The Eden Project

The Eden Project is a large-scale environmental complex in Cornwall, located in a reclaimed china clay quarry, near the towns of St Blazey and St Austell. The complex comprises a number of domes that house plant species from around the world, with each emulating a natural biome
Originally conceived by businessman Tim Smit, working with horticulturalists Peter Thoday and Philip McMillan Browse, and Cornish architect and co-founder Jonathan Bal; the Eden Project was developed to ‘explore man’s relationship with and dependence upon plants.’
Owned by the registered charity the Eden Trust, the Project promotes the education and communication of the major environmental issues of the day

The project took 2½ years to construct and opened to the public on 17 March 2001

In the autumn of 1998, work started on collecting the plants which would eventually be housed in the Eden Project's biomes, and on 25 September 2000 planting on site began
The first architect involved was Cornishman Jonathan Ball, who worked with Tim as co-founder of the Project, and then passed the baton to Sir Nicholas Grimshaw. Sir Robert McAlpine and Alfred McAlpine provided construction services for 18 months without payment or contract and loaned Eden a significant sum only to be repaid if the Project was successful
The project has received funding from the Millennium Commission, the South West Regional Development Agency, the Big Lottery fund and the European Regional Development Fund. See full list of donors

Open to the public, the Project’s initial business plan sought 750,000 visitors per year. Instead it welcomed nearly two million in its first year, and by mid-2006 more than 7.5m people had visited Eden. It now draws 1.2 million visitors a year
The Project’s success has spread to the wider region, providing significant regeneration and economic growth to the local community
In addition to its contribution to the local community, the Eden Project has also developed global projects, particularly in the developing world, aimed at sustainable development

Tel: 01726 811911

Find out more about the living places programme guidance in relation to living places programmes and the benefits.

living places has drawn together a number of case studies demonstrating successful programmes and the benefits.