South Korea has just released beautiful schematics and visualizations for a natural preserve — to be housed in a series of state-of-the-art, glassed in domes totaling 33,000 square meters. Including an indoor wetland and botanical gardens, in addition to an education center and environmental think tank.
The landmark technology behind the project, dubbed the “Ecorium,” is the architecture devised by Korean firm SAMOO. To be constructed out of low-iron and low-e double glazed metal panels, wood and plexiglass, the structure is designed to respond to external conditions by adjusting internal temperatures and humidities to support the life taking root inside.
The idea is to give South Korean citizens, especially young people, the incentive to learn more about the natural world, the delicate balance of ecosystems and the responsibility to conserve and protect the environment. The center’s creator, the National Ecological Institute of South Korea, hopes to do this by breaking ground on a big, flashy project that could undoubtedly become a national treasure.
The Ecorium is very similar to Britain’s Eden Project, another series of geodesic domes that actually exist in Cornwall, including the world’s largest greenhouse. The preserve is a vast collection of plant species from around the planet, each dome simulating a particular type of climate. It will be interesting to see if South Korea’s efforts inspire the U.S. to do something similar. America is home to Biosphere 2, an indoor ecosystem in Arizona, but it fell short of expectation and hasn’t attracted a popular audience.
The Ecological Institute has yet to specify a construction timeline for the ecological domes in South Korea. Here are some more pictures of the plans:
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