such as fruiting banana trees, coffee, rubber and giant bamboo, and is kept at a tropical temperature and moisture level. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
In the Rainforest Biome automated misters moisten the air (90% relative humidity at night, and down to 60% in the day) and ground-level pipes irrigate the soil so you don’t have to put up with the rainforest’s 1,500 mm (60 inches) of rain a year. Its huge waterfall uses recycled water and keeps humidity high. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The main heating source for both Biomes is the sun. The back wall acts as a heat bank, releasing warmth at night. The two layers of air in the triple-glazed windows provide insulation.Extra heating comes from the big grey air-handling units which also help circulate the air on hot days. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The Eden Project operates a green travel plan. Walkers, cyclists and those with combined coach, bus or rail tickets get discounted entry. Over 10% of visitors don’t come by car, and 35% of staff car share or come by other means. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The massive amounts of water required to create the humid conditions of the Tropical Biome, and to serve the toilet facilities, are all sanitised rain water that would otherwise collect at the bottom of the quarry. The only mains water used is for hand washing and for cooking. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The complex also uses Green Tariff Electricity— the energy comes from one of the many wind turbines in Cornwall, which were among the first in Europe. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
In December 2010 the Eden Project received permission to build a geothermal electricity plant which will generate approx 4 MW, enough to supply Eden and about 5,000 households. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The Eden Project has also invested in a portfolio of alternative and renewable energy sources such as: geothermal, solar, air-source heat, biomass, wind and hydro. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
Eden Project staff have planted around 1 million plants of just under 4,000 taxa (species and cultivars). Most are not rare, except for a few that tell stories of the need for conservation. Many were grown from seed in the Project nursery, while others came from botanic gardens, research stations and supporters, mostly in Europe and the U.K. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
In its effort to reduce energy consumption, the Eden Project is committed to using sustainable construction, a Building Management System (BMS) for regulating energy use, high-efficiency boilers, and energy-efficienty lighting. Photo: Nathan Johnson
Garden of wonders
The Eden Project attracted more than a million paying visitors in 2010. As a popular tourist destination, the Eden Project helps to support area businesses and employs 450 full-time employees (600 seasonally). Photo: Nathan Johnson
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