Hope for Hortus

The Harbour Esplanade glasshouse will not open in autumn as expected but construction is hoped to start by mid-year.

The glasshouse is a temporary installation commissioned by Places Victoria and developed by a group called Utopian Folk.

Places Victoria general manager Simon Wilson said construction of the glasshouse, to be known as “Hortus”, was expected to take about 10 weeks.

The glasshouse will feature an edible plant installation, a unique outdoor environment and a cafe. It’s hoped the installation will help to activate the esplanade.

It was originally anticipated that Hortus would open last September. However a raft of problems, including difficulty obtaining a permit to operate on Crown land and the original cafe operator backing out, has delayed delivery.

Mr Wilson said Places Victoria anticipated announcing Hortus’ cafe operator within weeks.