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Subject: Eden Project
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 22:52:45 -0000 (GMT)
From: Terry Kok |
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Sunday June 18 10:23 PM ET
Scientists Try to Create Eighth Wonder in Britain
By Patricia Reaney
BODELVA, England (Reuters) - Tucked away in a tiny
corner of southwestern England on a
peninsula jutting out into the sea, scientists are
trying to create the Eighth Wonder of the World.
In a huge quarry crater, they are building a garden
containing three of the world's climate zones
under gigantic geodesic domes -- the highest and
largest free-standing scaffolding structure on the
planet.
When the Eden Project is completed in the spring of
2001, it will house more than 80,000 plants in a
cathedral-sized rainforest dripping with tropical
vegetation, in lush Mediterranean groves overflowing
with olive and citrus plants and in the native flora
of Cornwall or the Atlantic woodlands.
The size of 35 football
pitches, it will be the world's biggest
greenhouse -- large enough to
contain Big Ben or the leaning Tower
of Pisa under its domed
ceiling.
Adam and Eve will be missing
but a hissing serpent will remind
visitors of the consequences
of global warming.
``We have something unique,'' said Professor Sir
Ghillean Prance, a former director of Britain's Royal
Botanical Gardens and an adviser to the Eden Project.
Dr Tony Kendle, a restoration ecologist at Reading
University who has also worked on the project,
describes it as a showcase for conservation and
biodiversity.
``It is what conservation philosophy will be about in
the next century,'' he said.
Hidden In Quarry
On the winding country roads of Cornwall on England's
southern-most tip, the geodesic structures --
bigger than the Millennium Dome in London or the City
Palace in Berlin -- are hidden from view in
the former deep china clay quarry and protected from
the coastal winds.
The massive domes, which are due to be completed by
September, seem to sprout up mysteriously
from the harsh landscape as visitors approach what is
still a building site.
Despite its unfinished state, the Eden Project, a
charity and educational institute, has already
attracted up to 4,000 visitors a day during a recent
holiday weekend.
Organizers hope to lure 75,000 visitors a year when
the 80 million pound ($121 million) project is
completed next year, giving a big boost to Cornwall,
which has been designated one of the poorest
areas in the European Union.
``It's a unique after-use of a quarry,'' said Neal
Barnes, the construction facilities manager,
explaining
the unusual problems the site and structure posed.
``It is designed to take maximum advantage of the
sun.''
Before even beginning to build the domes,
construction crews shifted 1.8 million tonnes of earth
and
designed a drainage and recycling system to handle
the 20,000 bathfuls of water a day that come on
to the site.
The project founders selected architects Nicholas
Grimshaw & Partners, creators of London's
international train terminal at Waterloo station, to
design the covered domes or ``biomes.''
The structure spans 110 meters (361 ft) at its widest
point with no internal supports. The builders
chose a material called ETFE (ethyl tetra fluoro
ethylene) to cover each hexagonal panel because it
is lighter than glass and not degraded by sunlight.
``It is extremely strong, very lightweight and more
transparent than glass, anti-static and
self-cleaning,'' said Barnes. ``It is also expected
to last at least 25 years.''
Three layers of ETFE are welded together at the edges
to form huge pillows that are inflated two
meters (6.5 feet) deep. Each pillow is strong enough
to hold the weight of a rugby team and bigger
than a London taxi cab.
Brainchild Of Scientists
As inspiring as the structures are, the real focus of
the Eden Project is the tens of thousands of plants
they will contain. The project's mission is to
promote an understanding of the importance of plants
and their relationship to humans.
It was the brainchild of scientists Philip McMillan
Browse, Peter Thoday and Tim Smit (eds: correct)
who were working on the restoration of the lost
gardens of Heligan in Cornwall.
``This project is driven by individuals -- by the
people who dreamt up the idea,'' said McMillan
Browse.
Over countless pints of beer in country pubs they
hatched the idea.
It was originally designed to attract more tourists
to the rural area, economically blighted by the loss
of local industry and increasingly dependent on
vacationers who flock to its unspoiled beaches and
countryside.
``We decided we had to do something pretty big and
thought 'Why don't we build the biggest
greenhouse in the world?''' said McMillan Browse,
still bubbling with the enthusiasm that sparked the
project.
``It is a botanical garden for the 21st century.''
Against the odds and without a formal board or
bureaucratic committees, the original triumvirate and
a dedicated team secured a 37.5 million pound grant
from Britain's Millennium Commission in
October 1998 and were on their way.
In contrast to the Millennium Dome -- the 758 million
pound highly criticized London attraction that
has had difficulty enticing tourists -- Eden's team
has been taken aback by the stream of visitors to
the building site.
The Eden Project will close temporarily in September
to allow the scientists to begin transferring the
plants they have been growing for the past two years
in a nearby nursery in preparation for the
opening next spring.
When the human tropics, warm temperate and temperate
biomes -- plus a visitor center, restaurant,
outdoor amphitheater, classrooms and a host of
educational ploys incorporating science with theater,
art and music -- are complete, the Eden team hope
visitors will be inspired by what they find.
``We will be a powerful magnet in bringing people to
Cornwall and to Britain,'' Thoday said.
_
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