Largest pyramid-shaped greenhouse

The largest pyramid-shaped greenhouse is the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens, which stands 43.13 m (141 ft 6 in) tall and has a footprint of 40,000 sq ft (3,716 m2) in Galveston, Texas, USA. Constructed in 1993, the greenhouse is home to more than 1,700 species of exotic flora and fauna.

Moody Gardens is also home to two other large pyramidal buildings: the Discovery Pyramid is a science centre and movie theatre (opened in 1997) and the other is the Aquarium Pyramid (opened in 1999).

What is thought to be the first large-scale pyramid-shaped greenhouse was designed by Ted Farmer and constructed at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, in 1970–71. This structure stood 18.2 m (59 ft 8 in) tall at its apex and had an area of 400 m2 (4,305 sq ft). The “Sydney Pyramid” was shut down in 2013 owing to safety concerns and demolished two years later.

The Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, boasts a complex of four glass-and-steel glass pyramids. The largest are the Tropical and Temperate biomes, which each stand 24 m (78 ft 8 in) tall and have a footprint of 660 m2 (7,104 sq ft). Along with two smaller 18-m-tall (59-ft), 381-m2 (4,100-sq-ft) pyramids, they were designed by architect Peter Hemingway and first opened to the public in 1976.