France to get world's largest single-domed tropical greenhouse

French firm Coldefy & Associates has unveiled images of their design proposal for the world’s largest tropical greenhouse under one roof. Situated in Pas-de-Calais, France, “Tropicalia” will cover an area of 215,000 square feet (20,000 square meters) featuring a tropical forest, turtle beach, a pool for Amazonian fish, and a one-kilometer-long walking trail. The biome aims to offer a “harmonious haven” where visitors are immediately immersed in a seemingly natural environment under a single domed roof.

Designed in collaboration with energy company Dalkia, the $62-million Coldefy & Associate scheme aims to create a stable 26-degrees-Celsius environment within the greenhouse. To achieve this, the architects adopted a similar solution to Nicholas Grimshaw’s Eden Project, using a combination of structural steel and ETFE plastic technology.

The scheme will feature a “double-dome” of 200-foot x 13-foot (60-meter x 4-meter) ETFE strips forming a pressurized “cushion,” allowing UV light to pass through while controlling thermal conditions inside. A third layer of ETFE underneath the structure will accumulate heat generated by the greenhouse effect to be exploited for thermal energy. In order to further enhance the scheme’s energy performance, and to integrate the large structure with its natural surroundings, the dome will be partially embedded in the landscape. When combined, these measures create an energy-self-sufficient scheme allowing for energy to be redistributed to surrounding buildings.

Read more at ArchDaily (Niall Patrick Walsh)