Each Dome in This Futuristic Botanical Garden Has a Different Climate and Plant Life

Aerial Shot of Taiyuan Botanical Garden by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

The Taiyuan Botanical Garden has recently opened on the site of a former coal mine in the Jinyuan district of Tiayuan, China. Designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, the work blends a museum, a botanical garden, and a new diverse landscape into a beautiful cohesive development. Three domes are placed along a vast artificial lake and act as greenhouses that are full of vibrant plant life from various disparate climates.

“The architectural concept is based on the already existing landscape plan and balances natural landscape, architecture, technological and ecological solutions,” explains Delugan Meissl. The designers reimagined the existing landscape by adding new hills, waterfalls, and other natural features that connect with the architectural intervention.

One building includes a nature museum, bonsai museum, research library, a restaurant, and more. Best of all, this entrance building features a massive terrace that allows visitors to overlook all of the park features from above. This gives them a perfect view of the real highlight of the complex—the three domes.

Domes of Taiyuan Botanical Garden by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

Each of the three domes represents a unique climate and is full of suitable plant life, including a tropical garden, a desert garden, and an aquatic garden. Fittingly, the aquatic garden is actually placed on the lake. Each of the three orbs is connected via elegant winding walkways that take visitors around and over the lake.

Though they feature unique areas, the architectural backdrop for each garden is consistent. Laminated timber beams intersect to create the structure for the domes. The spacing of the structural members even varies to provide more suitable lighting conditions depending on the needs of the plants. These domes are completed with double-curved glass with operable windows.

If you can’t visit the fantastical new gardens yourself yet, keep scrolling to experience it virtually through incredible shots of the complex taken by CreatAR.