Our partner, The Eden Project, is one of four organisations competing in The Big Lottery Fund's 'The People's £50 Million Contest'.
Their propasal - The Edge - is a visionary building which seeks to meet the challenge of climate change.
Tim Smit, Eden Project: "Imagine our descendants fifty years from now. What would they be saying to us about how we should be living today? Eden's motto is 'Dare to dream, organise to deliver.' More than nine million people have been here and most have been moved by this simple truth. We need stories and examples that encourage people to believe we can change the world for the better, without feeling we have to put on our hair shirts.The Edge will be a home for sharing those ideas.
The Edge is a new evolution for Eden. It sets new standards for architectural ambition and sustainable construction. In a desert landscape it will house the largest undercover oasis in the world, to remind us that we live in a fragile world that we need to protect. But the oasis is also a symbol of the source of life and diversity and a trading place for ideas - because whilst resources are limited, the imagination isn't.
The Edge will be home to a series of underground chambers that will provide exhibition and activity spaces in which to develop ideas for the future. These will be hosted by some of the great voices of our time, who will work with communities and individuals from across the country to seek answers to the big questions: 'What makes us who we are? What can we learn from our past that can give us direction to meet the challenges of the future?'
Some might call it a theme park (its theme: our lives), but it is that sort of cynicism that got the world into this mess. The Edge isn't an experience to consume, it is a place for engagement - creating a home for sharing great ideas and solutions and finding the spirit, inspiration and ambition to change the world. Isn't that what our descendants might have hoped for?"
More about the competition and other contenders.
