Construction work has begun on the first glasshouse to be built at the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) at Kew for two decades.

The Alpine House, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, will provide a home to the gardens’ alpine collection and replaces an earlier structure that was deemed as “poorly positioned” by the RBG.

To house the delicate collection the Alpine House’s twin arches have been designed for create enough height to draw warm air out of the building while a shading solution will keep summer temperatures at the required levels.

The building will also have a concrete cooling labyrinth below ground, which will provide cool air for the low level plants as well as around the perimeter of the house.

Situated within the existing rock garden, the glasshouse is part of RBG’s plans to raise the profile of the alpine collection by providing improved facilities, technology and accessibility to the plants.

The Alpine House is due to open to the public in Autumn 2005.

The 300-acre RBG was founded over 250 years ago and attracts around one million visitors each year. In July 2003 it was awarded World Heritage Site status.