Sheffield's Winter Garden opens

The Winter Garden in Sheffield opened in mid-December and is part of a £120 million scheme to regenerate the city centre and is the largest temperate glasshouse in a European city centre. Architects Pringle Richards Sharratt and consulting engineers Buro Happold have worked for seven years designing the structure which is 22 m high and 70 m long. The garden houses 2000 exotic plants from around the world. The environmental strategy involved dealing with the different requirements of the plants, and the need to maintain frost-free conditions. Primary heating is provided from the Sheffield city centre district heating main.