Journey to the Core

Core n The central part of certain fleshy fruits, such as the apple
or pear, consisting of the seeds and supporting parts. / The central,
innermost, or most essential part of something (e.g. the core
meaning). / A piece of magnetic material, such as soft iron, placed
inside the windings of an electromagnet or transformer to intensify
and direct the magnetic field. / Geology: The central part of the
earth, beneath the mantle, consisting mainly of iron and nickel. /
A cylindrical sample of rock, soil etc. obtained by the use of a
hollow drill. / Shaped body of material (in metal casting usually of
sand) supported inside a mould to form a cavity of predetermined
shape in the finished casting. / Computing: A ferrite ring formerly
used in a computer memory to store one bit of information, core
memory. / Archaeol. A lump of stone or flint from which flakes or
blades have been removed. / Physics. The nucleus together with all
complete electron shells of an atom.
Reproduced from ‘The Collins Concise English Dictionary’ with the permission
of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1995
Journey to the Core
Our future is built on the choices
we make today. Learning to Live
with the Grain of Nature.
Journey to
the Core
Let’s create a building the
shape of a sunflower and size
of a spaceship to pay respect
to the plant engine that powers
the earth. A fitting place in which
to tell stories, celebrate the
‘secret services’ that keep us alive,
explore some of the big questions
about our relationship with our
world, get stuck in – and even
make tea! Let’s call it… the Core.
Text by Dr Jo Elworthy.
Design: Gendall.
Jolyon Brewis, Susan Durges,
Gill Hodgson, Pam Horton,
Susanne Husband, Sam Kendall,
Dr Tony Kendle, David Meneer,
Georgina Pearman, Tony Potterton,
Justine Quinn, Peter Randall-Page,
Juliet Rose, Jerry Tate, Caron Thompson
Photography: Apex, Bob Berry,
Sophia Milligan and Steve Tanner.
Consultant editor Mike Petty.
Printed on 100% recycled paper which
is totally chlorine free and has the
FSC and NAPM accreditation.
1
Contents
Introduction
The beginning of the journey to the Core
02
Core build
Evolution of the architecture
Nature, sculpture and the architect
Teamwork and sunflowers
Sustainability taken to the Core
The Core use of timber
The copper roof
Watery windows
Seed
Seed’s journey
04
08
10
14
18
20
22
24
28
Core use: The ground floor
Introduction: Up and running
The Plant Engine
The Cycles Tree
Challenge and Solution Cabinets
The Diversity Cabinet
The Water Tank
The Climate Greenhouse
The Plant Processor
The Resource Files
Locker Room Lives
Eden’s Projects
Core use: The first floor
A new way of learning
Biomimicry: Patterns in nature
The Schools Programme
Learning in the loo
52
54
56
57
Core use: The second floor
and the outdoor exhibits
Food for thought
The great outdoors
60
62
Opening and beyond
A grand opening
Over to you… the last word
Eden: an educational charity
64
66
68
30
32
34
36
38
40
44
46
48
50
Gardens for Life
2
3
Introduction The beginning of the journey
‘The brief was to make a world-class iconic building
that helped to redefine education, a building that
stopped you in your tracks and made you think.’
The Core Project Manager.
When the Eden Project was first planned an
interpretation centre was mapped out on the pit rim
and a schools education centre in the base of the pit.
After we got the funding and started to explore what
we could really afford, came the big question: ‘Do you
want an education centre and the second biggest
greenhouse in the world or the biggest greenhouse
in the world and a tent?’ Guess what!
Initially we put makeshift tents (made of saris) in the
Visitor Centre. Lovely but… children found constant
trekking in and out the pit very arduous. We then put
bigger tents up where the Core now sits. It was a great
location: flat, central (well, central when we build ‘the
Edge’) and a perfect landing pad for a sunflower the
size of a spaceship.
The schools programmes grew. The public education
programmes grew. Everyone camped out and braved
the weather. Visitors were also asking us to bring back
some of the exhibitions that delighted the crowds in
the Visitor Centre in year one. We continued to chase
funding for a permanent home. Looking back, we now
realise our good fortune of not being able to afford
a building at the start. Our final functional brief now
read: a building for schools, for our public events
programme and an exhibition hall to take our stories
to a deeper level.
Gay Coley, Managing Director, was working on the
funding proposal to take Eden into the next phase of
capital development. In addition to the needs outlined
above, our site, designed for 750,000 annual visitors,
had been under siege from up to two million people a
year. This new phase included the Core and improved
visitor arrival facilities. In late 2002 we presented our
initial ideas to The Millennium Commission (MC).
They listened, looked interested, and then they went
away. The dream started to feel as if it might happen.
In March 2003, George Elworthy, newly appointed
Core Project Manager, and I discussed the aspirational
brief with architects Jolyon Brewis, Jerry Tate and
their team from Grimshaw, including a five hour
session on how plants worked because we wanted
the building to be an exhibit in its own right. They
listened, looked interested and started drawing up
plans… based on the structure of a sunflower head!
Follow the evolution of their ideas overleaf.
Meanwhile Tim Smit, CEO, Gaynor and George were
asked to go to London for further discussions. The
MC was saying yes but only if we had local support
as matched funding too. They had to meet the
Regional Development Agency (RDA) the very same
day if we were going to meet their Board deadlines.
That journey back west ended up like a scene out of
‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ (M4 closed, train
station closed, u-turns, ‘you are where? Why?’)
but a bedraggled group met the RDA at 7.00am the
following morning and they agreed to put our plans
to their Board.
The beginning of the
journey to the Core
The creation of the Core, Eden’s education centre, was a long but inspirational
journey. The building, which sits at the heart of the Project both geographically
and philosophically, has been designed to provoke curiosity, pay homage to the
plant engine that powers our world, demonstrate collaboration and take Eden’s
message of our dependency on plants to a deeper level. The building was
inspired by natural form, crafted from natural materials and is an exemplar
of sustainability in its approach, design and actual construction.
A month passed and… yes! We had secured the initial
funding. That autumn Peter Cox, Finance Director,
and Dan James, Development Manager, secured
Objective One funds… our ambition could at long last
be realised. Plants had 400 million years to evolve this
structural design, we had two years to build it. Enter
McAlpines JV (design and construction contractors).
A huge thank you to the Millennium Commission
(£10.5m), South West Regional Development Agency
(£2.9m) and the European Regional Development
Fund via Objective One (£1m) for helping us to realise
this dream and to all the team with their passion,
enthusiasm and hard work that enabled us to deliver…
the Core.
Jo Elworthy, Core champion
4
5
Core build Evolution of the architecture
Evolution
of the
architecture
The design of the Core was led by the architects,
Grimshaw. This is a summary of the evolution of the
process from Grimshaw Partner Jolyon Brewis and
Project Architect Jerry Tate. In reality it was much,
much more complicated, but this gives the gist of it.
March 2003
Concept design of
the education centre
March 2003
March 2003
2
We then wrapped the linear building
into a spiral to generate a central hub.
1
We then investigated a linear building
with the circulation on the side.
The dark blue area was the proposed
classrooms. We wanted the classrooms
to be linked to the public exhibition spaces,
but here they are surrounded!
March 2003
However this did not
give a Heart to
the building
5
Three floor plates also enabled the
functions of each floor to be separated
whilst allowing views into all areas.
Beyond the functional brief, we wanted
the building to be as resourceful as a tree.
Our roof would be designed to provide
shelter, filter sunlight, and generate power.
3
March 2003
6
We were aware
of spiral growth
patterns in plants,
and wanted to see
whether we could
use them to inform
the roof geometry,
so Jerry made a
series of study
models to work
out how.
Using the sloping site, we split the
spiral into three levels. The classrooms
are still connected to the exhibition
spaces, but with just enough privacy..
4
March 2003
6
6
7
Core build Evolution of the architecture
March 2003
June 2003
Concept design of the Education Centre.
This timber model shows the structural ‘trunk’ spiralling
tothe ground in the centre. Our original idea was to have
all the circulation at the core of the building.
June 2003
Mike Purvis of SKMAHA (the structural engineers) came to the rescue
with his Phyllotactic calculator after spending the weekend studying a
scientific paper on the mathematical geometry of a sunflower.
June 2003
10
9
7
8
Peter Randall-Page showed us that, in nature, these geometries are rarely
symmetrical. He pointed us towards spiral phyllotaxis, the geometry that
underpins a lot of plant growth. However, the maths still proved problematic.
A new geometry – Phyllotaxis
Our first attempts at the geometry used a symmetrical
grid, which proved to be structurally inefficient. It would
have given beam depths of 2 metres - unrealistic.
14
July 2003
June 2003
12
The new timber structure worked with 0.8 metre beam depth!
We chose a grid of 21 and 34 for the new building grid.
12
11
Developing the roof covering
Originally we planned to clad the whole roof in a series of pyramids,
each one having a rooflight and a solar panel, but this would have
been very costly, and provided more daylight than we needed.
13
We refined this to get the rooflights just
where we needed them, and built a 3D model
using computer-aided manufacture.
August 2003
the interior
October 2003
We looked at the best ways to
divide the
space into rooms, following the
geometry of
spiral phyllotaxis.
8
9
Core build Introducing Fibonacci
Nature, sculpture
and the architect
The Core structure is based on Fibonacci
numbers. Why? To pay homage to nature
and collaboration.
Plants, animals and minerals do it,
sculptors, architects, musicians and
mathematicians too. Do what? Use
patterns based on Fibonacci numbers.
Fibonacci, real name Leonardo of Pisa, came up with
his ‘Fibonacci Sequence’ in 1202 whilst trying to
work out how fast rabbits could breed if given ideal
circumstances! How did he affect the design of the
Core 800 years later?
Let’s start from the beginning: The Biome design
was based on the hexagon – nature’s most efficient
building block: maximum strength with minimum
materials. Hyper efficiency for a bee looking to build
a home fit for a Queen. But not so easy for plants
which grow out from a central point and so can’t use
hexagons – instead they use nature’s other superstructure, opposing spirals.
Opposing spirals? Check out the number of spirals in
a sunflower head, or a pinecone or a pineapple. They
will go in two directions and the number of spirals in
each direction will respond to a consecutive pair in the
following sequence, where each number is the sum of
the previous two…
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610
The sunflower will typically have 34 clockwise spirals
and 55 anti-clockwise. Nature uses Fibonacci numbers
because this efficient formula packs seeds, leaves,
spirals etc in the most efficient way possible.
Nature loves economy!
The maths. If we divide each by the number after it we get:
Golden rectangles and spirals
8
2 3
5
The Core:
‘We decided that the structure of the
building itself should be derived from
the double spiral, and we looked to the
mathematics behind these spirals in nature
to generate the design. We were delighted
to discover that this produced an efficient
and elegant network of timber beams.’
1
Jolyon Brewis, Architect, Grimshaw
Working alongside Jolyon we’ve had internationally
renowned rock sculptor Peter Randall-Page – he too
is a Fibonacci fan and has relished the opportunity
to work hand in hand with Jolyon on the Core building
from a very early stage. Strangely such liaisons in
building design rarely happen, so it has been an
unusual and very fruitful relationship.
1 Golden
rectangles and
spirals.
The remarkable story of Peter’s interpretation of
Fibonacci is on page 24.
2 The Core roof
demonstrates the
Fibonacci influence.
1/1 = 1
2/1 = 2
3/2 = 1.5
5/3 = 1.666…
8/5 = 1.6
13/8 = 1.625
21/13 = 1.61538…
The ratio evens out to 1.618. If the successive
numbers are divided by the number before then
the ratio is inversed, levelling out at 0.618. This is
known as the Golden Ratio – phi.
To get the Golden Angle, multiply the ratio by
360° = 222.5°.
Subtract from 360° to find the measurement of the
angle: 137.5°. The angle between each consecutive
sunflower seed growing out from the centre is 137.5°.
13
The diagrams (right) illustrate how the Golden Spiral
works. This Golden Proportion has been used by
artists, architects, designers and musicians. From
Leonardo de Vinci’s Vitruvian Man to playing cards
and credit cards. All Fibonacci shapes! The pages of
this book are A4, the ratio - 1:1.618. It folds down to
A5 and A6 to A7 and so on – always the same shape
precisely, just a different size. Nothing else works this
way – fold a square in half and you get a completely
different shape.
2
The history of the Core
Illustrated by Alan Clarke
1
150 years ago the big dig for china clay began
3
In 1998 the Eden team approached the
Millennium Commission with a plan
5
We secured £86 million. Fabulous, but the
Education Centre and a Biome had to go
2
150 later a huge hole remained: a great site for
regeneration
4
The team started to map out their ideas
6
In October 1998 the contractors, McAlpines
JV moved in
7
In May 2000 visitors came to watch the
Big Build
9
They loved it but asked for more cover
11
In June 2004 the Millennium Commission
funded the Education Centre. As for the final
Biome, Tim dreamed on...
8
In March 2001 Eden opened, 1.8 million
visitors came in the first year
10
We hired tents for the hundreds of schools
12
Artists and the Eden team briefed Grimshaws,
the architects: ‘Trees, nature’s spirals – and
pineapples’
13
The architects got out their drawing
boards and books
15
The structural engineers made sure it
would stand up
17
Land Use Consultants sculpted the
surrounding landscape
14
The design evolved
16
The environmental engineers looked at
sustainable energies
18
The building evolved
19
Down came the tents...
