Concept sketch, In 1994, LUC began work on the Eden Project…

June 14,2024

In 1994, LUC began work on the Eden Project in conjunction with Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners, SKM Antony Hunt, and ARUP. LUC was the landscape designer and masterplanner of the internal and external landscape at Eden, “the living theatre of plants and people”. The Masterplan design started with observations about the former nature of the site as an active china quarry. The zig-zagging paths seen today echo the old haul roads from the china clay extraction, and the levels and spatial arrangement were planned to bring legibility to the site. The masterplanning design process meant bringing everything together into a coherent design, as well as solving technical problems such as stability and drainage. The resulting landform is sculptural to accommodate the scale of the architecture and designed to minimise man-made slope stabilisation. By the project’s completion the space had been transformed into one of the UK’s most popular visitor attractions and a leading educational botanical resource. The Eden Project has reinvented how a botanic garden works, what it is for and who it needs to reach. While working on the project, we collaborated with a number of professionals – from horticulturalists and soil scientists to sculptors and artists. It was a dream project for a landscape architect, and we’re proud that it’s recognised as one of the most exciting projects of the last 100 years. For more information, visit: www.landuse.co.uk