Heatherwick Studio’s kinetic greenhouse for the National Trust

Built for heritage charity National Trust, the Glasshouse designed by Thomas Heatherwick’s studio for the historic Woolbeding Estate in West Sussex, has a pyramidal 10-sided shape that opens out like a crown to reveal a huge variety of subtropical trees and shrubs introduced to Great Britain via the Silk Road. Among these, there is also a rare Aralia Vietnamensis tree and a mix of ferns, umbrella trees, magnolias, and banana trees.

The greenhouse was created as a focal point for the Silk Route Garden, a new outdoor space in Woolbeding Gardens that date back to the 18th century. The Silk Route Garden has been designed as a 12-step journey that symbolically retraces the Silk Road and its influence on British horticulture.

The structure is made up of ten steel components that support angled glass panels, which aim to resemble the sepals of flowers. On warmer days, these panels, thanks to a hydraulic system, open in four minutes, so as to expose the subtropical plants to direct light and ventilation.