THE WORLD'S ONLY INDOOR RAINFOREST

The World's Only Indoor Rainforest

Visiting the unique artificial biomes of the Eden Project in the United Kingdom.

The futuristic-feeling biodomes you see above are known as “the largest rainforest in captivity”, and sit on the grounds of the Eden Project on the south coast of the UK, which is unbelievably hitting it's 25th anniversary this year. While the grounds host an enormous variety of outdoor plant life, the real jewel in the crown lives in the futuristic dome greenhouses, which happen to be the largest of their kind on Earth. Within them, two distinct atmospheres are maintained to replicate environments from around the world. One of the rainforest, and the other of the Mediterranean basin.

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Environmental conditions are closely monitored, no matter what the season. Computer controlled vents and heat blowers act in tandem with the heat storing qualities of the ground beneath and rainwater is collected to feed a system of sprinklers and internal rivers that maintain a certain level of humidity. The roof itself is made of hundreds of hexagonal air bubbles held together with a steel frame. The design maintains structural rigidity while using as few materials as possible. So few in fact, that the air trapped in the bubbles weighs virtually the same as the steel, giving it airship levels of structural efficiency.

Why build something like the Eden Project? You can think of it as a laboratory, where solutions are generated to the many dangers faced by the world’s green environments. Inside, crops such as cork, coffee, tea, rubber, palm oil and others are grown and experimented with.

On the one hand they’re educating the visiting public on the damage done by poor agricultural practices that are often occurring half a world away, and on the other the researchers and scientists on site are working on solutions for industry to improve or eliminate these practises entirely.

Why build something like the Eden Project? You can think of it as a laboratory, where solutions are generated to the many dangers faced by the world’s green environments.

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The land was once a disused clay pit, one of many industrial scars that still gouge the Cornish landscape. Some have said that if you can build a rainforest here, regenerating the Amazon is a cakewalk by comparison.

From the very ground it sits on, the Eden Project is dedicated to regeneration. The land was once a disused clay pit, one of many industrial scars that still gouge the Cornish landscape. Some have said that if you can build a rainforest here, regenerating the Amazon is a cakewalk by comparison. It’s worth remembering that although the largest rainforest in captivity may look impressive in person, an area equivalent to its size is cut from the Amazon every twelve seconds. Needless to say, it’s hard to think of a cause more worthy of the world’s attention.