French architects Coldefy & Associates Architects Urban Planners released details of plans for the world's largest single-domed of 15,000m² tropical biodome. Called Tropicalia, this vast indoor landscape will soon pop up in the Pas-de-Calais area in Northern France and house all sorts of tropical flora and fauna under an enormous pillar-less roof of EFTE pressurized air cushions held up by an aluminum frame.
Construction starts in 2019, and completion is scheduled for 2021.
Construction starts in 2019, and completion is scheduled for 2021.
Description of project by Coldefy & Associates Architects Urban Planners
Tropicalia is a 15,000m² tropical biodome that creates a harmonious world connecting man to an exotic natural, providing a constant temperature of 28°C in a region with notoriously poor weather. Whether it is an invitation into a dream, a grand voyage or an educational trip, Tropicalia is a place of discovery, amazement and ecological awareness.
This unique place will contain a diverse range of fauna and flora, butterflies, exotic flowers, hummingbirds, waterfalls, aquarium basins, fish, turtles, caimans and more. Beyond the eminently exotic interior world, the sensation of complete immersion is made possible with the innovative architectural approach.
The absence of any load-bearing columns that would disrupt the view or introduce artificiality, coupled with the natural treatment of the perimeter vegetal wall that allows only a view up to the sky from within, visitors have the sensation of a space disconnected from the world outside.
From the exterior, the architecture merges with the landscape: the building is partially set in the ground, diminishing its height and impact. From a distant view, the structure rises like a gentle hill in its natural landscape.
A project such as Tropicalia implies an increased resourcefulness and a serious sustainable approach. Therefore, the roof structure implemented is composed by EFTE pressurized air cushions within an aluminum frame.
