Tanglewood Conservatories Blog – Alan Stein's Writings about Custom Conservatory Design and More

Recently named by Time Life Books, as “one of the 50 must see ‘Wonders of the World’”, Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona is an interesting study in agriculture and architecture. Built between 1987 and 1991 and named after Biosphere 1 ( Earth is known as Biosphere 1 and is the only currently known biosphere), Biosphere 2 was developed to explore the relationships between, and within, life systems wholly contained within an artificial, closed-off ecological system. The idea was that study could be undertaken on the earth’s biosphere without harming it.

Biosphere 2 is the largest enclosed indoor ecosystem ever created, equal to about two and a half football fields (250 yards) that sits on 40 acres at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains, 4,000 feet above sea level. The biomes (synthetic ecosystems designed to mimic climatic and geographic communities of plant, animals, and soil organisms) within Biosphere 2 include:

• 6,233 feet of rainforest
• a 2,788 foot ocean (complete with a coral reef)
• 1,476 feet of mangrove wetlands
• a 4,265 foot savannah grassland
• 4,593 feet of fog desert
• an 8,202 foot agricultural system
• human living areas
• an underground infrastructure

The enclosure is heated and cooled using water that circulates through piping systems, passive solar glass space frames (lightweight rigid structures made from interlocking struts (or trusses) in geometric patterns) panels and electric power supplied through an onsite natural gas energy center.

Steel tubing and high-performance glass and steel frames are used to construct the aboveground portion of Biosphere 2. The window seals and structures were made to be almost perfectly airtight, so that the air exchange would not interfere with the experiments being conducted inside. Especially notable was how the structure dealt with atmospheric expansion. Heat from the sun during the day causes air to expand and at night it cools and contracts. To deal with these constant expansions and contractions, special diaphragms called lungs were kept in domes. To keep the structure cool, large air conditioners were required.

Some interesting facts about the Biosphere 2 building: it is 91 feet at its highest point; there are 6,500 windows and 7,200,000 cubic feet of sealed glass; it is sealed from below the earth by a 500-ton welded stainless steel liner. This “Technosphere” as it is known, is nearly 3.14 acres large and it houses all the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems needed to run the facility. The mission of Biosphere 2 today is, “To serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching and life-long learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the universe.” There are two divisions within Biosphere 2, B2 Earthscience, and B2 Institute.

After the facility was completed in 1991, eight people, including a medical doctor, entered the facility on September 26 and began a two-year closed “mission” to attempt to see if the Biosphere was capable of sustaining human life. Animal and agricultural husbandry was used to produce the food needed by the eight-member team. Eighty-three percent of the total diet consumed by the inhabitants during the first year included bananas, wheat, sweet potatoes, peanuts, rice, papayas, and beets. During the second year, the team was able to produce over a ton more food than they had produced during the first year!

The first mission ended exactly two years to the date it started. The second and final mission started on March 6, 1994 and was supposed to last ten months. A team of seven individuals entered but on April 5, 1994, members from the first team, after a dispute with the management team, intentionally vandalized the Biosphere project by opening a door and violating the closure. Soon after, two members of the second team left the enclosure and were replaced by two others. However, in June 1994, the ownership and management company dissolved and the mission ended on September 6, 1994.

In December 1995, Columbia University (New York City) took over the management of the site from its owners (Decisions Investments Corporation) and ran Biosphere 2 as a research site and campus for eight years, after which management reverted to the owners. In 2005, the 1,600-acre campus was put up for sale. In June 2007, DDO Ranching & Development, L.P. bought the property for $50 million and on June 26, management of the site was given to the University of Arizona for the study of climate change and other scientific studies. On July 1, 2011, CDO Ranching &Development officially donated the land and buildings to the University and the Philecology Foundation pledged $20 million for continuing scientific studies and operations.

Biosphere 2 is open daily to the public (with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas days) and is located north of Tucson, Arizona at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. To learn more, visit Biosphere 2 on the web.

