Eden Project Biomes

St Austell, United Kingdom, Europe

Completed · Cultural · ETFE Geodesic Biome · Temperate · 2001

Two interconnected geodesic domes enclosing the world's largest indoor rainforest and Mediterranean biome, using ETFE foil cushion cladding — ultralight, self-cleaning, and UV-transmitting — at unprecedented scale and in a geometry adapted to irregular terrain.

Innovation highlights

ETFE foil cushion cladding at world-record scale
hexagonal/pentagonal geodesic steel space frame adapting to variable quarry topography
ETFE panels weigh 1% of equivalent glass — no secondary structure needed
regenerative land use: built in exhausted china clay quarry

Client / Developer: Eden Project
Architect: Grimshaw Architects
Engineer: Anthony Hunt Associates / Arup
Type: ETFE Geodesic Biome

#ETFE #geodesic #biome #structural innovation #regenerative #Cornwall