The world’s largest greenhouse: In the south of England, in Bodelva near St. Austell, Cornwall, the “eighth wonder of the world” arches up in a disused china clay mine.

The greenhouses of the Eden Project are currently the largest in the world. Built for the purpose of biological studies and exhibitions based on an idea by the English archaeologist and garden enthusiast Tim Smit, a steel structure was erected in the base of the mine, which is composed of intersecting geodetic dome elements in the design by Richard Buckminster Fuller.

The two dome groups are linked by a connecting structure. The size of the greenhouses (heights up to 55 m) and the special features due to the unusual location made it necessary to venture down new paths both in terms of the supporting framework and the roofing and called for the close cooperation between planning engineers and the companies executing the work.

Due to the high load bearing capacity, steel was used for the supporting structure. The hot-dip galvanised steel from WIEGEL presented the ideal solution for this.

All the structural analyses for this were performed by the company MERO from Würzburg, Germany.