21
Up went the bridge to the Big Build 2
exhibition
23
Timber roof up
20
In went the team...
22
Muck shift, foundations in, floors up
24
Seed carved and carved and carved…
10
11
Core build Teamwork and sunflowers
What was the skill
you needed most
while working on
this building?
1
Caron Thompson
6
Dominic Cole
Landscape Master planner, Land Use
Consultants: making sure the building
sits comfortably in its setting.
Understanding of scale!
7
Ben Luxton
Sustainable Construction Manager,
Eden Project
Exhibit Projects Manager,
Eden Project
Ability to negotiate.
Va Va Voom.
2
Eugene Sellors
Design Imagineer, Eden Project
Ability to listen and interpret ideas
into visual reality: what people say
and mean are not always the same!
3
Mike Purvis
Structural Engineer (Project
Engineer, SKM Anthony Hunt)
Mathematics.
4
Gaynor Coley
Managing Director, Lead Fundraiser for the Core, Eden Project
Dogged determination and a sense
of urgency - knowing when to grab
the moment and not letting go!
5
Janet Downes
8
Georgina Pearman
Exhibit Content Researcher,
Eden Project
Calm, even temperament. Didn’t
always use it!
9
12
Justine Quinn
Content Research (water exhibit),
Eden Project
My friend Boyce, and others like
him, whose work really changes
people’s lives. He works for
WaterAid in his home country,
Malawi. He confronts the reality
of not having access to safe water
and sanitation seven days a week.
He has an amazing capacity for
empathy, compassion and humour.
And he smiles more than anyone
I know.
1
5
9
2
6
10
3
7
11
8
12
Tamsyn Williams
Still trying to figure that out,
Eden Project. (Editor: organising
everything and everyone!)
To always believe in it, ignore the
fact we’re told it’s impossible and
do it anyway.
10
Who, what or where
inspires you?
Tim Williams
Design Manager, Scott Wilson
Design Management Team.
13
Dr Jo Elworthy
The Core Champion, Eden Project
Who: Firstly a person who quietly
and determinedly made this
building happen, hates to be put
on a pedestal and so will remain
silently totally appreciated.
Secondly, Gandhi.
What: Nature, the whole and
the parts.
Patience.
Jolyon Brewis
Project and Costs Manager’s Admin.
Support, Davis Langdon
Lead Architect, Grimshaw
Being able to read the Project
Manager’s writing and interpret
the meaning.
Interpreter. Taking a group of ideas
from the client and translating them
into an unusual and elegant design.
11
14
Jagmel Grewal
Mind’s Eye 3D Lighting Design,
with Douglas James.
Taj Mahal.
Teamwork
and sunflowers
The Core was built by many people: architects, engineers, artists, scientists, dreamers, contractors,
writers, researchers, craftsmen, philosophers ... a testament to collaboration showing what can be
accomplished when people work together to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
You’ll find their handprints in the Core and some of their reflections here. A sunflower is not a
single bloom but is made of many flowers that together create a landing pad for bees. Another
result of collaboration and why the Core roof was based on the structure of a sunflower.
4
12
13
Core build Teamwork and sunflowers
15
Peter Randall-Page
Seed Sculptor
I have always admired the art
of Ancient Egypt, in particular
Egyptian sculpture; the sense of
internalized energy they evoke is
very moving to me. My admiration
for them has increased: they had no
cranes or power tools yet made
things even larger than my piece
for Eden.
16
Peter Sandover
Architect, Scott Wilson Design
People, especially kids, who
possess an openness and honesty
that we tend to grow out of!
17
Will Jackson
Director of Engineered Arts Ltd
Problems are inspiration, the fun is
in trying to find an elegant solution.
The payoff is watching other people
enjoy what you’ve created. I like to
entertain, demystify and inform –
in that order.
18
Alan Jones
Project Director for SKM Anthony
Hunts, the Civil and Structural
Design Engineers.
I am an engineer because my
father is an engineer – he is a skilled
craftsman working with steel – I
work with pen and paper but I am
equally proud of what I produce.
The Eden Project has been an
inspiration to me for the last ten
years. The opportunity to design
buildings which mimic the greatest
form of all – nature – is an exercise I
feel privileged to have been a part of.
Is there anything you
wish you’d known before
starting this project?
20
Curved buildings are tricky!
21
Jane Knight
Landscape Project Manager,
Design Team, Eden Project.
At the risk of sounding like a real
creep, my first visit to the Eden
Project during Big Build I blew me
away – an awesome achievement.
I can say this as I wasn’t involved!
Luke Greysmith
Project Landscape Architect,
Land Use Consultants
17
21
14
18
22
19
23
Jackie and Jill
Created a hand print earth tile wall
with the helping hands of hundreds
of people.
That we would never find the key
to the ladies portaloo!
23
Peter Hampel
Creative Director, Eden Project.
Good casting! Makes the job
a whole lot easier when you are
working with true artists who
are also real professionals.
24
‘I have always admired the art of Ancient
Egypt, in particular Egyptian sculpture; the
sense of internalized energy they evoke is
very moving to me.’ Peter Randall-Page
13
Design team meetings can last all day.
22
19
Jerry Tate
Project Architect, Grimshaw
Rebecca Adams
Liaison between McAlpines
(contractors), Scott Wilson (design
managers) and the Eden Team
(end users) and ensuring everyone
knew what’s going on.
Steel toe capped boots are much
more comfortable when you wear
a pair of ski socks.
15
Main contractors and consultants
Lead artists
We were all up against it designing
and building the Core and not
everyone was able to send in their
trials and tribulations and so Eden
just want to say thanks to you all ...
you fab people. This is a list of them
and what they do:
Jackie Abey and Jill Smallcombe /
Susan Derges / Rob Higgs/ Will
Jackson / Alan Munden / Peter
Randall-Page / Paul Spooner…
Buro Happold, services
consultants /Davis Langdon, project
and cost managers/ Engineered
Arts, exhibition specialists/
Harings, specialist sub-contractors
on the timber frame/ Land Use
Consultants, landscape consultants/
McAlpines Joint Venture, design
and construction contractors/
Minds Eye 3D lighting/ MJN
Colston, mechanical and electrical
sub contractor/ Nicholas Grimshaw
and Partners, architects/ Parc
Signs, signs/ Richardson Roofing,
roofing/ Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick,
design manager and supervisors/
Sensory Trust, inclusive designers/
SKM Anthony Hunts, structural
engineers/ Waterman Burrow
Crocker, planning supervisors.
And many, more talented people.
16
20
24
14
15
Core build Green build
Sustainability
taken to the Core
We wanted the Core to be a sustainable building and wanted to share the
lessons we learnt whilst building it. Sustainable construction looks at
sustainability in design, in the construction process and in the building’s use.
energy required is that used by the fan to draw air
through the ducts. These ducts save approximately
4MWh of heating and cooling energy a year,
equivalent to 0.5 tonnes of CO2.
4
Waste issues
We explored waste both in the construction process
and in the use of the building.
on site working with the design team and McAlpine JV
(the design and construction contractors). This ensured
the targets (e.g. local sourcing of materials and
maximising inclusivity) were challenging yet practical.
Sussed roof: The Core roof directs all the rainwater to
three egress points. The water comes off at one point,
then 20 minutes later at the next point then later again
at the next. It is then filtered (to remove any copper
runoff) and put into the recycling system.
Water issues
1
It’s about creating a building with a low environmental
impact (green energy, recycled materials etc.) but
equally important are the social issues: creating a
building that is fit for purpose and suitable for the end
user. We’ve won a few awards in the ‘green building’
arena. One of the things we always stress is the
importance of quality and beauty. People take care of
beautiful buildings and aren’t in such a hurry to knock
them down! This relates to the economic part of the
equation too. Cheapest isn’t necessarily best. Good
quality may be more expensive but it lasts longer.
2
Buildings contribute 46% of the UK’s CO2 emissions.
The UK government aims to reduce emissions by 60%
by 2050. Improving energy efficiency in buildings can
reduce emissions by 22%. Our sustainability team
worked with Buro Happold, the mechanical and
electrical engineering consultants, to reduce energy
needs, model then install the most effective heat and
power options, use a natural ventilation system and
employ energy efficient designs. For more information
on what’s best for your home contact:
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.
Making energy: Solar photovoltaic panels (PV)
generate electricity from light whatever the weather.
The system on the Core generates about 20,000 kWh
a year: enough electricity to light an average three
bed-roomed house for over 33 years. This saves over
9 tonnes of CO2 annually. The main petals on the roof
consist of 338 Sharp 80W and 42 Kyocera 40W panels,
these can also be used on domestic housing. At the
eaves are a ring of bespoke Romag 80W glass-glass
laminates. Our panels were supplied and installed by
Solarcentury, thanks to a grant from the Energy
Savings Trust and funding from EDF energy. A digital
read out in the ‘Climate Change Greenhouse’ on the
Ground Floor shows the energy generated.
What is sustainability?
The ability to sustain… the environment, the people in
it and the economy in order to work towards a positive
future. And who decides how to balance
environmental, social and economic issues? We all do.
It’s all down to common sense really.
Where did we begin?
We discussed our ambitions, and using Eden’s
sustainability format (listing, scoring and balancing
environmental, social and economic criteria) worked up
a range of targets and developed a strategy for delivery
CO2 issues
Way back when we started to build Eden it rained
a lot: every day, for the first two months. Soggy!
43 million gallons of rainwater drained into the pit.
Our engineers created a magnificent drainage system
that now collects all the water coming on to the site,
averaging 20,000 bathtubs full a day. We use it to
water our plants and flush our loos.
Sussed loos: The use of rainwater in the Core’s loos
makes the pans look a tad grubby so we’ve put signs up
to explain! The taps in the loos, which use mains water,
are automatic and turn themselves off to save water.
3
We also used targets to ensure the construction team
minimised energy use during the build process
including: switching off lights, heaters and engines
when not in use, fitting timers to the heaters in the
construction offices and using plant-based oils in the
vehicles (thanks to Fuchs lubricants). We also looked
at materials: what they were made of and how far
they travelled to get here.
Saving energy: For insulation we’ve used Warmcel,
made from 100% recycled newspapers. We also have
a lobby: the ultimate in double glazing. The building
has a passive ventilation system. Ducts pass air
underground before it enters the building, cooling it
in the summer and warming it in the winter. The only
In construction: The UK construction industry
produces 72 million tonnes of waste a year. McAlpines
JV worked closely with Eden’s Waste Neutral Team to
use this building as an exemplar for waste reduction
for the construction industry. Waste was reduced by
using a high proportion of off-site fabrication,
specifying the materials used in the build and
segregating and recycling the remaining site waste.
McAlpine JV ran an on-site campaign to help subcontractors reduce and recycle waste on site. The Core
build project recycled 45% of the site waste, meeting
their objectives: a great team effort!
In use: Eden’s Waste Neutral strategy aims to reduce
waste coming on to site, re-use items wherever possible,
recycle the remainder and reinvest by buying items
made from recycled materials or that can be recycled.
We currently recycle about 50% of our waste but are
hoping to reach 80 – 90% in a couple of years. Core end
users explained their waste strategy to the design team
to ensure their needs were incorporated in the design.
Material issues
The building has a timber structure and the roof is clad
in copper. Both were sustainably sourced (more on
pages 18-21). The entrance lobby floor is made from
recycled rubber tyres, the ground floor is recycled
concrete with granite insets and beautiful green tiles
made from recycled Heineken bottles. The first floor is
Marmoleum (kindly supplied by Forbo), made from
linseed oil, wood flour and jute and the Film Room has
carpets made from plant plastic (thanks to Interface)
made from corn starch from sweetcorn. In Jo’s Café
upstairs there is a reused wooden floor.
In 1994 as much as 5% of global greenhouse gas
production from human activity originated from cement
production so we used as little as possible. Where we
had to, we used 50% GGBS (ground granulated blast
furnace slag), a waste product permitted as a
replacement for Portland cement in concrete mixes.
1 The Core build
team.
2 The signs in the
loos.
3 43 million gallons
of water drained
into the pit.
4 One of the
egress points.
16
Core build Green build
Social issues
Ventilation strategies
This building was designed to offer a welcome to all
and to be as inclusive as possible. We worked closely
with the Sensory Trust to ensure a holistic approach
setting high targets for inclusive design.
Buro Happold
Hot summer day
The Sensory Trust, a national organisation, promotes
an inclusive approach to the design and management
of landscape, external spaces and buildings making
them fun and funky for all.
Legislation and beyond…
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 gives
equal rights to disabled people in terms of employment
and the use of buildings and services. The Building
Regulations Part M, 2004, states that, ‘People
including parents with children, elderly people and
people with disabilities should be able to gain access to
and within buildings other than dwellings and to use
them both as visitors to the building or as people who
work in them.’
The Core exceeded statutory legislation. For example,
no public refuges: all fire exits are accessible, (each
floor is on ground level!), larger sinks are provided in
accessible toilets, recessed to provide manoeuvring
space and all toilets and facilities signs are tactile with
Braille and we have a lift too.