Here at Tanglewood, we’ve always known that each raw piece of wood which enters our workshop leaves as a work of art—whether a beautiful pilaster, a delicate window grille or a sturdy truss in a one-of-a-kind conservatory or estate greenhouse. But what happens to the leftover scraps of our exotic Sapele wood?

Usually, any scrap that is too small to reuse is simply discarded. Until now…

Olivia, one of our craftspeople, found a great use for some of the scrap, turning it into a beautiful double cross sword rack and archery bow rack as gifts for her nephews.

A chance meeting between Olivia and a fellow woodworking enthusiast led the Chesapeake Woodturning Guild (CW) to our door. Since 1992, this mid-Atlantic based group has been a certified chapter of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). The group brings together beginner, intermediate, and advanced turners (some with national recognition!), all with the shared mission of providing education, information, and organization to those interested in turning wood.

So what exactly is woodturning? Simply put, it’s a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe. Where woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking is the wood is actually moving, while a stationary tool is used to cut and shape it. Various tools and techniques are used to coax a shape out of the wood. In some cases, wood that is still ‘green’ is initially shaped, then set aside to dry (or ‘season’) for a period of time, and eventually the shaping is resumed to create the final product.

Here is a picture of our craftsperson, Olivia, showing a beautiful bowl created by Chuck Engstrom, a member of the CW, using a scrap of Sapele rescued from our dumpster.

Tanglewood craftsperson, Olivia Larlham

A quick search of the internet reveals many beautiful wooden works of art created by woodturners, from bowls to ornaments, vases to pepper mills, and platters to magic wands. Nearly all types of wood are used, and sometimes multiple types are married in a single project (called ‘segmented turning’) to create a beautiful pattern from the color and grain variations in the different wood species. Woodturning projects can take months to complete, and works from master woodturners can cost several thousand dollars.

Segmented wood vase, featuring three species of wood, created by Tim Moore (CW)

Wood and copper vase ‘turned’ by Tim Moore (CW)

Chuck Engstrom and Tim Moore from CW visited our workshop recently to pick up some Sapele scrap that otherwise would have been destined for the dumpster. In return, they presented Alan with a handsome set of salt and pepper mills ‘turned’ from Tanglewood’s leftover Sapele wood by CW member Lou Rudinski.

Chuck Engstrom (CW), Alan Stein, and Tim Moore (CW)

This wasn’t Chuck’s and Tim’s first trip to Tanglewood, and it surely won’t be their last. They confided they were more than happy to make the drive to retrieve such precious wood to feed their woodturning passion.

There is a lot of excitement here as Alan & Nancy, co-founders of the company, head off to China this month to explore export opportunities for Tanglewood’s beautiful hand-crafted custom conservatories and estate greenhouses. It’s something the company has been considering for a while, especially as more people around the globe have become aware of our brand and the exquisite work we do.

Our company was recently selected to receive the “ExportMD Award”, in support of our efforts to promote our products in other countries. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development’s International Investment and Trade Office awards the “ExportMD Award” grant to Maryland’s small and mid-sized companies to help offset the costs of marketing internationally. Companies are eligible to receive up to $5,000 in reimbursement for expenses associated with an international marketing effort.

“We have been working closely with the state of Maryland and with the trade experts at DBED’s International Investment and Trade Office to investigate ways to promote our products overseas,” says Alan Stein, President and Director of Architecture at Tanglewood Conservatories. “We really excited about this opportunity, and we are grateful for the support of DBED’s people in China.”

Watch this blog for updates and photos from the trip.   Zai Jian!

I recently wrote about one of our beautiful conservatories being up for auction to benefit the Preservation Maryland organization. The fundraising event was held on the site of the historic Wye House in Talbot County, MD. The auction included many wonderful items featuring the best of each county comprising Maryland’s scenic Eastern Shore. The beautiful 21’ x 13’ Georgian-style conservatory was certainly a stand-out among the items up for bid at the event. I’m thrilled to report that the conservatory will soon have a new home and a loving family to enjoy it.

