Greener Pastures
The World's Largest Tropical Greenhouse under a Single Dome is Planned in France



IMAGES COURTESY OF COLDEFY & ASSOCIÉS / OCTAV TIRZIU ATELIER
A rainforest in France? The roughly US$62 million Tropicalia greenhouse project in Pas-de-Calais is making that a reality. Once complete in 2021, Tropicalia will be the largest tropical greenhouse under a single dome in the world. The 20,000-square-meter (215,278-square-foot) space will include a tropical forest, turtle beach, waterfalls and an Olympic-sized pool for Amazonian fish. The greenhouse dome is designed to be double-insulated, trapping air and using the greenhouse effect to regulate temperatures at a constant 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The project site was also carefully considered, with the team opting to nestle the greenhouse partially into a hill in order to take full advantage of the soil's natural insulation.
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