Cool winter day
Acoustics
In the planning stages we visited many big buildings:
some you could hear well in, some you couldn’t. We
needed something to absorb the sound and millions of
little holes in the ceiling provided the answer. In the
centre of the building we have created a super sensory
sound experience: an anechoic chamber (without echo)
using padded, slatted walls and a rubber floor. This
leads to the Inner Core where the Seed sculpture
resides…the echo effect in there is an experience
not to be missed!
Educational issues
Eden engaged all those working on the build in the
ethos of the project. Site inductions, posters, toolbox
talks and training of sub-contractors as well as our
Sustainability Award Scheme for subcontractors
helped get everyone involved. The whole Core team
took part in the Construction Skills Certification
Scheme (CSCS).
Eden signed an Ambassador Level Pledge with
Future Foundations: ‘My organisation has reviewed
its activities in sustainable construction and will
report publicly on its progress. We will champion
Sustainable Construction practices and share our
experiences with others.’ 
Eden worked with a number of partners to share
the learning, including Cambridge and Plymouth
Universities, the Cornwall Sustainable Building
Trust and Constructing Excellence to name but
a few. Sharing lessons learnt is an important part
of sustainability. We’re sharing lessons in many
educational sectors: from schools to colleges and
universities and are working with the Construction
Industry Training Board to promote the construction
industry as a career option in schools, colleges
and beyond.
The team are proud of what they achieved in the
building of the Core: from creating new social targets
to the development of a certified supply chain for the
copper used on the roof. We’ll continue to work with
partners to make our buildings safe, inclusive and
sustainable… and we like to push the boundaries in
every new project.
17
20,000 kwh
Photovoltaic energy production
per year in the Core.
Construction flip-book
Cut along the dotted lines, and staple to create your own
visual record of the Core’s construction history.
2
11
12
4
13
14
5
6
15
16
7
8
17
18
9
10
19
20
Staple here!
1
Core build
Flip-book
Staple here!
3
18
19
Core build The Core use of timber
Why timber? It’s beautiful,
sustainable, carbon neutral,
functional and it’s what
trees are made of.
The Core use
of timber
‘The Core represents growth… of plants and ideas
so we would like to base it on a growing structure…
like a tree!’ Eden’s brief (well, part of it!).
1
2
Switzerland. This reduced waste at Eden and the waste
wood in the Harings factory was used to heat the
town’s CHP plant.
Chris Haring, director of the company, loved the
challenge even though it gave him many sleepness
nights, and is very proud of the result. He is a regular
visitor to Eden and presented us with a beautiful 185
million year old ammonite to put in the building.
What is glulam? Glue-laminated timber
Why glulam? It comes in any length, minimises
wastage and is one of the strongest structural materials
per unit of weight, much lighter than steel
The timber is precisely planed into laminations which
have a longitudinal direction to the grain for strength
Knots and weak bits are removed and the planks
stress-graded
The architects took this on board. The roof represents
the tree canopy and the Inner Core, the trunk. The
timber grid shell roof, based on the Fibonacci principle,
provides dappled natural lighting and shelter, and its
PV panels, like leaves, harvest the sun’s energy.
Why timber? It’s beautiful, sustainable, carbon
neutral, functional and it’s what trees are made of.
It gave the structural engineers, SKM Anthony Hunts,
quite a challenge. In the end a combination of
Peter Randall-Page’s (Seed sculptor) knowledge of
phyllotaxy, Mike Purvis’ (structural engineer and
project engineer from Hunts) phyllotactic calculator
and a sunflower head came up with the solution:
asymmetrical spirals, 21 one way, 34 the other.
This was structurally efficient, enabling manageable
beam depths of 0.8 metres. ‘Told you so’, said
the sunflower.
The next challenge was to find a sustainable source
of timber. The trail led to Switzerland and red spruce
(Picea rubens) from certified forests. Here a unique
machine was able to cut and log the trees in nine
seconds without damaging the surrounding saplings.
In all, 1000m 3 of timber was planked, cut, planed and
kiln-dried in a family run timber yard in Hellbuhl.
1–2 The first roof
models take shape.
The roof, which freespans 2360m2, was constructed
from 335 interlocking glulam beams, curved in both
plan and elevation (double curvature). A first in the
UK! The team had to travel to Germany, Switzerland
and Austria in search of the beam-curver and
eventually came across Mr Haring, entrepreneur,
businessman, timber devotee – and beam curver. Each
beam spanned two roof bays. The overall spans of the
roof from the central ring beam to the perimeter varied
from approximately 14 to 28 metres. The longest beam
was 19 metres. Each piece in the puzzle was unique,
making the design and construction rather complex.
McAlpine JV project managed the process, and the
Swiss-based company Harings designed, manufactured
and erected the roof. The whole roof was fabricated in
They are kiln-dried to maximise strength and stability
A cutting tool ‘zigzags’ the end of each plank to form
a ‘finger joint’
A squeezing and gluing machine joins all the planks
together into a long plank
The planks are cut to the required length and glued
together to form a piece the required width. This is
then planed to size and any glue squeezed out
The resulting huge glulam beams are then steamed
and bent – in our case in two directions
And in true Eden fashion we put the roof on before
we built the walls!
20
21
Core build The copper roof
The journey of the roof
1
Blasting
The Bingham Canyon ore contains just
0.6% copper. To extract the it from the
ground, groups of holes 10-20 metres
deep are drilled and filled with half a
tonne of explosives.
The copper roof
At Eden we’re passionate about pushing
the boundaries on sustainable practice –
whether in waste management, energy
efficiency or construction.
Metals and minerals, from wiring to window frames,
are fundamental to construction, and yet information
on their responsible sourcing, provenance and
subsequent chain of custody is hard to come by and,
perhaps crucially, few are asking the questions. Careful
selection can reduce the environmental (and social)
4
Flotation
The powder is passed through a series of
flotations where chemicals and liquids are
applied to separate the minerals from
ground ore. The concentrate produced by
flotation contains about 28% copper.
2
Crushing
The blasted rock is trucked to a
‘crusher’ in the pit - 136,000 tonnes of
ore per day are crushed to chunks less
than 25cm in diameter.
5
Smelting
The concentrate is then pumped as a
slurry 17 miles to the smelter where it is
dried, then melted so it can be separated
into gases (particularly sulphur oxides);
slag (mostly silica and iron) and copper
matte, which is 70% copper.
3
Transporting
The ore is moved from the mine to the
‘concentrator’ by five miles of conveyor
belts. At the concentrator the ore is
crushed and ground to the consistency
of face talcum powder.
6
Anode casting
The copper matte is melted again to remove
more impurities and the molten liquid is
cast into anodes at 99.6% copper. The
anodes are taken to the ‘refinery’ where the
remaining impurities are removed, forming
a plate of 99.99% copper.
footprint of a building considerably, by way of reduced
energy consumption, improved efficiency and recycling
potential, while monitoring the entire supply chain can
also add to its overall beneficial impact.
The iconic copper roof of the Core was sourced from
a single mine with high environmental and social
standards – Kennecott Utah Copper Company’s
Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, USA (owned by our
partners, Rio Tinto) – and carefully tracked through the
production process. As a result of this work, the Eden
Project was awarded a grant by the European Social
Fund (with matched funding from Eden and Rio Tinto)
to fund the Minerals Supply Chain Stewardship project.
7
Transport of cathodes
The cathodes are strapped together in
2.3 tonne bundles, loaded on to trains and
ships for customers around the world.
In our case, they went to the fabricator,
KME, in Germany.
8
Rolling
At the fabricator, the copper is melted yet
again and put through a series of rollers
to form wire, tubes and sheets
9
Our Roof
Copper sheets were transported in rolls
to Eden, cut to shape, and installed on our
roof by Richardson’s Roofing Ltd.
22
23
Core build Watery windows
Susan combines an interest in science, photography,
and nature within her work. She uses a camera-less
technique, by making a photogram (the impression
of an object recorded by light directly on to
photographically sensitive paper) to record
fluctuations in the natural world.
Watery
windows
Susan Derges created a beautiful array of
photograms representing the water cycle
for the windows around the Inner Core.
Susan tells the dark story of what she gets up to
at night… ‘The metaphors of the forest canopy and
seed suggested by the Core and Peter’s sculpture
made me think about the relationship of water – to
trees, life, ourselves. Its ability to transform, sustain,
recycle, and its fluid, transparent nature, gave rise to
ideas about the water cycle and how it could be
shown as a photographic sequence within the circular
glass panels of the solar terrace. I made 17 large
photograms which were fused into 37 separate glass
panels that followed the sequence of cloud formation,
rainfall, rivers and oceans forming and evaporating
into droplets of condensation, ice crystals – and cloud
formation again.
The making of the stream and waterfall windows.
It was a moonless dark night, though with a very
beautiful starlit clear sky. Tamsyn Williams, George
and Jo Elworthy from Eden, my assistant Danny and
myself went to the River Taw in Skaigh Valley,
Dartmoor, at dusk to recce the site, then returned to
the studio to collect the large aluminium plates
(41 x 80 inches) that held the colour photo paper
(Ilfochrome positive paper) wrapped in black plastic
sheeting (for protection from the light).
After dark we returned to the river with the plates,
flash light, torches, clamps and waterproofs. For the
first image we needed two people in the river near
the edge of the waterfall where the stream began to
gather momentum, myself at the side and others by
the bank ready to pass down and collect the
unwrapped plates for the exposure. This had to be
done in complete darkness to avoid fogging the light
sensitive paper. Once in position I fired the flash
exposing the paper submerged just below the water’s
surface for a microsecond. The paper and plate were
then quickly wrapped up. The waterfall exposure
was tricky as the sheer force of the water made it
barely possible to hold on to the plates. With
assistance, I stood on a wall above the waterfall
and leaned out over it to make the exposure.
Back at the studio I washed, dried and examined the
large sheets for any residual debris so that the photo
lab had no problems with material getting into their
processor. The paper was then couriered to the lab
for processing.
When the images returned it was a rewarding
experience to see all of the detail, the force and flow
of the river and cascade perfectly recorded as light
traces within the deep background of liquid shadow
that revealed the atmosphere of the place and quality
of the water. There was a sense that although you
never step in the same river twice, this was a
defining image of the kinds of events that make a
river what it is – a self-maintaining, living entity,
full of complexity and power.
The shoreline prints were taken at Dawlish Warren,
again with members of the Eden team. The resulting
prints provided a great sense of a huge body of water
moving in across the land and the force, sand
movement and fractal qualities of the water. Some of
the images were made in the studio: clouds were
made out of ink droplets moving in convection
currents within a large glass tank and the frost was
made on to glass in a large freezer.
All the prints were scanned through a large scanner
at Blackfriars Contract in Plymouth and files sent to
Dupont in the US for printing on to transparent
laminate. This was returned to Fusion Glass in
London and kiln fired with glass so that the laminate
in between two sheets of glass would fuse together
to become one object.
1-3 River Taw,
Skaigh Valley,
Dartmoor.
4 Sea, Dawlish
Warren.
1
2
3
4
24
25
Core build Seed
Seed
When Jolyon Brewis, from the architects
Grimshaw, was commissioned to design
a new education building for Eden, the
idea arose of a collaboration between him
and me at the start of the design process.
Peter Randall-Page, Seed Sculptor, explains.
Many thanks
Many people have been involved in the realisation of
this project, bringing skills ranging from the ancient
art of the quarrymen to the latest 21st-century 3D
computer modelling.
The challenge with this building, and any associated
artwork, was how to incorporate botanical imagery
in a genuinely contemporary and meaningful way.
Architecture of almost all periods and all cultures is
redolent of plant allusion and imagery. The lotus flower
in the far East, the Acanthus in Greece, European
medieval stiff leaf carving, the list goes on. One of the
major areas of inquiry in my own work has been the
Fibonacci sequence and the golden proportion, and
the way in which plant growth is determined by these
fundamental mathematical principles.
Jolyon’s and I talked about how nature’s love of economy
results in the kind of patterns one finds in flowers, cones
and seed pods and how these patterns can be
rationalised mathematically in terms of the golden angle
and the Fibonacci sequence. It is only in recent decades
that its relevance to phyllotaxis (the study of the
geometry of plant growth) has been fully appreciated.
The design that Jolyon produced had a genuine
connection with plant growth: light and elegant and,
unlike the Biomes, with a definite centre, in botanical
terms the apex from which the primordia emanate.
I had long wanted to make a massive, volumetric
sculpture to be contained within a chamber with
carefully controlled lighting. We began to think of
this central space as a chamber to house a massive
symbolic seed at the kernel of the building; a
distillation of the structural principles of the roof.
Jolyon designed the central core with a double skin
incorporating a circular passageway with low light
and dampened sound to increase the dramatic effect
of moving from the hustle and bustle of the main
exhibits hall to the tranquility of the central space.
The Eden team quite rightly insisted that the granite for
Geologists, quarrymen, stonemasons, engineers,
crane operators, computer experts, mathematicians
and my own inventive and resourceful team (Ben
Adams, David Brampton-Greene, Iain Cant, Matt Diffey,
PJ Dove, Robin Duttson, Jennifer Mullins, Simon
Thomas, Tom Waugh, Dominic Welch, and others);
all have been vital in bringing this sculpture to fruition.
