Missouri Botanical Garden

The Climatron is a greenhouse enclosed in a glazed geodesic dome that is part of the Missouri Botanical Garden.  The dome is the world’s first completely air-conditioned greenhouse and the first geodesic dome to be enclosed in rigid Plexiglass panels.  The climatic range within the dome, which recreates a lowland rain forest, is created by a sophisticated high humidity controlled system.  Over time, the building experienced deterioration of the original Plexiglas panels, causing leakage and the adverse effect of humidity on some metal elements.  The original Plexiglas glazing was replaced with panes of heat-strengthened glass and coated with a low-emissivity firm.

RRJ was retained after initial glazing repairs were completed to assist in determining the cause of the original leakage problem and to investigate further nonperformance problems with the repaired system.