It sure doesn't look like a traditional greenhouse, but it could be the wave of the future. Now on display at the American Philosophical Society Museum in Philadelphia, it's a greenhouse designed by architect & artist Jenny Sabin, a 2010 Pew Fellow who was honored for her work "at the forefront of a new direction in architectural practice."
The 52' long x 14' wide by 12' high structure has no glass and no heating system, but instead relies on an old method of controlling temperature: growing plants out-of-season in 125 brightly colored acrylic cold frames. The greenhouse itself, including the boardwalk floor and the curving ribs, is built of recycled and recylable materials.
The greenhouse is actually part of a series of programs at the museum inspired by a current exhibition on French natural history. Empress Josephine Bonaparte, a skilled botanist, had greenhouses with a glass roofs that were heated by coal and wood. They were built on her Malmaison estate to house tropical plants sent to her by French explorers. Sabin was called upon to build a greenhouse for the 21st century. "New tools allow us to explore complexity in a new way," she says. "We can examine natural forms and then use visualized data to help build bridges across the disciplines." The greenhouse is open through mid December.
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