Thanks above all to Simon and Virginia Robertson for
funding the whole venture.
The Eden team quite rightly insisted that the granite for
the sculpture should be Cornish. There are thousands
of granite quarries in Cornwall, most of them disused.
I visited dozens, many of them abandoned, in search
of the right stone, large enough for the work to be
carved from a single piece.
Eventually Delank Quarry, near St Breward on Bodmin
Moor, took on the challenge. The quarrymen identified
an area of the quarry where they thought a large
sound block might be found. Drilling, splitting and
blasting, they removed hundreds of tonnes of granite,
eventually leaving a massive megalith five metres
high. A small charge of gunpowder released the
167-tonne block from the bed of the quarry.
The largest crane in Europe, fresh from its exploits
during the building of Arsenal’s new stadium, was
then assembled on site, arriving in pieces on 30 low
loader lorries and assembled by two mobile cranes.
Once the spectacular job of lifting the block from
the quarry was done, the task of making the sculpture
began. For me one of the most challenging parts of the
process was plotting the Fibonacci pattern of nearly
2,000 circles on to the 3D form. The growth pattern
on which the sculpture is based is organic and bears
no relation to a horizontal and vertical grid, which
made the task particularly difficult. A great deal of
precision went into achieving the overall form and
plotting the complex pattern on its surface.
Nevertheless the final stage of carving subverted
this mechanical accuracy in order to create something
truly organic; an undulating surface underpinned by
mathematical principles.
The sculpture within the chamber will, I hope, be an
object of contemplation and meditation, a still quiet
hub; both fossil and seed.
27
28
28
29
Design evolution Seed’s journey
Seed’s
journey
Can there ever have been such a convoy
through Cornwall?
Many thanks
Over three weeks, 15 artists worked with 500 children
(aged 4 to 16) and their teachers from ten schools in
the Restormel Borough Council area to produce a
brilliant array of large-scale ‘Earthlings’ (if you
depend on this planet to live you’re an Earthling).
They joined the procession with their whale, lobster,
tiger, daisies and even some frogspawn.
Saturday June 9
The great
Great lift
Lift
Seed was lifted by a giant crane on to a low-loader
lorry and fixed with straps.
Thanks to the schools: Treverbyn Community Primary,
Newquay Junior, Fowey Primary, Pondhu Primary,
Lanlivery Community Primary, Poltair, Mevagissey
Community Primary, Doubletrees, Roche Community
Primary, St Columb Minor.
‘When
‘When the
the crane
crane took
took the
the weight
weight Seed
Seed was
was transformed
transformed
from shape into
from
substance.
shape intoWe’re
substance.
used toWe’re
things
used
being
to
bigthings
because
being
of their
big because
size rather
of their
thansize
theirrather
weight.
than
their
Whenweight.
the crane
When
tookthe
thecrane
strain
took
I suddenly
the strain
saw
I it
suddenly
in a completely
saw it different
in a completely
way: that’s
different
the gravitas,
way: that’s
the gravitas,
substancethe
of substance
it. It reminded
of it.me
It reminded
somehow me
of
somehow
a middleweight
of a middleweight
boxer, size being
boxer,
augmented
size beingby
augmented
presence: a by
force
presence:
around athem
forcewhich
around
even
them
belies
which
even
their belies
physical
their
structure.’
physicalTim
structure.’
Smit. Tim Smit.
And of course to the artists: Tom Barnecut, Sue Field,
Ellie Williams, Reg Payne, Jane Atkinson, Jill Hudson,
Clare Summerson, Caroline Cleave, Jo Smith, Charlie
Napier, Jo Tabone, Katy Howkins, Alexis Zelda
Stevens, Corrine Detain, Eileen Pearson.
And to Restormel Council! 
Sunday June 10
The journey
Journeyto
toEden
Eden
At 7.30am, Seed leaves the spectacular canyon at the
entrance to the quarry to make the 20-mile journey
to Eden.
‘Can
‘Can there
there ever
ever have
have been
been such
such aa convoy
convoy through
through
Cornwall? A giant sculpture lashed to a lorry with
yellow straps. Trundling over the River Camel on an
ancient bridge with inches to spare. Flashing lights on
the
on the
support
support
cars.
cars.
Photographers
Photographers
andand
film-makers
film-makers
craning their necks through sunroofs. Cyclists doing
double takes. Astonished children waving from the
roadside. An overturned caravan blocking the A30.
Scorching sunshine. And finally, the epic sweep of St
Austell
St Austell
BayBay
as as
Seed
Seed
goes
goes
down
down
thethe
hillhill
to Eden.
to Eden.
Eight
unforgettable
Eight unforgettable
hours hours
in a 300-million-year
in a 300-million-year
story and
Seed
storyisand
home
Seed
at islast.
home
Well,
at last.
nearly
Well,
home.’
nearly
David
home.’
Rowe,
Head
Davidof
Rowe,
PressHead
and PR,
of Press
Eden.and PR, Eden.
Monday June 11
Monday June 11
Wednesday June 20
Thursday June 21
Journey to
to the
the Core
Core
Journey
The greatest rock show ever
A solstice celebration
From 10.00am, led by 20 drummers from the Dhol
From 10.00am, led by 20 drummers from the Dhol
Foundation, 500 schoolchildren from the Restormel
Foundation, 500 schoolchildren from the Restormel
area follow the sculpture from the edge of Eden to its
area follow the sculpture from the edge of Eden to
main entrance.
its main entrance.
From 11.00am the sculpture is lifted by crane and
From 11.00am the sculpture is lifted by crane and
gently lowered into the central chamber of the Core.
gently lowered into the central chamber of the Core.
We held it in the air for half an hour so the visitors we
We held it in the air for half an hour so the visitors
saw still making their way in wouldn’t miss it!
we saw still making their way in wouldn’t miss it!
‘Today is the culmination of years of planning and
‘Today is the culmination of years of planning and
thousands of hours of work by many people. Not until
thousands of hours of work by many people. Not until
Seed is finally lowered into its specially-designed
Seed is finally lowered into its specially-designed
chamber at the centre of the building will the original
chamber at the centre of the building will the original
vision become a reality.’ Peter Randall Page, sculptor.
vision become a reality.’ Peter Randall Page, sculptor.
Peter Gabriel in concert at Eden, celebrating the arrival
of Seed along with 31 children from Cornish schools and
professional singers Claire Ingleheart and Vicky Abbott
with a specially composed song, ‘The Song for Eden’.
A memorable day in Eden’s evolution with a ‘Song for
Eden’ performance, music and dancing as many friends
and guests mark the installation of a unique art work
and the completion of an education building at the
heart of Eden and what it represents.
‘I’m so excited about this amazing music summer
school as it gave Cornish schoolchildren a unique
opportunity to devise and perform “Song for Eden,”
on stage for thousands of people. Their voices will
certainly be heard!’ Pam Horton, Eden Education
Development Officer.
‘Getting the guest list together for the formal opening
of Seed is a heart-warming reminder of the hundreds
of people it has taken to realize a project of this scale
and complexity. Everybody stepped up to the plate in
magnificent fashion. The formal opening gave us a
really important opportunity to say a huge thank you
to everybody who had contributed and give Seed a
proper Eden welcome as the true heart and soul of
the project.’ Peter Hampel, Creative Director, Eden.
30
Core use: The ground floor An introduction
Up and running
The Core is at the core of our site physically and philosophically and is
an exhibit in its own right, based on the structure of a tree and nature’s
fundamental growth blueprint, the Fibonacci opposing spiral. It is an
exemplar of sustainable design and construction. So, what goes on inside?
Ground floor. This is our main exhibition space where
we delve deeper, asking what our environment does for
us and what we do to/for it. In the Biomes we show
natural environments and stress the need to conserve
them. Here we explore why. In the Biomes we look at
crops and how they shape our world. Here we explore
the issues. We ‘d like to thank all the people we work
with worldwide for the content, and Engineered Arts
and others who helped turn it into a great exhibition
of machines, automata, cartoons, models, artefacts
and a few words. Come and explore!
The Plant Engine: Introducing the free plant ’Services’
The Cycles Tree: On life cycles
The Challenge and Solution Cabinets: On these issues
The Diversity Cabinet
The Water Tank
The Climate Greenhouse
The Nutcracker: On the machine and the wacky world
of processing
The Resource Files: On the big issue questions such as
‘Can the World be Fed?’
Locker room lives: On individuals views
Plus…our wall of hands, a range of visiting temporary
exhibitions and a wall of fridge doors so you can leave
your ideas too! And right in the middle, Seed: our
permanent huge sculpture, a symbol of respect for the
plant world and an icon to promote the sowing of ideas
for the future.
First floor. More exhibition and workshop space,
a film room and home for our schools workshops.
(see page 56)
Second floor. The café, with enticing food and
exhibitions, which overlooks the first and ground floors
and leads onto the solar terrace where you can see the
roof from the inside. The staff offices are up here too,
essential to keep it all running like clockwork. Talking
of which they hear that nutcracker (see page 44)
cracking nuts hundreds of times every day!
The building was designed to be an adventure in
exploration: all three floors are on ground level and
you can see most of the areas from most parts of the
building. Explore!
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33
Core use: The ground floor The Plant Engine
1
2
5
3
6
4
7
The glass ball is a sort
of miniature, artificial
world. In it we grow
plants hydroponically
and try to balance all the
environmental factors
The Plant
Engine
At Eden we look at the crops that provide our
foods, fuels, medicines and materials in order
to reconnect with our world. We also look at
the natural environments: rainforests, prairies,
wild Cornwall…and the need to conserve these
wild places too. There’s many reasons for doing
this but one of the good ones to keep in mind
is that these wild places keep us alive.
Quite important! So we decided to go into it in a bit more
detail on the story. First we read some hefty scientific
papers which explained how the wild places aka planet’s
ecosystems (plants, animals and microbes that make up
the world’s forests, grasslands, seas, cultivated lands
etc) keep us alive by providing resources (food, fuel,
medicines and materials) and a range of ‘free’ services.
Services? You know: providing our oxygen, regulating
our climate, cleaning our water.
The huge glass ball, with its artificial sun, represents
the Plant Engine (eco-systems) that powers our world.
It ‘breathes life’ into eight jars whose puppets
represent these free services. The glass ball is a sort
of miniature, artificial world. In it we grow plants
hydroponically (in nutrient-rich water and mist rather
than soil) and try to balance all the environmental
factors that effect their growth.
Four water-cooled metal halide lamps provide a light
similar to sunshine, the electrical conductivity is
measured to check the nutrient levels, the pH probe
measures the acidity, the temperature has to be kept
around 28°C. It’s very tricky! The real ecosystems
are a trillion times more complicated.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report (the
hefty scientific paper we referred to) released in 2005
after four years’ work by 1300 scientists costing
$24 million, says we’re disrupting these services (big
time) but can do something about it if we act now.
The services (which we get for free) have been valued
at around $33 trillion a year.
1 Climate control. Plants control our climate. They
make rain, control temperature, absorb CO2… and
that’s just for starters.
2 Variety – biodiversity Variety is the spice of life.
Much more on the biodiversity page!
3 Learning facilities – biomimicry Sycamores to
helicopters, leaves to solar panels, bamboo to scaffold:
it’s all been invented already. Imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery!
4 Water purification. Plants drive the water cycle
and make rain. Some, such as bulrushes, remove
pollutants from water.
5 Recycling. Life is a cycle: Plants feed animals.
Dead plants/animals feed bacteria/fungi. Bacteria/
fungi feed plants. It starts again.
6 Cultural and leisure facilities Exercise for the body
and culture: food for the soul and mind.
7 Carbon storage. Plants turn CO2 into building
blocks (wood) as well as energy packages (sugar).
8 Air conditioning. Plants produce oxygen as a byproduct when they turn the sun’s energy into sugar
(using water and CO2 as ingredients).
8
Plant Engine Services
Illustrated by Paul Spooner
34
35
Core use: The ground floor The Cycles Tree
<<
Volcano
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The Cycles Tree
Our Cycles Tree shows the carbon, nitrogen, water and sulphur cycles.
It then takes a look at how we’ve disrupted these cycles. Essentially we
live on a ball in space: the only thing that enters it is sunlight and the only
thing that leaves is heat. Everything else stays right here, cycling round
and round, so theoretically we can’t run out. The trouble is, our escalating
population consumes more every day. Then we throw things away, much
of which doesn’t rot, and our waste builds up. And of course we put more
CO2 into the air, contributing to climate change (see pages 40–43).
In nature it all goes round and round. Years ago a friend and I used to teach nature’s
cycles to the (generally) uninterested. Her cartoons provided a major breakthrough in
understanding… particularly the defecating cow. So here they are in all their glory for all
to share. A huge thanks to Jane Foster for 20 years down the line going through it all again!
As part of our Waste Neutral strategy (page 15) we aim to reduce, reuse,
repair, recycle and reinvest. Efficiency is important too. Take a look at
the Biomes, which use minimum materials to get maximum strength by
copying the honeycomb. Effective cycles, waste reduction, efficient
designs: nature often has the answer!
