Tanglewood installation team enjoying a sunny break atop the cupola of the large steel and glass pool house conservatory under construction.

They are on top of the world, the job is going well!

The old-world, steel and glass pool enclosure that we are constructing is coming along quite well. Last week, the cupola was completed on our custom conservatory and the finish coat of paint put on to protect it from the fast approaching cold northern weather.

The dark bronze/grey color was chosen for the conservatory roof because it will blend well with the slate roof that will go onto the main house. Originally, copper was under consideration however costs and the desire for it to blend dictated the choice of a specially colored, powder coated aluminum.

Next week, the glazing of the lower main roof will begin in earnest. The large glass panels will arrive on site in wood crates the day before the work is to begin. The next day, a large crane will hoist each piece of glass, some weighing almost 300 pounds, into place on the roof using special equipment designed to set large pieces of glass high up.

The special lifting mechanism is a steel frame fitted with a small battery operated vacuum pump which sucks the air out of special rubber “cups” which are also attached to the frame, then “stick” to the glass panel allowing it to be hoisted up by the crane without danger.

The process usually proceeds remarkable quickly and safely though it can be a bit disconcerting to watch these large pieces of glass sailing through the air!

I will get some pictures of the process and post them for everyone to see. It is very interesting.

Though the room looks quite unfinished at this point, It is actually nearing completion. Once the glass roof panels are in place and sealed, the main level windows and doors will be installed and then the final trimwork put up for a finished project.

One of the great features of this particular room is the custom designed stained glass panels that will ornament the windows and doors. The intricate designs were created by us working closely with the owners and their designer. There are subtle patterns of color throughout which will add a magical effect to the overall atmosphere. I will post images of these as well as soon as they get installed.

Though sun and t-shirts prevail for the moment, we are actually racing to get the project completely weather tight before the cold weather sets in. On a large job such as this, there can be some anxious moments if everything doesn’t go just right at this time of year in the north. Metals become hard to handle in the cold and the special sealants used to make the glass roof weather tight cannot be applied below certain temperatures.

For now, it looks very good though. I will keep everyone posted on our progress.

Alan

Nancy's Artwork

Some of you might know that Nancy, my partner, was a fabric artist before leaving that calling to pursue building Tanglewood Conservatories with me.

People have often asked to see examples of her work, which are hard to come by since she was last actively producing pieces more than ten years ago.

She was however inspired to create a small piece a few years ago for some good friends in appreciation of their friendship. They have an abiding love of music and have sponsored many concerts at their home in the conservatory we built for them but it was a lesson that this couple taught Nancy and I that brought us the closest to them. It was one of the most important lessons we have even learned about doing business and one we will never forget.

When we arrived at their home for the first time, years ago now, we were amazed at the way they treated us. They didn’t know us, had never met us before, yet they made both Nancy and I feel that we were their best of friends, the kind of friends they had known forever.

It was quite amazing, but even more so when I watched them in their interactions with all the other people working on their project, and it was a very substantial project, and I saw that they treated EVERYONE this way. Even people who did not treat them well and some who obviously took advantage of their gracious natures.

They weren’t blind or acting like this out of some kind of religious conviction or any kind of idea they had in their heads, it was just the way they were. It made such an impression on us that we resolved to change the way we thought of the people we constantly meet in the course of our business and to do the same in our lives.

Now this has not always been so easy and as you might imagine, there have been many times when I wish my actions were closer to this high standard, but over the years I have continued to strive to hold this ideal in my mind and to work to come closer to dealing with everyone in this way.

The wall hanging that Nancy created was for them was to hang in their music room. If you look closely at the picture of it, you sill see the G-clef in the center in red.

It was Nancy who first pointed out the connection between music, the arts and the conservatories we design and build. She noticed that a great majority of the people who come to us seeking a really special conservatory, are in fact either artists themselves, art collectors, art lovers, or associated with the arts in some way.

They have ranged from amateur and professional musicians to dancers (a well known former ballerina), singers, collectors with stunning collections of paintings, art glass, furniture and many others who share a love of beautiful works of art.

Nor surprising, as someone recently pointed out, since we aspire to create works of art ourselves, that those with an appreciation of art are attracted to our work. It is true that we feel that we are not merely creating utilitarian rooms as the end product of a commercial endeavor, but we try to produce buildings that embody a quality of inventiveness, and are designed with the same consideration of proportion, scale and detail as any great piece of architecture.

Alan

Harold Betters, renowned jazz trombonist blasts away with his quartet at the Lincoln Hall in downtown Foxburg Pennsylvania. That’s a 1911 antique Steinway grand that John Burg is playing.

Our recent trip also took us to a small, one-main-street town in western Pennsylvania named Foxburg, which is undergoing a remarkable rebirth.

Foxburg is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Clarion rivers about an hour and a half north east of Pittsburg. This part of the country was home to the original oil boom in the last part of the nineteenth century and became quite wealthy as a result.

However as oil production moved to the larger more productive fields out west, the birthplace of the American oil industry literally dried up.

Several years ago, Nancy and I had designed and built a large conservatory for someone who had moved back to the area after a very successful career away from his hometown and was now engaged in an almost single handed revitalization project of the entire town of Foxburg. An excellent new restaurant alongside the river, a new Inn on the single main street, a winery, a pizzaria and a quaint antique shop in an old bank building now grace the main street where visitors rent Segue scooters and tour the nearby restored Foxburg estate – with its new conservatory.

The town draws a considerable crowd from all over the region and is quite crowded on weekends. I learned that there was a recent Scottish Festival with traditional clan gatherings, sheep dog trials and dancing! An Art, Wine and Food Festival will be held on October 11th.

The town is also home to the oldest golf course in continuous operation in the country.

The cultural arm of their efforts named the Allegheny Riverstone Center for the Arts purchased and renovated an old library auditorium which became known as Lincoln Hall and has staged an impressive variety of concerts with music from Mozart to jazz to madrigals and include regular visits by members of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra.

A really impressive feature of the new hall is a huge old Wurlitzer theater organ that was lovingly restored by Paul McKissick and includes all the associated drums, cymbals, bells and automatic piano. I understand that acclaimed organists from around the country regularly make their way to Foxburg to play on this remarkable instrument. The organ restoration took Mr. McKissick ten years to complete and it is now one of only twelve functioning Wurlitzer theater organs in the world.

Harold Betters, a Pittsburg native, is a remarkable jazz icon having played with the great Louis Armstong as well as Al Hirt, Slide Hampton, Ramsey Lewis and Ray Charles. The night Nancy and I were there, he brought the house down with hits ranging from Louis Armstrong’s rendition of Tenderly to Mustang Sally and Kansas City.

This town is definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in the area or just looking for an interesting weekend getaway. Seeing the great Wurlitzer organ played is by itself worth the trip. Visit their website www.alleghenyriverstone.org for details on upcoming activities and events.

Alan