Situated in a hilly area, the large conservatory in the Meise Botanical Garden is somewhat hidden and tucked away. The structure is situated in the heart of the garden, surrounded by trees, behind the leasehold and next to the service building. The conservatory houses a precious and extensive living plant collection with species from climate zones all over the world.
The Green Ark
Realisation of living collection of conservatories with visitors’ pavilion and service building in the Meise Botanical Garden.
Part of the new conservatory will be open to the public and visitors to the botanical garden will learn more about the plants in a new visitor trail. The conservatory doubles in surface area and receives a new innovative addition: the Green Ark. This is an impressive multipurpose visitor pavilion that floats, as if inhabited, between the glass walls of the conservatory. The ark pavilion is a spatial structure surrounded by a roof surface that can be walked on, designed as an elevated vantage point over the greenhouses around it.
Beneath the roof surface is a darker space that looks to the light-rich conservatories. This particular environment has been developed both for exhibitions that delve deeper into the rich plant world and the importance of biodiversity and for the facilitation of seminars or workshops. From the pavilion there is a connection where you can look inside to the seed bank in the adjacent service centre.
The Green Ark is a huge greenhouse complex that will become a safe haven for ten thousand species of plants from all over the world. With biodiversity declining at an ever-increasing rate, Meise Botanic Garden is creating a place to preserve and research endangered species. Unique in the world: visitors to the botanic garden get the chance to take a look behind the scenes at these valuable scientific plant and seed collections.
Spanning 7,600 m², the Green Ark houses over ten thousand plant species, with three specimens of each carefully maintained to ensure their survival for future generations.
The botanic garden has special expertise and responsibility for the conservation of certain groups of plants:
- Balsaminaceae
- Euphorbia (spurge)
- Rubiaceae (coffee)
- Cactaceae (cacti)
Ultra-modern and energy-efficient
In terms of architecture, the Green Ark is also a tour de force. Twenty-two greenhouses of 4, 6 or 10 metres high make up the complex, in which advanced technology ensures optimal conditions for each plant. For instance, there are different temperature regimes and collections from both dry and humid climate zones grow in the Green Ark. Rainwater is collected for use as irrigation water and, thanks to the ingenious structure, energy consumption has been halved compared to the old greenhouses.
Project Details
Project Name: Green Ark
Location: Meise, Belgium
Architecture: NU architectuuratelier and Archipelago architects
Client: Agentschap Plantentuin Meise
Date: 2016-2024
Size: 10280 m²
Status: Completed
The project description is provided by NU architectuuratelier and Meise Botanic Garden.
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