36
37
Core use: The ground floor The Diversity Cabinet
Challenge and Solution Cabinets
The Diversity Cabinet
We chose three of the services described in the Plant Engine:
biodiversity, water recycling/purification and climate control.
We asked people we work with worldwide how these services
were being disrupted and what, in their opinions, were the
main challenges and possible solutions. We filled three
curiosity cabinets with the information they provided, adding
models and artefacts. Here’s some of the things they said.
What is biodiversity?
Why is biodiversity important?
‘It’s simply life in all its variety and richness. Between
one and two million species have been named, but
scientists say there could be anything between ten to
one hundred million out there!’
Nature is important because we are part of it and it
sustains us in numerous ways.
Biodiversity loss
The Sixth Extinction? 95% of life that has ever
existed is already extinct. There have been five mass
extinctions from the Ordovician (about 438 million
years ago) to the most recent Cretaceous (about 65
million years ago) when the dinosaurs disappeared.
Human population is rapidly increasing, leaving less
room and resources for other species. As a result many
are becoming extinct at between 1000 and 10,000 times
1
greater
than the normal predicted rate (IUCN, Species
Survival Programme). We rely on many of these species
for survival. Ensuring they have space and resources is
not sentimental. It is the only way we shall survive.
Reasons for biodiversity loss
Flies in the ointment. Habitats are destroyed and
resources are lost through agriculture, pollution,
urbanisation, deforestation, overfishing, war, pest
and2 disease, spread of weeds and alien species
and politics.
Essential websites
4
www.barcodinglife.org
www.biodiv.org
www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/itpgr
Saving biodiversity
The code of life. All animal and plant species are to be
given a genetic barcode in an ambitious attempt to help
us identify and understand the bewildering biodiversity
of life before we lose it. Currently less than a fifth of the
estimated ten million species have been formally named
and classified.
2
How diverse are our crops? Of the Earth’s 250,000 to
400,000 plant species, three (wheat, rice and maize)
supply 68% of the world’s calorie intake. From these we
have selected and bred thousands of cultivated varieties
(cultivars). Today we regularly use only a few
favourites. The conservation of crop biodiversity is vital
for our survival. We may one day, for example, need a
new wheat that resists a new pest, disease or climate.
1
5
Rainforest loss. We lose one UK football pitch (0.6ha)
every 1.5 seconds. FAO 1990-2000.
What’s the issue? Life is very adaptable. However,
human impact is causing many species to disappear
and with them the patterns of life, and the outputs
that our lives, economies and societies, depend on.
Biodiversity loss is an issue, because if it goes too far
we will be among its first victims.
The last word ‘If the biota (living world) in the course
of aeons has built something that we like but do not
understand, then who but a fool would discard
seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel
is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.’
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)
Of the Earth’s 250,000
to 400,000 plant species,
three (wheat, rice and
maize) supply 68% of
the world’s calorie intake.
Biodiversity offsets. ‘Biodiversity offsets are
conservation activities intended to compensate for the
residual, unavoidable harm to biodiversity caused by
development projects…(and) may be of value to
business, government, local communities and
conservation groups alike.’ Insight Investment, 2004.
Some conservation groups argue that there shouldn’t
be any destruction of natural habitat in the first place.
International agreements. The Convention on Biology
Diversity (CBD) was ratified at the Earth Summit in
1992. Its goals: the conservation of biological diversity,
its sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of
benefits arising from the use of biological resources.
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture has the same goals as above but
concerns genes of plants for crops.
3
What’s Eden doing about biodiversity? Check out some
of our projects on page 50.
1 The Diversity
Cabinet.
2 Biodiversity, life
in all its richness.
3 The Sixth
Extinction, Man
and his pets?
4 The Code of life.
5 Flies in the
ointment.
38
39
Core use: The ground floor The Water Tank
The World Health
Organisation recommends
50 litres a day. In the UK
on average we use three
times as much. In the
Gambia the average use is
half a bucketful (less than
we use to flush the loo).
3
5
Essential websites
WaterAid
www.wateraid.org
Playpumps
www.playpumps.org
World Health Organisation
www.who.org
1
Challenge and Solution Cabinets
The
Water
Tank
Water is essential for life but it’s a limited
resource. Just 0.01% of earth’s water is
available to meet the needs of life on earth.
2
Humans alone are withdrawing around 50% of it. One
in three people already live in water-stressed areas and
this is set to increase to two out of three in less than 25
years (United Nations). That’s why we decided to find
out more about the issues and solutions and share them
with you in the Water Tank. Here’s a few of the things
we discovered.
Water facts
How many cups? It takes 140 cups of water to grow,
process and bring the tea to your cup.
Blue planet? Of the 1,400,000,000 km3 on earth 97.5%
is salty seawater. If all the world’s water could be fitted
into a bucket, then the amount we could use would fill
a teaspoon.
How much for drinking, washing and cooking?
The World Health Organisation recommends 50 litres a
day. In the UK on average we use three times as much.
In the Gambia the average use is half a bucketful (less
than we use to flush the loo).
Fancy a glass of water? On average a glass of water
has been through seven people before it gets to you
(after being cleaned, of course).
‘The trouble with water is that they’re not making any
more of it.’ Mark de Villiers, Water Wars, 2004
Sea Water Greenhouse
Seawatergreenhouse.com
4
Water access
Access to water reduces ill health, increases incomes
and school enrolments and saves time spent carrying
water (in Africa this adds up to 40 billion working hours
a year!). An innovative South African project provides
the community with water while children play. Their
roundabout is linked to a pump and a tap.
Water, health and sanitation
Since 1981, WaterAid has helped over eight million
people gain access to safe water and effective sanitation
for an average cost of £15 per person.
Washing your hands reduces diarrhoeal diseases
by 40%. Only half the world’s people can access
clean water.
Water technologies
The sea water greenhouse. The camel’s nose is a
convoluted heat exchanger which cools desert air as it
breathes in and condenses out the moisture when it
breathes out. Adapt the design, and voilà – a
greenhouse that converts sea water into fresh water.
6
Virtual water. Water is used to grow, transport and
process our goods. By importing ‘virtual water’
countries can conserve their own scarce water supplies.
Jordan reduces its domestic water use by 60-90% by
importing crops such as wheat.
Shared needs, resolving conflict. The Makhad Trust
work with the Bedouin to help ensure their water
supply. In 2004 an agreement was made between three
tribes, the Djebelieh, Muzeina and Tarabin, for a new
well, paid for by the Makhad Trust, to which everyone
will be allowed free access.
Good Water Makes Good Neighbours. Friends of the
Earth Middle East works with 11 communities in Israel,
Palestine and Jordan that share a common water source.
The project raises awareness about water issues and
helps to create relationships of trust in the community.
Protection. The Ramsar convention is an international
treaty protecting over 1300 wetlands (10% of the total)
around the world.
The Okavango Water Treaty. Signed by Angola,
Botswana and Namibia, protects the river itself as a legal
consumer of its own water.
Water is life. ‘A body of water deserves to be
considered as an organism in its own right.’
Dr Lyall Watson, Supernature, 1973
1 The Water Tank.
2 David washing
his hands with
clean water from
a gourd. Credit
WaterAid/
Alex Macro.
3 A glass of water
has been through
seven people before
it gets to you.
4 South Africa
Playpump scheme.
www.playpumps.org
5 Stories flow from
buckets and water
pipes in the Tank.
6 It takes 140 cups
of water to bring
you a cup of tea.
40
41
Core use: The ground floor The Climate Greenhouse
‘We have the time and knowledge to
act but only if we act internationally,
strongly and urgently. The costs of
stabilising the climate are significant
but manageable; delay would be
dangerous and much more costly.’
The greenhouse effect
If we didn’t have any greenhouse gases the earth’s mean
temperature would be minus 30ºC. Currently our climate
suits us well. But… could it get too hot for comfort?
What the papers say
Stern Report: Government paper, Oct 2006. Reviews
the economics of climate change and proposes a range
of practical ways forward taking a global approach,
with developed and developing countries working
hand in hand. ‘We have the time and knowledge to
act but only if we act internationally, strongly and
urgently. The costs of stabilising the climate are
significant but manageable; delay would be dangerous
and much more costly’ Sir Nicholas Stern, former Chief
Economist and Senior Vice President, World Bank.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC): Established 1988, UN. Evaluates risk of
climate change brought on by humans.
IPCC report part I: The Physical Science Basis of
Climate Change. (Feb 2007). The climate system is
getting warmer; most of the increase is very likely
due to anthropogenic (human) greenhouse gas
concentrations, and world temperatures could rise
by between 1.1 and 6.4°C this century.
1
IPCC report part II: ‘Impacts, Adaptation, and
Vulnerability.’ (April 2007). Impacts of above: hundreds
of millions of people will be exposed to increased
water stress, up to 30% of species at increasing risk
of extinction, negative impacts on subsistence farmers,
increased damage from flooding/storms, increased
diseases... Many in developing countries are far more
vulnerable to the effects.
2
The problem is that our
society is not flexible or
adaptable enough to deal
with the challenges that
are coming from the
changing weather.
3
Eden’s viewpoint
Are you a climate sceptic? The scientific consensus
about climate change is remarkable, but there are still
people who are not convinced. But whatever you
believe about the main causes, no one can disagree
that the climate is changing – it always has. The
problem is that our society is not flexible and adaptable
enough to deal with the challenges that are coming
from the changing weather, and we need to address
those issues anyway. Politicians and insurance
companies are also convinced, and we will see new
policies and new legislation appearing around us.
They just aren’t going to take the risk and assume that
everything will turn out okay if we do nothing. And
then there are the new markets which are going to be
built around energy efficiency and renewable energies.
We can’t see any reason not to work on adaptation,
on saving energy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels:
to lessen the risk, to save resources and to stimulate
innovation. Whatever the cause, climate change turns
up the volume on all the other global issues: famine,
flood, poverty, displacement, disease, conflict, war,
extinctions, energy shortages, water shortages –
problems already ruining vulnerable people’s lives.
We want those problems solved anyway.
So we’re exploring society’s readiness to deal with the
impacts and consequences and supporting initiatives
that address the challenges. Things are already
changing: government behaviour, society’s
expectations. We believe it is a time for new innovation
and new ideas for moving towards a better world.
Tips from the greenhouse
Challenge and Solution Cabinets
The Climate Greenhouse
This cabinet carries the hot topic of climate change and is fittingly designed as a
‘greenhouse’ Researching the content was tricky because the story changed daily! It
still does so, we’ve put a ‘Climate Change News Wall’ next to it to keep things updated.
Here is a mixture of the information you can find in the Greenhouse and on the wall.
4
We’re always asked ‘well, what can we do?’, so in the
Climate Greenhouse we summarised some of the tips
from the press. Basically they said: Switch your TV
and VCRs off, turn the thermostat down 2º (and take
15% off your bill), put a lid on the pan, use low energy
light bulbs, have a shower not a bath, switch off your
car engine in queues, have the correct tyre pressure,
use air con sparingly, don’t drive, share a car, buy less,
buy efficient appliances, buy local food, re-use,
recycle, trade unwanted goods, switch to a clean and
renewable electricity source, offset your emissions and
support your community, support your society,
support the big stuff (listed in the IPCC Report Part III
overleaf). All common sense whatever the weather!
1 The Climate
Greenhouse.
2 Detail of one of
the exhibits from
the Greenhouse.
3 Inquisitive
visitors study the
exhibits.
4 The Greenhouse
exhibit shows fuels
that don’t produce
added C02.
42
43
Core use: The ground floor The Climate Greenhouse
The Edge (Eden’s latest project) will explore
ideas for coping with 21st century
challenges, ranging from revolutionary
energy technologies to ideas about how
we should live and what we should value.
E
S L
IE AB
TR AIL
EN AV
R S
FO IZE
LL PR
CA OF
0
00
£6
What links the rainforests to the cliffs
of Dover? Both store carbon, helping
to reduce CO2 levels.
3 The Sexy Green
Car show featured
cars leading the
way in alternative
fuels.
4 The architects’
visual of The Edge.
Cars the shape of fish… solar cells based on leaves… wool for warming
houses… island fishermen using mobiles, not fuel, to check out the market…
PET bottles for purifying water… C02 pumped into coal beds and empty oil
wells… China going straight from using bicycles to hydrogen powered cars…
These are just some of the many ideas that form the…
1
2
18/1/06 11:56:28 am
Save the coccolith!
The Climate Change Bill
What links the rainforests to the cliffs of Dover? Both
store carbon, helping to reduce CO2 levels. Rainforest
trees make it into wood. Coccolithophores, tiny algae
that live in the surface of the oceans, make it into their
calcium carbonate shells. When they die and sink, it
forms chalk. When the sea gets too warm for comfort
they can’t feed… end of coccolith and end of… The
planet we live on is very complex. We don’t have to
understand it but it is wise to respect it. In our
Greenhouse we made a coccolith from sink strainers
painted white, but the real thing is pictured above.
A blueprint for tackling climate change, published
March 2007. This draft Climate Change Bill, the first
of its kind in any country, and accompanying strategy,
set out a framework for moving the UK to a lowcarbon economy.