The event was held on a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon. We certainly couldn’t have asked for better weather! The approximately 300 people in attendance at the event were treated to great music and delicious local fare, including oysters on the half shell and Maryland’s famous Smith Island Cake.

The Wye House in Talbot County, MD

Read more about The Wye House…

Tours of the Wye House Farm and its famed orangery were provided to guests at the event. We took the opportunity to walk in the actual footsteps of those great artisans and prominent historical figures, like Frederick Douglass, who tread this same ground before us. As the sun began to set, we watched the shadows grow long from within the majestic 226-year-old structure.

As we said before, our whole Tanglewood team is thrilled to have one of our own conservatories being used to help preserve other pieces of our history. We truly hope that each of the conservatories we create today will become a precious part of the history of the families around the globe whose homes they grace.

What a great way to spend an afternoon—wandering thru an historic conservatory filled with exotic flowers! The conservatory in Druid Hill Park (Baltimore, MD), formally recognized as the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory, offers a unique opportunity to see the creative spirit of a great historic glass structures up close AND to walk among some of the most exquisite specimens of chrysanthemums anywhere.  Huge football mums, exotic spider mums, quills, spoons, incurves, and more…

The conservatory in Druid Hill Park is a local treasure and an important part of Tanglewood’s heritage. The original structure was completed in 1888 and consisted of the Palm House and the Orchid Room. Designed by architect George Aloysius Frederick, the Palm House, with its 175 windows soaring 50 feet into the air, is a spectacular example of Victorian architecture. The adjacent Orchid Room, although smaller in scale, is equally stunning. The conservatory is one of the oldest surviving glass conservatories in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Mums & Memories:  A Look at Baltimore’s Horticultural Past” is the theme of the show which runs Wednesdays – Sundays, 10am to 4pm from October 29 thru November 20^th. Exquisite mum specimens complement a history exhibit that tells the story of horticulture in Baltimore from the mid-1850’s. For more information, call 410-396-0008. Visit the Conservatory’s website at: http://www.baltimoreconservatory.org.

Walking through our Tanglewood workshop on any given day, you’ll see amazing, one-of-a-kind structures beginning to take shape as the various phases of construction are completed. You’ll witness the quiet concentration of our extremely talented craftsmen and craftswomen as they create reality from our clients’ dreams. What you’ll also see is how we pay homage every day to the incredible artisans of centuries past by enhancing their techniques and by weaving pride & perfection into everything we build.

Our team now has another opportunity to honor past artisans, as one of our beautiful conservatories will be auctioned at an event in October to benefit the Preservation Maryland organization. Founded in 1931 as the “Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities”, the group is dedicated to preserving Maryland’s historic buildings, neighborhoods, landscapes, and archaeological sites through outreach, funding and advocacy. The October event, entitled “Celebrate Our Eastern Shore Heritage” will include a silent auction representing the best of each county. The featured Tanglewood conservatory is a beautiful 21’ x 13’ Georgian-style conservatory, shown in the artist’s rendering below.

The proceeds from the auction will go towards furthering the preservation efforts for beautiful centuries old structures such as the Wye House Farm—a National Historic Landmark in Talbot County, MD—which also serves as the venue for the event. Tours of the property will be offered during the event, and participants will be treated to traditional local fare and libations while enjoying a photographic exhibit of the area’s 365 National Register properties and meeting their owners.

Our whole Tanglewood team is thrilled to have one of our own conservatories being used to help preserve another precious piece of history. And we hope that each of the conservatories we create today will become a precious part of the history of the families around the globe whose homes they grace.

In the wonderful world of architecture, nothing thrills Tanglewood Conservatories more than coming across buildings that are creative, useful and visually appealing. One of the more interesting concepts we have seen in recent years is the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in Huainan City in An Hui Province, China.

