Tim Smit began thinking about the Eden Project when he was working on another scheme to restore the famous Lost Gardens of Heligan, also in Cornwall. The more he began to find out about plant life, the more he realised there was a fascinating story to be told about the relationship between man and plants. But how do you tell this story? And how do you allow as many people as possible to have access to it? That was the task confronting the designers. The solution was a dramatic blend of science and pure theatre: the world's largest greenhouse.