094 BIOPHILIA CASE STUDY HEATHERWICK UNFOLDING GLASSHOUSE
We are often surprised to learn that plants we think of as typically British are far from it. Heatherwick Studios has recently installed a remarkable structure in a West Sussex garden as part of a landscaped narrative that reveals the extraordinary story of the British garden and the provenance of its most popular plants, many of which first arrived on these shores
Clockwise The glasshouse structure features ten ‘sepals’ made of glass and aluminium that are, in warm weather, capable of unfolding like a blossoming flower, allowing the plants within to receive natural sunlight and ventilation
thanks to the ancient Silk Road that developed through trade routes between Asia and Europe which evolved from the second century BCE until the mid 15th century. Rosemary, lavender and fennel, are among the 300 once-alien plants arranged strategically in a meandering pathway through Woolbeding Gardens, each curated
into schemes that represent 12 distinct regions along that route, from the evergreens of the Mediterranean to the scented roses so beloved of English gardeners but which originated in Persia. At the epicenter of this journey is the Heatherwick–designed structure, which features ten ‘sepals’ made of glass and aluminium. In cold
weather, they are closed to protect the subtropical plants contained inside them, but in warm weather, the hydraulically operated sepals open out (a process that takes four minutes) creating a 141 sq m space in the shape of a crown, allowing the plants – including a rare specimen of an Aralia Vietnamensis, plus ferns, umbrella trees, magnolias and bananas – direct access to sunshine and ventilation.
Conceived and developed by the Woolbeding Charity, working closely with the National Trust and Heatherwick Studios, the glasshouse along with its enchanting and educational Silk Road planting is part of the Trust’s ongoing restoration and reanimation of this historic house and landscape. It continues a tradition of remarkable garden structures at Woolbeding that includes a William Pye water sculpture and Philip Jebb’s neoclassical folly.
Client The Woolbeding Charity with The National Trust
Design Heatherwick Studios Landscape Architects MRG Studio
Environmental Engineer Atelier Ten Ltd
Structural and Façade Engineer Eckersley O’Callaghan
Glashouse detailed engineering design and construction Bellapart
Habitat and Garden Design Consultant Great Dixter Charitable Trust
Main Contractor RW Armstrong
RIGHT: RAQUEL DINIZ/HEATHERWICK STUDIO
HUFTON+CROW
HUFTON+CROW
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