Gardens' latest commission opens

摘要

Edward Cullinan's New Herbarium, Library, Art and Archive wing opened at Kew last month. The old 1853 herbarium held one of the world's most important plant and fungi collections, with 8 million specimens, and was in dire need of updating. Cullinan's 5000m~2 new wing extends the existing library, and provides a new reading room, rare book room and a stable environment to protect the precious collections from flood, fire, humidity, temperature, and pest infestation. This last is dealt with by rooms cooled to-40°to freeze the critters, before being stored at a constant 15° to stop them reproducing, ck .