Writings on the wall
IPCC report part III: ‘Mitigation of climate change.’
(May 2007) Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced
by, for example: moving to a low carbon economy,
improving energy efficiency, using renewables
(hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy),
nuclear, using gas not coal, increasing carbon storage in
agriculture, afforestation, landfill methane recovery…
Also in the pipeline: carbon capture and storage,
sustainably designed buildings, ‘greener’ cars and much
more. Global co-operation and sustainable development
are required. Incentives and removal of barriers are
important: putting a price on carbon, taxes, financial
incentives, regulations, government support...
Adapt and survive
‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor
the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to
change.’ Charles Darwin. We can change and change
fast … sometimes for the better! Since we made our
Greenhouse exhibit lots has changed: the media
reports, government’s behaviour, business behaviour,
society’s expectations… so do your bit, support the
big stuff and catch the news. At the time of writing
decentralised energy supply systems (local schemes
that reduce energy loss incurred in long distance
transmission) and microgeneration systems (homeowned solar panels/wind turbines etc) were hot news.
This is written in the hope that you may read this ten
years down the line and think that things have moved
on a bit. Fingers crossed, eh?
Eden Project is an educational charity. Your support
helps us to deliver programmes and projects like these:
1 Calcareous
phytoplankton.
Coloured scanning
electron micrograph
of Emiliana huxleyi
(coccolithophore).
Steve Gschmeissner
Science Photo
Library.
2 The competition
launched by Eden
and BT for 16-25
year olds to come
up with potential
climate change
solutions.
4
3
Climate Revolution
The Edge
The Industrial Revolution, driven by fossil fuels, made
many healthy and wealthy but there’s no such thing
as a free lunch. It’s contributing to a changing climate.
The Edge represents the next evolution of Eden. The
new building will explore ideas for coping with 21st
century challenges, ranging from revolutionary energy
technologies to ideas about how we should live and
what we should value. Inside will be deserts, gardens,
an oasis, theatres, festivals and underground chambers:
a new stage to tell the stories about mankind’s past and
our future. It will contain exhibits and events created by
communities, schools, families… you, working with
artists, scientists and great communicators.
A new revolution is coming: building a society that is
not addicted to fossil fuels, making the adaptations
that climate change will bring.
Be a part of it by entering our digital media competition
www.edenproject.com/climaterevolution
EDN1046 A3 Poster.indd 1
Eden’s exhibits
Around the world, individuals, communities,
businesses and governments are rethinking how we
get our energy, how we get around, how we survive…
This is the most radical change in the metabolism of
our society since the Industrial Revolution and it will
need the same ingenuity to solve the challenges that
face us. This is the Climate Revolution. Join us.
We run competitions, conferences, even a Sexy Green
Car Show… showing the latest on offer.
But we have not got the money to build it… yet!
The Edge is one of six projects competing to win
£50m of construction funding from the Big Lottery
as part of the People’s Millions Living Landmarks
Awards. The winner will be decided via a TV vote
at the end of December 2007 on ITV1. So, to build
The Edge we’ll need your vote!
Pick up an Edge leaflet at Eden or visit our website.
44
45
Core use: The ground floor The Nutcracker
The Plant Processor
Otherwise known as The Nutcracker
We wanted to take a closer look at
plant resources: foods, fuels, medicines
and materials, how (and why) they
were processed and the impact of it all.
Someone mentioned it was often like
using ‘a sledgehammer to crack
a nut’, someone else brought up the
impact the machine and the Industrial
Revolution had on our society.
Why package and process food?
To increase shelf life? For convenience? To avoid
tampering? To add value? Did we ever ask them for salt
and vinegar peanuts, Turkey Swizzers and blue
raspberry mushy slushys? Some say industrial
agriculture was designed to increase yields. Others find
low input mixed farming systems produce just as much.
So what else has modern agriculture brought us?
A reliable, uniform crop
A low-cost, large-scale, mechanised system
Cheap global food
Fewer people on the land and more in cities
Engineered Arts suggested we talked to Rob Higgs
from Penryn who enjoys making big, rusty machines
out of scrap. We did and he made us our sledgehammer
to crack a nut, and crack nuts it does! He also made us
a huge self-oiling machine. You can play with both.
Around the processor we take a sideways look at the
wacky, world of processing aided and abetted by Tim
Hunkin, engineer and cartoonist.
‘I think machines are very useful and valuable, but I’m
also trying to criticize the excessive, pointless use of
technology: like dual action electronic jumper bobble
and nasal hair removers or taking half a ton of metal
and plastic on wheels to go and get a pint of milk. The
thing that confuses me is that although I am frustrated
and angered by the largely needless expense of energy
and natural resources, I am also impressed and
fascinated by the ingenious mechanisms involved.
‘So I’m trying to make stuff that satisfies the problem
solving mechanical bit to me, whilst playing with rusty
tools and fire and not squashing too much nature, to
show how much more complicated things have got in
order to make life appear that little bit simpler.’ Rob Higgs
We couldn’t write down everything
that’s around the base of the
nutcracker so we settled on some tasty
morsels from the food section.
Check your calories?
Modern food production (and delivery) uses, on
average, 10-15 calories of polluting fossil fuel energy
for every food calorie produced. The more processed
our food is the more energy it takes to make it.
Do you fancy meals on wheels?
Food miles – in 2002 our food in the UK moved 20.5
billion miles (over 6 round trips to Uranus) and 82%
of these miles occurred right here in the UK. Over half
of the UK food mileage came from our own food
shopping trips. The food miles from overseas may
only represent 18%, but a mile in a plane far outweighs
a mile in a car!
Has this led to:
Farmers getting the short end of the stick?
An increase in bizarre processed foods due to
competition between the food industries?
What shall we do?
Buy local, buy seasonal. ‘The air-freighted green bean
from Africa and the out of season salad grown in
winter with artificial heat in Britain both represent an
unsustainable use of finite fossil fuels.’
From Not on the Label, 2004. Felicity Lawrence,
Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Guardian.
Local food economies
‘We urgently need to shift economic policies away from
such senseless trade towards support for diversified, local
food economies. This does not mean eliminating all trade;
rather, our goal should be to meet our basic needs from as
close to home as possible.’
Helena Norberg-Hodge, Director,
International Society for Ecology and Culture.
46
47
Core use: The ground floor The Resource Files
The Resource Files
Following on from the nutcracker we wanted to go deeper
and ask a few big questions: Can the world be fed, fuelled,
cured, and what about our material world?
So we asked people we work with round the world
and these are some of the things they said. We put it
‘on file’ but as filed things are sometimes forgotten
made these a bit different. No getting away from the
tricky questions and issues here! If you close the file
drawer and walk away, the next file drawer pops
open. Here’s a brief peep on food to whet your
appetite. Come to the Core to explore the fuel,
medicine and material issues.
Can the world be fed?
There are nearly six and a half billion people in the
world. The global estimate of food energy availability
is around 2795 kcal calories per person per day. The
minimum calorie requirement for light physical work
is between 1700 and 2100 kcal per person per day –
depending on sex and age. FAO*.
‘If all the food produced worldwide were distributed
equally every person would be able to consume
enough calories per day, no one would have to
go hungry.’ Bread for the World Institute, 2005.
So have we all got enough to eat?
‘Last year more people died because they were hungry
and malnourished than from AIDS, malaria and TB
combined.’ WHO**.
How do we grow more food?
‘There is no magic in high-yielding varieties alone,
we’ve got to have built-in resistance to diseases and
pests and improved nutritive value…all food that is
produced must come from the land already in
production.’ Norman E Borlaug, father of the ‘Green
Revolution’, 2000.
Essential websites
*Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the
United Nations
www.fao.org
Bread for the World Institute
www.bread.org
**World Health Organisation
www.who.org
Worldwatch Institute
www.worldwatch.org
‘World hunger is created by poverty. Unfair trade
prevents millions of people from working their way
out of poverty.’ Oxfam, 2005.
‘Armed conflicts are now the leading cause of world
hunger with the effects of HIV/AIDS and climate
change not far behind’. FAO, 2005.
How can we address hunger, poverty
and conflict?
‘World leaders can help make poverty history by
ensuring trade justice so people can work their way
out of poverty, debt cancellation so poor countries
can invest in services such as health and education,
and more and better aid so they can tackle poverty.’
Oxfam, 2005.
‘Violence prevention/conflict resolution: Be
systematic. Train and support civilians to monitor
violence, protect mediators, organise gun collection,
publicise human rights violations, negotiate with
militias, and heal war trauma through truth and
reconciliation commissions. Britain must stop
selling arms.’ Peace Direct.
‘As countries work to feed all their people, the message
must be “eat healthy food, not just more food”.’ FAO*.
Do we really need to grow more food?
Is the food we produce healthy?
While the world’s underfed population has declined
slightly since 1980 to 1.1 billion, the number of
overweight people has surged to 1.1 billion.
Worldwatch Institute, 2000.
‘Obesity and diet-related diseases, once restricted to
the west, are escalating in developing countries,
superimposed on precarious health systems.’ WHO**.
So why are many people hungry?
‘World hunger is not created by lack of food but by
poverty and landlessness, which deny people access to
food.’ William Young, author, 2004
‘One of our most important roles is to promote a
diverse diet including traditional foods, which are
generally balanced and high in nutrition.’
Dr Shetty, FAO*.
Oxfam
www.oxfam.org.uk
New Economics
www.neweconomics.org
Peace Direct
www.peacedirect.org
Future Harvest
www.futureharvest.org
Harvest Plus
www.harvestplus.org
The ‘HarvestPlus’ project works on introducing
nutrients to staple foods: Vitamin A precursors (to
tackle blindness), zinc (vital for pregnant women) and
iron (to prevent anaemia).
What about climate change?
‘This is one of the most serious problems facing the
poor of the earth. It needs to be tackled hand-in-hand
with poverty issues. 70% of the people in Africa are
immediately dependent on rain-fed, small-scale
agriculture. Aid should be targeted towards making
small communities more resilient in the face of
potentially devastating decline in rainfall or rises in
temperature.’ Africa Up in Smoke, 2005 report.
What about the future?
‘Challenges such as health, obesity, even access to land
and poverty could be turned round in a few decades
with a fair wind. They are urgent problems, but they
may only haunt a generation or two. The loss of crop
diversity undermines our ability to find new foods in
the future and respond to changing environments. If
we let this happen we may have closed options for all
human generations to come.’ Dr Tony Kendle,
Foundation Director, Eden Project.
‘Use more diversity: A diverse agriculture delivers
a healthier, more nutritious diet. It protects the
environment at the same time as improving people’s
lives. It spreads the risk of catastrophic failure and
famine. Increasing agricultural biodiversity is the
best thing we can do to feed the world in future.’
Jeremy Cherfas, Future Harvest, Rome.
So…How can we help feed the world?
All our voices, the way we act and live, the way we
consume all make a difference.
48
Locker
Room
Lives
We share views and we have our own.
Eden asked four people from very
different backgrounds to share a little
of their lives with you. We asked them
for a portrait of themselves, some items
of clothing, a photo of their home and
their mode of transport, an excerpt from
their diary, a typical fuel they used
(and for what), a typical food, drink and
medicine, their favourite food or drink,
what gift they would give a loved one
and their most treasured possession.
We also asked them some questions.
5
4
2
Victoriano Duarte
Selema Gebaly Awad
Ian Lobb
South American Guarani Shaman
Misiones, Argentina.
Entrepeneur, founder of Fansina
Crafts for Bedouin Women,
St Katherines, Sinai.
Farmer, Cornwall.
Richard Sandbrook,
OBE
Main challenge faced personally
day to day? Trying to balance the
effort and investment required to
care for our animals and crops to
the best of our abilities whilst
attempting to make a profit on the
food that we sell.
Environmentalist, founding
member of Friends of the Earth,
champion of sustainable
development, non executive
director at Eden Project. Died
December 11th 2005, fondly
remembered by all.
Main challenge(s) facing the
world today? To reduce the
insatiable demand and
unsustainable consumption
of the earth’s precious natural
resources. This process is fuelled
by governments and big business
that are continually selling the
illusion that their scheme/product
will make life better, when in fact
the development quite often makes
someone’s life better to the
detriment of another person’s
way of life.
Main challenge faced personally
day to day? My life of
international travel, work deadlines
and too much of what I like to do
led me to have a heart attack in
early 2005. Now the challenge is to
cope with the changes this
precipitated. Keeping fit – less of all
I like and an end to trying to save
nature in quite such an intense
way! Living and working in London
is a challenge. Also keeping in
touch with the poverty reduction
and environmental conservation
trends and then helping to solve
problems both in the UK and in
many other places is a big agenda.
Main challenge faced personally
day to day? To obtain the Gods’
blessing to cure the ill and avoid
different types of conflict.
Main challenge(s) facing the
world today? The Guarani people
perceive a cataclysm (such as flood,
fire, eternal darkness) as the
forerunner of a subsequent
renewal. They have already
experienced climatic changes,
including prolonged periods of
drought (February 2005) which
resulted in huge agricultural losses
and water shortages leading to
dehydration, vomiting and
diarrhoea. These events announce
the possible arrival of a divine
cataclysm and cause concern. Even
more worrying are the advances of
the paper and tobacco companies
on the forest and hunting and
timber exploitation which are
eroding the jungle’s resources.
