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🇿🇦South Africa·Open to the public

Tropical Display House

Durban

Year
2025
Style
Contemporary tropical pavilion
« Opened in October 2025, this tropical house took over from the historic Ernest Thorp Orchid House, destroyed by the 2022 floods. »

Durban Botanic Gardens, founded in 1849, is the oldest surviving botanical garden in Africa. Its orchid collection had been housed since 1962 in the Ernest Thorp Orchid House, a building damaged beyond use by the April 2022 floods that struck KwaZulu-Natal. In October 2025 a new pavilion, the Tropical Display House, opened through a partnership between the Durban Botanic Gardens Trust and the eThekwini Municipality parks department. It now shows orchids alongside ferns, anthuriums and bromeliads, with further collections announced.

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View on the interactive globe

29.85° S, 31.00° E

Further reading
The Glass House
John Hix
The definitive academic history of greenhouse architecture, from the Victorian era to modern structures.
 Glass Houses
May Woods & Arete Swartz Warren
A richly illustrated survey of greenhouses, orangeries and winter gardens around the world.
 The Crystal Palace
Patrick Beaver
The full story of the project that invented large-scale glass architecture.
 Greenhouse Gardener's Companion
Shane Smith
The practical guide for anyone dreaming of building their own greenhouse at home.

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