1. EDEN PROJECT by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners Shirley Lau Tinna Huang
Assignment 1
EDEN PROJECT by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners Shirley Lau Tinna Huang
Architectural Structures

2. Description Cornwall, England 1996-2000 Multi-domed: Rainforest Biome
Mediterranean Biome
Link building
Core
Designed by Grimshaw Architects
The Eden Project are giant, multi-domed greenhouses containing plants from all around the world
Each main biome has several domes
Each section is connected in the middle by the Link building
Biomes home to different plants and insects to protect the species

3. Inspiration Geodesic system Buckminster Fuller Climatron
Buckminster Fuller developed architectural designs which the geodesic system was more popular. The geodesic concept has the least weight but maximizes the surface area on curve, has a lot of strength
The Eden project was inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic system, the Climatron and the Montreal Biosphere
Climatron
Montreal Biosphere

4. Inspiration
Another main inspiration are soap bubbles. When soap bubbles are linked together, there is a perpendicular line between the two bubbles.

5. Inspiration
Inspired by the connections between bubbles, the domes are connected in the same way. As can see in the picture, at each intersection for the multiple domes, there is a perpendicular line which shows the Biome as a whole

6. Obstacles During Construction
Ground Material
Mostly clay
Need of nutrient-rich soil
There were 2 main obstacles during the construction of this architecture. The first one is that the ground which it was built on. In the beginning, the pit was mostly clay which didn’t have enough nutriments for the plants to use in order to grow. Thus, they needed to build a level of nutrient-rich soil. The way that they did it was by mixing clay waste with composted green waste. Since they still used the clay from the site, it means that they didn’t waste anything. In total, they produced around tons of revitalized soil.

7. Obstacles During Construction
Flooding (result of 2 months of heavy rain)
Solution: sump and mat
Irrigation and plumbing structure
During construction, there was a flooding which was the result of 2 months of heavy rain. In total, there was around 43 million gallons (which is 163 million liters) of heavy rain which was drained into the bottom of the pit. In order to build a solid base for the structure, they built a sump which is a water-collecting pool under the rich soil. Then they laid out a buried layer of matting to channel the rain water and any runoff water into this sump. The mat filters out most of the sediment; generating a source of clean, filtered water. With this rain water, the water is pumped into the structure for irrigation and plumbing. The ceiling also collects the rainfall -> sending it into the sprinklers to keep the air saturated.

8. Dome Structures Hexi-tri-hexi space frame 2 layers:
Outer: hexagons + odd pentagon
The domes are built using steel frame (667 tons evenly spread out) and the structure is tied into the foundations with ground anchors similar to tents. The edge of the dome is the foundation necklace which is an underground concrete wall around the perimeter of structure. It is the only support of the building. Each dome have 2 layers of hex-tri-hex frames. The outer layer are built using hexagons (largest = 11m across) and odd pentagons (random pentagons)

9. Dome Structures Inner layer: hexagons + triangles
The inner layer are made of hexagons and triangles bolted together.

10. Dome structures
In between layers

11. Ventilation system Material ETFE foil 3 layers Layer of air pumped
Adjustable
The ventilation system is done with the pillows using ETFE foil which uses ethylene tetrafluroethylene copolymer. Each pillow is attached to the web of interlocking steel tubes. Each pillow or window is made with 3 layers and air pumped in between them. With the air inflated inside, it creates a 2m deep pillow. They used ETFE because it is light but strong, transmits UV light and it is non-stick, self-cleaning and lasts for over 25 years, which is good for the greenhouse. It is also a better insulator than glass and can resist to weathering effects of sunlight. The pillows can detach easily from its steel frame which makes the replacements more efficient. The air layers provide more insulation without decreasing the amount of sunlight that shines through. It is also adjustable. They pump in more air for cooler days for more insulation. On hotter days, they deflate the pillows for more cooling
ETFE: ethylene tetrafluroethylene copolymer

12. Core structure Inspiration: spirals from plants Structure Material
Don’t think we need to be very specific for the core structure ^^ because the domes are gonna probs take most of the time

13. Mission: Long Term Goals
“Promote the understanding and responsible management of the ritual relationship between plants, people and resources, leading towards a sustainable future for all”

14. Work cited