A Botanical Gardening Facility as a Method of Reclamation and Integration of Devastated Territories (Based on the Example of the Eden Project)

Abstract

The development of industrial production, in many countries, has led to the formation of large damaged urbanized industrial areas in the course of their active use. These are areas of former quarries, mines, landfills, and other places of industrial use. The issue of their restoration and further use is relevant both for European countries and for Russia. Botanical gardening in European countries, primarily in England, has become a national feature and is used in both traditional and innovative facilities. In Russia, it is believed that botanical gardening facilities require serious financial costs since special conditions must be created to maintain exotic plants. However, the question arises whether such objects will make a profit. The purpose of this article is to analyze the Eden Botanical Garden (the Eden Project) in Cornwall (England). The Eden Project was created on the territory of the former quarry and the adjacent territory. The analysis carried out in this article takes into account both environmental and activity-based approaches, as well as the historical and cultural method, which makes it possible to determine the general cultural significance of botanical gardening facilities. The study of this project showed the possibility of reclamation of the devastated territory by creating an innovative botanical gardening facility with a variety of functional uses. This project demonstrates the possibility of creating a self-sufficient, architecturally attractive, energy-efficient, and economically viable botanical gardening facility, which can be useful in the process of generating ideas for creating a comprehensive methodology for transforming anthropogenic landscapes in Russia.