Gardiner & Theobald cost-managed Palm Houses restoration reopens at Edinburgh Biomes

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's two A-listed Palm Houses have reopened to the public after a restoration on which Gardiner & Theobald provided cost management, Balfour Beatty acted as main contractor and Smith Scott Mullan was designer.

The garden (RBGE) said the houses reopened on Friday 2 October 2026. Gardiner & Theobald (G&T) announced its role in the project on 12 October, describing the reopening as a milestone in the wider Edinburgh Biomes programme.

RBGE describes the Palm Houses as the first stage of Edinburgh Biomes. G&T said its cost management services provide financial oversight throughout the restoration and redevelopment process.

Kenneth Deans, partner at G&T, said: "It's great to see part of the living collection return to these wonderfully restored buildings."

The works

According to RBGE, the restoration involved 600 sq m of repairs to the original Georgian and Victorian iron structure, and more than 5,000 panes of glass made from bespoke templates.

The scope also took in narrow spiral staircases, walkways and 6.7-metre-high arched windows, RBGE said in an earlier update on a grant from Historic Environment Scotland.

Balfour Beatty said its work included installing district heating, high and low voltage power, gas, water and communication services. The contractor reported 71% local employment on the project and said it directed 54% of spending to the local community.

Balfour Beatty also trialled an all-electric fleet of telehandlers, excavators, dumpers and wackers on the site, and said its site cabins cut heat loss by 39% compared with standard specifications.

RBGE's horticulture team removed 800 plant specimens from the houses before the works, which began in 2021, with Balfour Beatty's restoration work starting in 2022. Around 600 specimens, including plants endangered in the wild, will be returned to the restored buildings, the garden said.

G&T said the restoration will help safeguard a living collection of more than 13,500 plant species.

The funding

RBGE describes the refurbishment as part of a wider £58m investment in the Edinburgh Biomes programme. The Scottish Government's March 2023 progress update on its infrastructure investment plan put its funding at £58m over 2021 to 2026, and said the full business case gave a total project cost of £89.9m.

RBGE said more than £10.6m has been raised through philanthropic fundraising and a public appeal, with the appeal contributing £250,000 to the Palm Houses project.

The Scottish Government update named Balfour Beatty as principal contractor for the Palm House refurbishment. It said the energy centre was split off to follow as a second phase, with inflation cited as the main reason for the delay to its tender.

Professor Julia Knights, Regius Keeper at RBGE, said the reopening of the Palm Houses is "a globally significant moment for Scotland and the world."

The buildings

According to RBGE's history of the site, the older octagonal Palm House was built in 1834 and was then the tallest traditional Palm House in Britain. The second, designed by Robert Matheson and completed in 1858, was funded by £6,000 agreed by Parliament and is built from Bishopbriggs sandstone with a Tuscan-style facade and a curved iron-and-glass dome.

RBGE says the newer, rectangular house retains the title of the tallest traditional Palm House in the world.

Dr Susan O'Connor, head of grants at Historic Environment Scotland, described the Palm Houses as "a particularly grand example of Victorian botanic garden buildings".

What happens next

G&T said a new energy centre using ground source heat pumps is under construction as part of the wider programme, and that design work is progressing on new education and bio-discovery research glasshouses and a bio-secure plant health hub.

RBGE said construction of the energy centre has begun in its nursery and it will open in spring 2027. Until then, the garden said, the Palm Houses will be heated by its existing gas boilers.

The A-listed Front Range Glasshouses, built in 1967, remain closed and need substantial repair, according to RBGE.

The Scottish Government's March 2023 update said the full Edinburgh Biomes programme would be completed by October 2027.