The facts about the construction of the biomes,
the visitor centre and landscaping of the old disused china clay pit in which it
is located are amazing. This is why 500,000 people came to visit during
the year 2000, before the Eden project was even open. Now it has been
opened Eden has averaged 1.8million visitors per year. The giant lean-to
conservatories have been filled with 4,500 different species of plants from the
humid rainforest and warm temperate regions of the world. The giant
amphitheatre has been landscaped and planted.
The facts about the construction of the biomes,
(which are the largest geodesic lean-to conservatories in the world) and the
site are breathtaking.
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How
are the Biomes constructed?
The Biomes are made up of hexagons that are approximately 9m across. The frame
is galvanised tubular steel glazed with a triple layer of ETFE (Ethylene Tetra
Fluoro Ethylene Co-Polymer) foil. ETFE is a transparent, recyclable foil and
should last for at least 30 years. It is self cleaning as it is anti static. It
is very strong, transparent to UV light, and is not degraded by sunlight. The
whole structure is guaranteed maintenance free for at least 25 years.
How
big are the Biomes?
The Humid Tropics Biome is 55 metres high, 100 metres wide, 200 metres
long and covers an area of
15,590 square metres (1.55 hectares)
The Warm Temperate Biome is 35 metres high, 65 metres wide, 135 metres long and
covers an area of
6,540 metre square (0.65 hectares)
Maintaining the climate in the covered Biomes
The Climatic control is run by a sophisticated computerised systems for
automatic ventilation and heating. This is assisted by:
- Having
good insulation to conserve heat, and therefore energy. The three layers of ETFE foil within the hexagons are blown apart by air forming an insulating
pillow
- The conservatories are designed as
'lean-to greenhouses'. The back wall acts as a heat sink - absorbing heat
in the day and releasing it at night
- The
plants. They themselves help to control the climate (eg when it gets hotter
they give off more water and cool the air). The more plants there are, the
easier it is to control the climate
- Heating is provided by a combined heat and power
unit. Renewable sources will replace fossil fuels when the Eden Project
can afford to implement the sustainable systems
Water
collection and humidity
Water collected from the roofs of the Biomes is used to water the plants
and create the humidity in the Humid Tropics Biome. The biomes have an automatic
watering system. In the tropics biome overhead sprays of water will simulate
rainstorms and the waterfall will help to create high humidity
The Eden Project site
The Total Site has an Area of 502,022 metres square (50 hectares). Of this
97,843 metres square (10 hectares) is landscaped, 1,231 metres square is
formed into a Lake and the Amphitheatre has an Area of 2,282 metres square
(stage 700 mtr sq) and seats 2109 people
The plants
There are about 135,000 plants of 4,500 species in the biomes. The Plants
are raised in the nearby Eden Project nursery. These are grown from seed
and cuttings and brought in from nurseries, research stations, and botanic
gardens all over the world. They will take many years to mature and
the ecosystems will go through a series of developments that end in a
climax vegetation. Pioneer vegetation will be steadily replaced by a climax
vegetation (just as would occur in nature) within 15 years. Pioneer species in
the tropics may grow 3 or 4 metres a year in height, (the tropical bamboo, Bambusa gigantica can grow up to 45 cm a day!).
Trees are introduced into the Biomes at about 6m in height.
Animals
in the Biomes?
Certain species of birds (that fit in with the Biome environment), insects and
reptiles, eg geckos are being introduced into the biomes, mainly to act as
biological controls to control the pests
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