Specialist tree-top surveyors build Eden Project look-out

09/09/2010

Precise tree-top surveying has been integral to the design and construction of the Eden Project's new Rainforest Lookout.

The aerial platform has been constructed at the Cornwall eco-park to allow people to view the park's tropical canopy from a perspective that they would never get from anywhere else.

In constructing the platform, the Eden Project enlisted the help of local surveying firm Kemp, to determine the best positioning for the platform in terms of visitor experience and considerate positioning to the existing landscape. Surveyors from the Redruth-based firm determined that the platform should be positioned on the top of one of the famed biomes, at a height of 165 feet.

Kemp’s leading land survey manager Andrew Staples, who led the surveying project, said the project was particularly unusual for them.

“Finding the best location for an aerial platform at the top of a rainforest canopy is quite a special task and obviously isn’t something we do every day," he said.

"We’re always proud to work with the Eden Project where needed and we have enjoyed being involved with the development of the biomes from the very start when we did the initial site engineering.”

The Lookout was opened last week by adventurer, Bear Grylls.