Press Release

New Treetop Walkway & Rhizotron to Open at Kew Gardens in May 2008

LONDON, 26th OCTOBER 2007: A unique design by the architects of the London Eye will be unveiled at Kew Gardens next week. When it opens in May 2008 it will be the most ambitious public installation at Kew for two decades.

Both the Rhizotron and the Xstrata Treetop Walkway have unique features, encouraging visitors to explore the special role of trees on our breathing planet.

Supported by the Hanson Environment Fund, Kew's Rhizotron (taken from the Greek rhiza , meaning root) will give visitors a unique opportunity to delve into the unseen, underground world of trees. Entered through an apparent crack in the earth, the Rhizotron will be a fun, intriguing and educational ‘secret place' showing visitors the lively natural world beneath our feet and explaining the vital relationship between tree roots and micro-organisms in the soil.

The Xstrata Treetop Walkway will be a thrilling experience, taking visitors 18 metres high into the tree canopy for a birds-eye view of Kew and an intimate view of deciduous woodland from within the tranquillity of the leaves, together with some of its dependents: birds, insects, lichens and fungi. The structure, made from Corus weathering steel, is an ingenious design based on a Fibonnaci numerical sequence, often found in nature's growth patterns.

Both installations are fully accessible for people with disabilities, and have strong educational components. The Rhizotron will be the UK 's only underground display on tree root biology.

Marks Barfield Architects, who designed the London Eye, have designed these innovative but low-environmental-impact installations especially for the World Heritage Site. Work has just started, and, with the help of a team of experts, will be completed for Kew's Festival of Trees starting in May 2008. As well as providing an exciting experience, both features will allow visitors to see leaves and roots up close and learn something about the role of trees in relation to climate change.

The installations will be located deep within the gardens. They will connect to other major features by a new informal pathway, known as the Arc, which will draw visitors across the middle of the Arboretum into the less-visited parts of the gardens.

Ends

Further Information

For further information please contact the RBG Kew Press Office on 020 8332 5607 or pr@kew.org or visit www.kew.org/press .

Notes for Editors

Funding

Xstrata plc is a global, diversified mining group listed on the London and Swiss stock exchanges. They were inspired by the concept of the Treetop Walkway, seeing it as an imaginative and relevant project.

Construction materials supplier Hanson, part of the Heidelberg Cement Group, set up The Hanson Environment Fund in 1997, using landfill tax credits accumulated by the company, to support environmental and community initiatives from not-for-profit organisations. More than £17.5 million was distributed before the fund closed to new applicants in 2006, supporting hundreds of worthwhile projects across the UK . As a lasting legacy, the fund's final £1 million has been awarded to the Rhizotron.

The remainder of the funding comes from Defra, who fund half of the annual costs of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , two un-named individuals and Hanson.

The Fibonacci sequence

Discovered by Leonardo Fibonacci in the 12 th century, it is a simple mathematical sequence that lies at the heart of the growth of many plant structures, such as the spiral form of a pine cone. Starting with 0 and 1, each new number is the sum of the two before it, thus: 2, 3, 5,8,13, and so on. The ratio provides a perfectly proportioned growth pattern. This sequence is used for the spacing of the connection points for the diagonals of the walkway trusses. The 12m long trusses are connected to circular nodes which are in turn supported by pylons. It provides a seemingly random, natural appearance that in fact comes from a clear underlying geometry.

The Architectural Brief

To provide a unique visitor and learning experience by giving access to the normally inaccessible root zone and upper tree canopy, conveying complex interrelationships of the tree fauna, flora and fungi in a stimulating manner.

The Design/Installation Team

Marks Barfield Architects is a London-based practice best known for the London Eye, but selected for their diverse experience and approach to sustainability.

Corus Group is a customer focused, innovative solutions-driven company, which manufactures, processes and distributes metal products as well as providing design, technology and consultancy services.

Jane Wernick Associates are the structural engineers. Jane previously developed the structural engineering concepts for the London Eye, when she worked for Arups. They were selected for their breadth of experience in varied design challenges.

Royal Haskoning are consulting structural engineers with a wide range of knowledge and experience, plus a focus on how people interact with their environment. Reinforced concrete detailing of the Rhizotron by Paul Benham Partnership .

Atelier Ten are consulting environmental engineers who work on many building projects at Kew . They work with natural physical laws to produce buildings that consume less energy and function more economically.

Fanshawe are Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers with15 years experience of working at Kew .

DBK Goyne Adams – a Bournemouth based company are the CDM Coordinators for the project.

JA Associates – have advised on the technical specifications.

Jane Earnscliffe advised on access.

Engineered Arts are our exhibition designers for the learning component of the experience.

Digital Media by Illumina.

Britland are the main contractor (steelwork)

Mackleys have been subcontracted for the Civil Engineering

Elite Elevators are responsible for the lift

Royal Botanic Gardens , Kew

Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace . RBG, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. www.kew.org .

For further Press information please contact: