The Revelation of the Eden Project

With the development of various social undertakings, people are now in an era of modernization. However, the rapidly-developed society, in fact, puts on the great burden to the earth and environment due to excessive waste and pollution. As a result, it is of great significance for human beings to obtain the conception of sustainability. With years of progress, numerous projects are aiming to set a good example for the future development, among which a great and fruitful one is the Eden Project. In fact, this program is the biggest greenhouse in the world and its original intention is created because of a sudden rainstorm. Designed by Tim Smit, architected by Nicholas Grimshaw and inspired by Nature and Sustainable Development, the Eden Project is a complex real greenhouse project of 50 hectares of extension (Editor of Pirate FM News). It is located in England, and it was opened in 2001 to raise awareness of the general public about the importance of sustainability (Jonathan). The project is still running, however, requires constant human endeavors to create a livable environment on the earth. The still running Eden Project proves that people can’t create a living space without the living things and resources on the land through the three climatic regions in the greenhouse, and thus arousing public’s awareness of sustainability and necessity of continuing efforts on the project.

Honestly speaking, the Eden Project is a wonderful trail for it provides the possibility of sustainability. To begin with, the project has created a completely sealed environment, and thus the creatures inside are all on their own. The huge greenhouse of this project is made of ETFE whose weight is 1% of the glass (Pamela). Besides, this material not only makes sure that the plants in the house can absorb enough sunshine but also guarantees the convenience during the process of construction. At the same time, the huge greenhouse offers high-quality soil and sufficient water. In other words, the conditions of Eden Project provide the living things in it the enough elements to grow up and reproduce. What’s more important and rare is that the internal air and materials in the greenhouse provide adequate living conditions for the plants from different temperature zones to grow well. The designers of Eden Project finish a kind of particular structure where triangles, pentagons, hexagons and polygons form an uneven surface. The special structure makes it easy to apply to different terrains, and that’s why the architectures of the program can be built in Cornwall which was once swept by a rainstorm. Meanwhile, this particular architecting structure also assists to keep the sufficient sunshine for the growing of the plants. To be specific, the curved surface of the greenhouse means that it can absorb the sunshine no matter where the sun is in the sky. Under that condition, the temperature inside the building is guaranteed. Therefore, the plants from different climatic zones can grow well in the greenhouse. Overall, it is quite apparent that the successful practice of Eden Project makes the living creatures from different areas grow and reproduce well in the greenhouse, which creates the possibility of sustainability.

As a matter of fact, the successful practice of Eden Project reminds people of the close relationship between human beings and the living things, resources and environment on the earth, and arouses their awareness of sustainability. In detail, the massive project attracts the attention of the public, and many people come to visit the wonderful greenhouse. Meanwhile, a considerable number of individuals are appealed to spare their own efforts on sustainability. For example, it has been reported that each year, more than 4 million people visit the Eden Project with more than 60 million dollar donation to the study of sustainability (Edwin). The extraordinary architecture, various kinds of living plants from different areas and the huge project placed where there was once heavy rainstorm all draw people’s attention. The enough public concern lays a good foundation for the rising number of the potential visitors. As stated above, there are surely a lot of visitors to the project every year. The close touch with the plants reminds people of the close relation between livings things and environment and the importance of sustainable development. Moreover, Eden Project could also be used as a right and useful tool to educate the future generation. Schools and colleges could gather tours to the Eden Project to educate the further generation about how essential sustainability is for humanity. The growing conditions of the plants in the greenhouse are vivid exhibitions for the visitors to have a general idea about the relationship between the living creatures and the environment. Consequently, visitors will be easily educated that favorable environment can provide better conditions for living things, which can further train people with the awareness of maintaining the sustainable development. In all, Eden Project can be regarded as a happy trail to arouse people’s awareness of sustainable development.

Eden Project is still running, but it meets mechanical and other obstructions, which requires more efforts and energy of human beings on sustainability. As a successful and sustainable case, the project is still running. However, due to the limitation of different elements, it needs more efforts for better development. On the one hand, the photosynthesis and the ratio of CO2 and oxygen cannot be stabilized due to the differentiation of sunlight. There are three ecological biomes in the whole project. In order to create the suitable environment and conditions for the plants, a large amount of sunlight is required, especially in the tropical Biome. Enough sunshine can keep the balance of the ratio of the CO2 and oxygen, and improves the excessiveness of photosynthesis (Eden Sessions). Nevertheless, due to the differences in the sunlight at different times, the quality and quantity of the sunlight cannot be guaranteed. Though with advanced technology to keep the balance of the whole biome, there is still no such technique that can control or stabilize the sunshine. On the other hand, the limited sealing material results in an imperfect isolation of the system which brings all sort of the problems, which proves that the current technology has not reached a perfect level. To be concrete, the project, as stated above, owns three biomes and covers an area of 50 hectares. Besides, the particular architecting structure of the program requires a considerable amount of ETFE, but there are not sufficient materials to meet the requirements. Till now, no such technique can finish the massive project with fewer materials. As a result, the imperfection isolation of the system is almost inevitable. It can be seen that the limitations in technology and resources bring significant problems for the project to run further and smoothly. To maintain its smooth operation, it is of great importance to spare more efforts, time, money and energy on the project.

Based on the above illustrations, it is quite obvious that Eden project has set a good example that people should not only aim to build a space that’s entirely sustainable but also realized that how vulnerable people are at this stage of mankind, and thus they should focus on making the society more sustainable for our future generation. In detail, it is apparent that Eden Project is a happy trail for it uses particular climatic biomes to keep the growing and reproducing of various plants. In that case, the visitors of the biomes see clearly the vivid picture of how closely the living things is related to the environment, and thus obtaining the awareness of the relationship between human beings and living things, environment and so on, which educates people the significance of sustainable development. To sum up, Eden Project is a good attempt for sustainability, and that’s why it is still running. Though it meets some problems and limitations in technology and resource, the issues will be undoubtedly be solved by the joint efforts of human beings. Frankly speaking, the endeavor of only one individual does not actually count, but the efforts of all people will matter greatly. To be accurate, sustainability may not only do good for the current society and the world but also is beneficial for the future generation. The reason why the sustainability is so essential and primary is that it makes sure the possibility of long-term development and reproduction of species. In consequence, though facing a lot of difficulties, there should be no hesitation to keep in mind the awareness of sustainability. Only in a way of gathering all the possible efforts to sustainability, can the earth and the world move forward step by step.