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Fruits of partnership in the gardens of Eden
The stunning spectacle of two gigantic honeycombed space-age greenhouses nestling in the crater of a disused Cornish china clay mine has become a familiar icon on the UK tourist map.

Less than two years since it threw open its ethyltetrafluoroethylene (high tech transparent foil) doors to the public, the Eden Project, a "living theatre of plants and people", has exceeded all expectations, including its own. Pulling in around two million visitors a year, who bring with them knock-on prosperity to a previously depressed hinterland of Cornwall, Eden now ranks among the top British tourist attractions alongside ancient greats like Hampton Court Palace and Canterbury Cathedral.

Visitors to Eden explore the relationship between man and plants through a fusion of science, art and technology, taking in the experiences of the two "biomes", the world's largest conservatories, plus the outdoor landscape, a series of crescent shaped terraces etched into the sides of the 60m deep, 15 hectare crater.

The larger of the two biomes – 55m high and large enough to house the Tower of London – recreates the climate of the humid tropics, with plants from Amazonia, West Africa, Malaysia and the Oceanic Islands. The slightly smaller warm temperate biome plays host to plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and California. Outside, the temperate, "roofless" biome is home to displays of plants that thrive in the Cornish climate. Trails around the pit link art, sculpture and multimedia exhibits, which tell the story of how we depend upon and use plants for food, medicine and construction.



Fruits of partnership in the gardens of Eden The stunning spectacle of two gigantic honeycombed space-age greenhouses nestling in the crater of a disused Cornish china clay mine has become a familiar icon on the UK tourist map. Less than two years since it threw open its ethyltetrafluoroethylene (high tech transparent foil) doors to the public, the Eden Project, a "living theatre of plants and people", has exceeded all expectations, including its own. Pulling in around two million visitors a year, who bring with them knock-on prosperity to a previously depressed hinterland of Cornwall, Eden now ranks among the top British tourist attractions alongside ancient greats like Hampton Court Palace and Canterbury Cathedral. Visitors to Eden explore the relationship between man and plants through a fusion of science, art and technology, taking in the experiences of the two "biomes", the world's largest conservatories, plus the outdoor landscape, a series of crescent shaped terraces etched into the sides of the 60m deep, 15 hectare crater. The larger of the two biomes – 55m high and large enough to house the Tower of London – recreates the climate of the humid tropics, with plants from Amazonia, West Africa, Malaysia and the Oceanic Islands. The slightly smaller warm temperate biome plays host to plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and California. Outside, the temperate, "roofless" biome is home to displays of plants that thrive in the Cornish climate. Trails around the pit link art, sculpture and multimedia exhibits, which tell the story of how we depend upon and use plants for food, medicine and construction.
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Review is published by Rio Tinto, 6 St James' Square, London SW1Y 4LD, England Telephone +44 (0)20 7930 2399 Editor: Cherry DeGeer