Main challenge faced personally
day to day? I have received a
reasonable education and want to
be able to help other Bedouin
women to have a better chance in
life to earn money and to have
access to training and education.
Sometimes I am too busy because
I have to travel to 350 women who
live in remote areas of the desert
and I have no transport. I also have
a problem with cash flow because
I have to spend a lot of money on
supplies and it is some time before
I am able to sell the goods.
Main challenge(s) facing the
world today? Living space
and water.
What idea would you put
forward for a better world?
Teach all people to live in and love
and peace.
What idea would you put
forward for a better world?
To motivate everyone to listen to
his advice and the will of the Gods.
1
49
Core use: The ground floor Locker Room Lives
3
What idea would you put
forward for a better world?
The idea that I would put forward
for a better world is that all food
labelling should include honest
information on source of product,
place of packaging, and whether
the item is produced in a
sustainable way.
Main challenge(s) facing the
world today? Without question
four major problems face humanity:
1. As our prosperity and numbers
increase, energy consumption the
world over grows exponentially,
and the justified aspirations of
the poor need to be met, just
maintaining economic development
is a huge challenge.
2. But doing this in a sustainable
way – in ways that do not result in
so much waste (of materials and
energy) or in ways that have less
negative impact on our life support
systems and other living things is
mine and the next generations’
great technological challenge.
3. And this is compounded by the
inequity the world faces – with
enormous differences between the
rich 20% who have over 80% of
the wealth and the poorer 80%
of which two billion have no
access even to clean water.
4. Finally the human, cultural and
religious rights of all people have to
be defended – and that means all will
have to learn toleration and respect
for others – whoever they are.
What idea would you put
forward for a better world?
One significant way to solve the
world’s problems is through the
growth of social entrepreneurs –
people who use markets and
alliances with others to achieve
sustainable livelihoods and human
well being – the ethics of Gandhi
need to spread!
What would you put in your
locker and what would you say?
Send your ideas to:
coreviews@edenproject.com
1 The Locker Room
Lives exhibit.
2 Victoriano Duarte.
3 Selema Gebaly
Awad.
4 Ian, Terry, and
Richard Lobb.
5 Richard
Sandbrook.
50
51
Core use: The first floor Projects
5
4
Essential websites
Forest Restoration Research Unit
www.forru.org
Darwin Initiative
www.edenproject.com/darwinargentina
2
Atlantic Coast and Valleys
www.ncdc.gov.uk/indexcfm?articleid=10906
Green Futures
www.greenfutures.co.za
5
Wild Cornwall
www.theheathproject.org.uk
We’re an educational charity and work
on collaborative projects worldwide to
support and communicate our charitable
aims. You can find out more about them
in the Core and in the Biomes at Eden.
3
1
Eden’s projects
Your support helps us to deliver projects like these…
1
Darwin Initiative Project –
protecting fragile forests.
This project funds Eden to help
conserve the forests of Misiones,
a threatened remnant of the
Atlantic subtropical rainforests
of Argentina, by developing a
sustainable management plan for
the Yabotí Biosphere Reserve.
Logging and intensive agriculture
have left only 5% of this global
‘biodiversity hotspot’, which is also
critical for the survival of the local
Guaraní people.
1
Forest Restoration
Research Unit
(FORRU) NW Thailand
Initiated by Chiang Mai University
to help restore biodiversity-rich
forest ecosystems. Scientists work
with local communities to develop
tree nurseries, plant trees and help
accelerate natural regeneration in
denuded sites in rainforest
conservation areas. FORRU runs
training programmes to share what
they’ve learnt. We exchange staff
and help with training and exhibits.
2
2
Green Futures College –
South Africa
Enrols students from townships,
locally and from the Eastern Cape,
where there is much unemployment,
to study conservation, horticulture
and eco-tourism guiding courses.
This helps conserve the local plants
and habitats, raises awareness of
issues, develops life skills and
provides employment. Our staff
work there and we host their
students here.
3
3
Wild Cornwall, England
Eden is a partner in HEATH
(Heathland: Environment,
Agriculture, Tourism and Heritage),
a project restoring areas of
heathland in West Cornwall as part
of a North-West European initiative.
Eden works with the Atlantic Coast
and Valleys project who help restore
maritime grasslands and reintroduce
the Large Blue butterfly. The
Cornwall Biodiversity Initiative
(CBI) unites local conservation
groups; we stock CBI products in our
shop to support this work.
4
4
PLANTS
A three-year EU-funded
research project; devised a new
technology which aimed to optimise
efficiency and productivity of plant
growth. The PLANTS system is
based on the principle of the
‘communicating plant’; plant signals
are monitored to detect early signs
of plant stress and diagnose the
plant’s needs.
5
5
In PLANTS, sophisticated
microelectronics and software
systems sense and analyse a range
of plant signals and then activate
appropriate treatment. We built an
exhibit in the Core so visitors can
try out the plant controls.
1 Yaboti Biosphere
Reserve.
Partners for PLANTS. Computer
Technology Institute, Patras,
Greece. Tyndall National Institute,
Cork, Ireland. Department of
Zoology and Plant Science,
University College Cork, Ireland.
Eden Project, UK. Funding:
EU Information Society
Technologies programme.
4 Wild Cornwall!
2 FORRU tree
nursery.
3 Green Futures
College Students.
5 The PLANTS
exhibit.
52
53
Core use: The first floor A new way of learning
A new way
of learning
1
Every bit of the Core and every bit of Eden
is about education in the broadest sense.
The first floor. Which you can see from the ground
floor and the second floor is home to the Mezzanine
workshop/temporary exhibition space, the Circular
Gallery housing the ‘Biomimicry’ exhibition, the
Film room showing a range of films and our workshop
rooms: Discovery, Expedition, Seed and Pod and the
Gathering Space which are used by schools and for
public events and exhibitions. The loos (generally for
schools use) contain some fantastic art from local
schools (see page 57) and these are also occasionally
open to the public.
Part of our role as an educational charity is as a
continuous experiment in communication: a test
bed for public education. We’re developing
interpretation and education programmes that aim to
engage, entertain, reach a wide audience and focus on
the big issues by creating moments that inspire the
imagination and linger in the memory. We use one of
the oldest and most tried and tested forms of
communication: storytelling. Stories existed way
before the written word and help to provide a sense of
meaning in a world where fact alone is not enough to
change it. We work with artists, locally, nationally and
internationally, to create ‘signposts’ to new attitudes
and ways of thinking. Our new team, the Pollinators,
act as public performers, guides, storytellers and also
as internal communicators to keep us all connected.
We want to provide a great experience for all ages,
abilities and backgrounds, so we work with the
Sensory Trust to find creative approaches to physical
access and sharing information (www.sensorytrust.
org.uk). Interactivity so often means ‘computer’ these
days. We prefer to communicate face to face where we
can. Do us a favour: help us explore what excites your
imagination and what motivates you to action. You are
all part of this programme, helping to change things
for the better!
1 The Mezzanine.
54
55
Core use: The first floor Biomimicry
David Craddock, Exhibit Design Manager, made the
gallery a bit like an aquarium, only instead of fish he
put in a series of automata, models and images about
biomimicry. Biomimicry? The science that studies
nature’s designs and then imitates or takes inspiration
from them to solve human challenges.
If at first you don’t succeed…
try, try again
1
2
Credits:
Partnerships for Public Awareness (PPA)
grant from Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
School of Engineering, Computer Science
and Maths at Exeter University,
Simpleware Ltd., Skyscan and Exeter
Advanced Technologies (X-AT), The
Centre for Medical Engineering and
Technology (CMET), University of Hull.
www.keithnewsteadautomata.com
To introduce the exhibition Keith Newstead made two
beautiful automata. We gave him the following brief:
‘If you copy nature indiscriminately it doesn’t always
work. Use your intelligence, think laterally and you
may find a solution!’ He came up with a fabulous
model: First, mankind trying to imitate the bird to
make the flying machine and (initially) not succeeding.
Then copying the dandelion to make a parachute with
a little more success!
Patterns in Nature
Models from nature
3
This giant burdock seed is a ‘three-dimensional
photocopy’ of the real thing. We put a burdock seed in
one end of the machine and a ‘giant 3D photocopy’ of
it came out of the other end. Honest, it really did. This
is how it worked. Real objects were scanned using MRI
(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computer
Tomography). These scanners are also used in
hospitals. The scans produced a set of two-dimensional
‘slices’ of the entire object. Specialised software
stacked the 2D slices back together as a 3D image.
Rapid prototyping turned the 3D image into a model
by creating each cross section in physical space, one
after the next until the model was finished. The model
is made from a polymer, Duraform Polyamide.
Biomimicry:
Patterns
in Nature
In the middle of the first floor is a little circular gallery.
It was going to be for ‘back of house’ services but the Project
Manager decided that it would make a great exhibition space.
1-2 If at first you
don’t suceed, try,
try again.
3 Nature’s design:
burdock seed – it
sticks! Inspiration
for: Velcro™. A
naturalist worked
with a French
textile weaver to
invent it.
In the exhibition a film shows the range
of patterns in nature. Take a look around
you, the same shapes keep cropping up
and up.
‘The immense variety that nature creates
emerges from the working and reworking
of only a few formal themes.’
Peter Stevens, Patterns in Nature.
56
57
Core use: The first floor The Schools Programme
Discovery
The loo mosaics were the result of a
collaborative project between artists,
scientists, architects, designers,
constructors, seven Cornish schools
and the Eden Team, facilitated by
a partnership with Creative
Partnerships Cornwall and Plymouth.
The mosaics, which tell the story of
the earth’s water, carbon and
nutrients cycles, were created by
Secondary school students from
Poltair, The Roseland, Falmouth,
Helston, Redruth and Pool Schools
and Doubletrees Special School with
help from local mosaic artist
Michelle O’Connor. As part of the
process the students taught the art
teachers about the life cycles they
had learnt about in science and
taught the science teachers the ways
the story could be communicated
through art. A truly cross-curricular,
creative learning project!
Our schools programme hosts
over 27,000 schoolchildren every
year. We’ve got four workshop
rooms for schools on the first
floor of the Core but in reality
the whole site is their classroom.
Some of the stuff we they get up to:
Key stage 1. A Feast for the Senses. A sensory
adventure of sounds, sights, textures, smells and
tastes.
Key Stage 2. Crazy Chef Challenge. Unravel the clues,
find the plants and collect the ingredients to solve the
Crazy Chef’s Challenge. The prize: a real cake.
Rainforest Rangers Take up the challenge to become
qualified Rainforest Rangers, learning about life in the
forest. The Great Plant Explorers. Link products, plants,
people and places! Unpack the shopping, solve the
clues, find the plants. Trace our global connections.
Don’t Forget your Leech Socks A rainforest survival
adventure.
Key Stage 3. Jungle Connections – Map your
connections to the Rainforest. Investigate how
consumer choices can make a difference. Going to
extremes – Investigate adaptations to life in the
tropics. Look into the implications of a changing
climate for our future. Seed Saviours – Our vital plant
resource is to be preserved in a global seedbank deep
under the arctic ice. The importance of biodiversity.
Which plants will guarantee our future survival?
There are teacher-led visits and Eden trails too:
Eye Spy, Eden and Jungle Eye Spy (KS1), Globetrotters’
Trail and Tropical Tracks (KS2), Design a Plant Challenge
and Tracking the Tropics (KS3), with teachers’ packs for
Science and Design Technology.
You may come across intrepid travellers in ‘Don’t
Forget Your Leech Socks’ trying out their survival
skills in the Rainforest Biome, or young explorers on
a ‘Crazy Chef Challenge’ trekking round the world
to find all the ingredients for the ultimate cake.
1
and is a highlight of working
collaboratively.’ Pam Horton,
Eden’s Schools Education Team.
2
‘All living organisms need carbon.
They need it to make carbohydrates,
fats and protein. They use some of
these chemicals to make new cells
as they grow. They use some of
these chemicals for respiration to
give them energy. We used the
theme of the carbon cycle to inspire
us with our design. We added rain,
wind, fire, fossils, trees, water and
earth to complete our design.’ Year 8
Set 1 Science. The Roseland
Community School.
‘We were overwhelmed with the
quality of the artwork… many of
the team have said they feel
touched and humbled by the
mosaics. They clearly show how
much time and energy was invested,
but also the positive impact on both
staff and pupils. I feel the project
went beyond our expectations
Do our programmes make a difference?
We research and evaluate them in our in-house
research teams and at Exeter University and share
the results. We aim to explore the very nature of
education itself, what we as a society seek from it
and innovative ways of engaging all.
Growing up
We also host up to 10,000 students annually in our
expanding Further and Higher Education programmes
and our Continuing Professional Development for
Teachers. Topics include sustainable construction, food
and agriculture, leisure and tourism, climate change
and sustainable futures.
For more details of all our education programmes contact
shusband@edenproject.com or check out the website.
Learning
in the loo
Art in the loos. A series of stunning
ceramic mosaics can be found in the
loos on the first floor of the Core.
