Kew Gardens Alpine House and Master Plans

Kew Gardens has recently gone a step further in its research for protecting plants in the future with the installation of a new alpine house. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects at a cost of three million and designed to provide a sustainable energy efficient growing environment for world- renowned collection of Alpine Plants. It is comparable to the innovative high quality green houses which are traditional to kew and, as the first new glasshouse to be commissioned for nearly 20 years, will raise the profile of the Alpine collection and create a new focal point for this part of the site. The glasshouse is conceived as two back to back arches which create a stack effect to draw warm air out of the building.



Below ground level, air is pushed into a concrete labyrinth for cooling and then re-circulated around the perimeter of the house via a series of displacement pipes. Further environmental control is provided by a unique shading solution based on a fan- like- form similar to a peacocks tail.