‘This project really does bring
together the elements we are
particularly excited about:
inspiring and empowering young
people, enabling them to work with
top professionals from different
fields, while placing learning firmly
at the very heart of this amazing
new building.’ Ed Whitelaw,
Creative Partnerships.
Creative Partnerships is a
programme managed by Arts
Council England. It gives young
people in 36 areas across England
the opportunity to develop their
creativity and their ambition by
building partnerships between
schools and creative organisations,
businesses and individuals.
Creative Partnerships aims to
demonstrate the pivotal role
creativity and creative people can
play in transforming education in
every curriculum subject for
children of all ages and abilities.
In the south west, Creative
partnerships works in Cornwall,
Plymouth, Bristol and the Forest
of Dean.
For information visit
www.creative-partnerships.com
1 Doubletrees
School.
2 Mosaic detail.
Mosaic masterpieces
Artists, scientists, architects, designers, constructors, seven Cornish schools and the
Eden Team, with the help of Creative Partnerships Cornwall and Plymouth, created these Mosaics.
Created by Poltair School.
Created by Doubletrees Special School.
Created by Falmouth Community School.
Created by The Roseland Community School.
58
59
Core use: The first floor Eden’s programmes
Eden’s international educational project, Gardens for Life, started off working
with 19,000 children and young people, in 74 schools, on three continents creating
gardens, growing food crops and developing international learning resources.
Gardens for Life
2
Kenya, India, UK
1
Mud Between
Your Toes
The world is changing. Children are spending less
time outside: their experience of the natural world is
increasingly virtual. The situation is getting serious.
3
The long-term result: To reconnect with nature, to
reconnect with each other, to nurture creative,
fulfilled citizens and to create robust societies that can
work together for a positive and healthy future.
Muddy things we get up to:
1 Getting stuck in!
2 Building dens
is a great way
to reconnect
with nature.
Image courtesy
of Minnesota
Landscape
Aboretum.
3 Bluebell Tom!
What do you remember about your childhood?
Where were your special places? What did you do
in them? What did you learn about…yourself?
Your world? Your family? Your friends?
Where are young people now learning these
things? Mud Between Your Toes creates opportunities
for young people to get out more, to re-connect with
the natural world and their community – to
experience, understand and celebrate their sense of
place and purpose in the world they live in – locally
and globally. The programme is experimental – a
chance to play with ideas. It encourages creative
approaches to learning and playing in outdoor places
– connecting the global Eden perspective with local
natural environments, homes, families, communities,
school grounds and classrooms.
Will Mud make a difference? Our research team is
working with Exeter University to assess and evaluate
our programmes and see if ‘Mud Sticks’. We’ll let you
know the results.
Stuck in the Mud: our schools programme exploring
local, wild places.
Survive and Thrive: Outdoor activities and survival
skills course for teenagers run by Eden and the
Bishops Forum.
More schools worldwide are getting involved with this
project, which explores healthy diets, food production
and supply chains, interdependence, ethical trade,
global citizenship and sustainable development. The
project helps young people understand global issues
and enables them to take real action on environmental,
social and cultural issues, such as poverty and
sustainable development, in their own country.
1
UK Bristol, Cornwall and
Gloucestershire
Rift Valley of Kenya Laikipia,
Nakuru and Nyahururu
India Mumbai, Pune
1 Mwenja Primary
School, Laikipia
district, Kenya.
The children explored design and
putting artwork into their gardens.
One school shared experiences
of controlling insect pests using
marigolds, so the children in
Kenya responded with their own
methods: burnt goat dung. Their
pests? Elephants!
These pilot schools are based in
rural areas and small towns. The
main objective: to grow food.
Their main concerns: food security,
health and water. The first thing
Melwa Primary School board and
parents did was to dig a reservoir.
These urban schools have up to
5,000 students. They plant on roof
tops, pots, borrowed gardens,
anywhere! They have explored
the links between their food and
cultural values.
2 Khanidivili
Children’s Academy,
India.
E-Dens: Den building at Eden and at home. Upload
your images to www.edenproject.com/dens or
email your images to dens@edenproject.com
3 Penrice School,
St Austell,
Cornwall.
Gardens for Life
Special Places: Remember them? Places we go to be
free, inspired, places where we made friends, built
memories. Special Places is a collection of pictures and
stories that help us to celebrate those places, to remind
ourselves that children need to find their own, new,
special places on the ground.
Across the continents schools link gardening to
classroom activities, their communities and with each
other to share ideas and educational materials, many
through the website. We’re now fundraising to extend
the programme into other areas, creating a membership
scheme and improving IT and educational resources.
www.edenproject.com/gardensforlife
Upload your images to www.edenproject.com/
specialplaces or email your images to
specialplaces@edenproject.com
Thanks to:
2
3
UK Department for International Development and Education and Skills (Growing Schools),
Syngenta Foundation, Future Harvest UK, Creative Partnerships (Cornwall). Science across
the World, Global Dimension Trust (Gloucestershire and Birmingham), University of
Mumbai, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Horticultural Society, Kenya Youth Education
and Community Development Programme, Centre for Development Education (Mumbai and
Pune), University of Exeter (Monitoring and Evaluation) and Cisco Systems.
60
The second floor Food for thought
Food for thought
On the second floor lives Jo’s Café, where you can feed your
mind and your belly. There’s food news on the screens, food
jars, a spice table and a blackboard so you can leave us your
artwork. There are also superfood cartoons.
The food. Our cafés, each with a distinct flavour and
stories to tell, bring you fresh, healthy food, for all
tastes. Eighty three percent of our catering supplies
are purchased from Cornwall. Things we need from
farther afield are responsibly sourced too of course,
such as fair trade and organic tea and coffee.
The food jars. How do you take your (food) medicine?
‘Let your food be your medicine and your medicine your
food.’ Hippocrates. Check out the food jars:  The
Vitamin C jar is full of fruits and vegetables including
red peppers, oranges and rosehips to help you ward off
infections and heal wounds. Another jar contains red
grapes, wine and grape juice to represent the flavonoid,
proanthocyanidin. This antioxidant is good for the
blood and protects against internal and external
stresses. We knew wine had to be good for you! 
61
62
63
Core use: Outdoors The landscape
The team that built our spiral garden were
given the following brief:
Please can you make our
new garden:
Innovative, creative and
not expensive
Rich in texture and
different experiences
Out of natural and recycled materials
Interesting all year round
A bit untidy and a bit quirky!
Safe and enclosed, with nooks
and crannies
1
2
The great
outdoors
1
‘We wanted to enable the geometry of
the building to match the rest of the site.’
Grimshaws, July 2003.
Jane Knight, Eden’s Landscape Project Manager, worked with Dominic
Cole and Luke Greysmith from Land Use Consultants to ensure the
building sat comfortably within the landscape and fitted in with the
overall Eden master plan (designed by Dominic).
‘We made the gardens around the building in keeping with its
architecture,’ said Jane. ‘The Core is covered in copper and the planting
areas have a backdrop of dark stained timber – a great backdrop for plants
with rich autumnal colours.’
Horticultural Supervisor Darren Topps and his six-strong team took only
three months to take the area from a building site to a mature-looking
garden. Today the Core is surrounded by flourishing plant-based exhibits on
health, dyes, paper and timber which surround the beautiful Spiral Garden.
The Spiral Garden encourages children of all ages (from 3 to 93) to explore
their surroundings and discover a bit of garden magic. There are oak,
apple and mulberry trees to inspire storytelling, fly-eating plants, mini
dens, rainbow borders, spirals within spirals within spirals and no ‘keep
off the flower beds’ signs!
4
1 Discover new
garden ideas.
2 Run through
the spiral.
3 Flowers all year
round.
4 What its all
about.
5 Find the
ammonites.
3
5
A place:
For people of all ages and abilities
That can accommodate groups
of up to 35
That can cater for ages 5 to 11
To encourage imaginative play
and interaction
That above all is beautiful,
inspiring and magical.
64
A grand
opening
65
Opening and beyond The Queen
The Core
Our future is built on the choices we make today.
Learning to Live with the Grain of Nature.
Opened on 1st June 2006 by HM Queen Elizabeth II
and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
(From the plaque shown below)
The Core was formally opened on
1st June 2006 by HM The Queen
and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
The sun shone, the Union Jacks and St Piran’s flags
waved and the whole thing went like clockwork. The
royal party spent over an hour with us touring both
Biomes finishing with a stroll to the Core.
We have had many important visitors over the years
and our fair share of royalty and politicians but in
many ways the Queen remains the VIP and we were
delighted to finally welcome her to Eden. As ever she
seemed very knowledgeable and genuinely interested
in what we had achieved in our first five years of
opening and clearly enjoyed Tim’s inimitable welcome
which included the following:
‘When I was a child my parents always listened to the
Queen’s speech on Christmas Day and my sister and I
always had to wait to open our Christmas presents until
after the speech was over, so I am going to have to ask
her Majesty to wait to open hers until after mine.
‘What do you give to the woman who’s got
everything? She’s probably got enough toasters and
we can’t afford a crown. The answer must be
something simple and powerful in its ability to reflect
the range and scale of the county’s natural
environment and the impact of human activity within
it. It should reflect the same underlying assumptions as
the royal “statement of intent” so we are presenting
you with a “Treasury of Worthless Things beyond
Price”. The box of treasures presented contained a
range of natural beauties from our county: a striking
shell, a fancy feather, a perfect pebble…’
Her Majesty prepared a personal message which was
placed under Seed on June 21st 2007, with messages
from local children, where they will remain for
hundreds of years.
The message under the Seed
‘I am confident that the Eden Project will
continue to encourage a better understanding of
the planet on which we live, to offer a vision of
hope for the future, and to inspire us all to work
to make this world a better place for everyone.’
HM Queen Elizabeth II
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Opening and beyond Over to you… The last word
Over to you…
The last word
We‘re keen to know what you think: about the Core, about Eden, about your
ideas for the future. Thanks to all of you who have added your comments to
the wall charts, visitor book, Core comments sheets and IDea cards, many of
which are now stuck on our fridge walls with magnetic letters: here’s a few of
them. Take a look and send in your ideas to coreviews@edenproject.com
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Opening and beyond An educational charity
An educational charity
Your support helps us deliver our public and schools
education programmes and projects. Thank you.
Eden is an educational charity. Eden is a project: a work
in progress, a symbol of what individuals can achieve
working together and with the grain of nature. Eden is
inspired by the belief that the future could be rosy.
• Are building a social enterprise – marrying good
citizenship and sound commerce to demonstrate that
there need not be conflict between ethics and business
and to show how the public and private sector can
work together.
That’s why we:
• Are an experiment in communication and public
education sharing what we have learnt and learn
from others.
• Built Eden in an old china clay pit in one of the most
economically depressed areas in the country: to show
regeneration was possible.
• Use plants to reconnect us and remind us of our basic
survival needs.
• Invest, with your help, in programmes and projects
to make a difference.
• Show solutions people come up with in our
‘Living Theatre of Plants and People’.
• Explore and communicate ways of running
a sustainable business.
• Need your support. Link to
www.edenproject.com/join us for more details.
• Find out more in the Guide Book, the Children’s Guide
Book, Out of Eden and from the Eden team on site.
Core n The central part of certain fleshy fruits, such as the apple
or pear, consisting of the seeds and supporting parts. / The central,
innermost, or most essential part of something (e.g. the core
meaning). / A piece of magnetic material, such as soft iron, placed
inside the windings of an electromagnet or transformer to intensify
and direct the magnetic field. / Geology: The central part of the
earth, beneath the mantle, consisting mainly of iron and nickel. /
A cylindrical sample of rock, soil etc. obtained by the use of a
hollow drill. / Shaped body of material (in metal casting usually of
sand) supported inside a mould to form a cavity of predetermined
shape in the finished casting. / Computing: A ferrite ring formerly
used in a computer memory to store one bit of information, core
memory. / Archaeol. A lump of stone or flint from which flakes or
blades have been removed. / Physics. The nucleus together with all
complete electron shells of an atom.
Reproduced from ‘The Collins Concise English Dictionary’ with the permission
of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1995
Journey to the Core
Our future is built on the choices
we make today. Learning to Live
with the Grain of Nature.
Journey to
the Core
Let’s create a building the
shape of a sunflower and size
of a spaceship to pay respect
to the plant engine that powers
the earth. A fitting place in which
to tell stories, celebrate the
‘secret services’ that keep us alive,
explore some of the big questions
about our relationship with our
world, get stuck in – and even
make tea! Let’s call it… the Core.
Text by Dr Jo Elworthy.
Design: Gendall.
Jolyon Brewis, Susan Durges,
Gill Hodgson, Pam Horton,
Susanne Husband, Sam Kendall,
Dr Tony Kendle, David Meneer,
Georgina Pearman, Tony Potterton,
Justine Quinn, Peter Randall-Page,
Juliet Rose, Jerry Tate, Caron Thompson
Photography: Apex, Bob Berry,
Sophia Milligan and Steve Tanner.
Consultant editor Mike Petty.
Printed on 100% recycled paper which
is totally chlorine free and has the
FSC and NAPM accreditation.