Built in 2007, the main part of the building is designed to look like a grand piano, complete with the lid propped open. Leaning against the piano is a large glass violin. The transparent violin houses the staircase that connects the glass building to the piano and leads into the main part of the building. The grand piano base of the building houses two concert halls and is used by music students from a local college.

The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall is also being used by city officials to display plans for more innovative architectural projects in the newly developed city of Huainan; including what is sure to be a huge attraction, the world’s first ping-pong paddle-shaped hotel!

To make sure that the rooms in this new hotel are booked, Huainin City has even bigger building plans in the making. It was revealed in March 2011, that city officials want to build an Olympic Park, complete with other oddly shaped buildings, including an American football-shaped stadium and an indoor swimming pool shaped like volleyball.

Tanglewood Conservatories will continue to follow this innovative city and its building plans, and hopes that someday we will be able to visit these architectural marvels in person!

Just over two years ago, in June 2009, Alan and Nancy visited Greenhouses, Wintergardens, and Conservatories in Germany. After spending two days in Munich, they traveled over several days by car to Hamburg, stopping along the way to visit companies that build greenhouses and aluminum wintergardens (what conservatories and sunrooms are called in Germany). In his next blog post, Tanglewood Conservatories Presentation and Award in Hamburg, Alan writes about the excitement, surprise and honor he felt when he was unexpectedly presented with membership in the Wintergarten-Fachverband of Germany and Austria. Alan and Nancy are now even more excited to announce that one of Tanglewood’s conservatories is featured on the cover of the “Der Neue Wintergarten Ratgeber” (The New Winter Garden Guide), a publication published by the Wintergarten-Fachverband.

The Wintergarten-Fachverband, founded in 1990, is a group of German and Austrian conservatory manufacturers who dedicate themselves to designing and building conservatories using wood or wood-aluminum. The association adheres to strict quality controls, guidelines and ethics and does not allow just any conservatory or winter garden designer or builder to become a member. Alan is honored to have been chosen to be part of this elite group of conservatory enthusiasts.

The “Der Neue Wintergarten Ratgeber” is a 132-page guide featuring full-color photographs, and descriptions and floor plans of conservatories. The guide also includes quotes from satisfied conservatory owners about their “Traum unter Glas holen” (dream under glass). In more exciting news, the same conservatory that graces the cover of the “Der Neue Wintergarten Ratgeber,” can also be found in the current issue of “Homefront Magazine.”

The conservatory pairs perfectly with its poolside location (see page 21). Imagine taking an early morning dip and then enjoying coffee and breakfast while you read the newspaper in this bright and inviting room. Or sipping wine or mineral water, after a late afternoon swim, while watching the sunset. It is easy to see why this glass house is featured in both publications.

Tanglewood Conservatories is proud to be honored in both ways. We hope you enjoy the honor as much as we do!

We are so proud to announce that on Thursday, June 16, 2011, Tanglewood Conservatories received one of the 24 available “Better With Less” awards from Maryland Comptroller, Mr. Peter Franchot.

The newly formed “Better with Less” program was created by Comptroller Franchot’s office to highlight companies that have “achieved economic success while using fewer resources; identified new market opportunities in the current economic climate; and used innovation to operate more efficiently or strengthened local communities by providing vital services or opportunities for success.”

Comptroller Franchot plans to present 24 awards to 24 businesses. Nominations were accepted until April 1; the office received many nominations from each county in the state. Comptroller Franchot will tour the state, stopping in all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City to present the awards personally.

“During my many visits to small businesses across the state, I’ve seen the genius of the private sector at work. We in government could learn a thing or two about how to operate more efficiently. I look forward to highlighting Maryland’s best and brightest companies,” said Comptroller Franchot.

Tanglewood Conservatories is thrilled with this honor and thanks Comptroller Franchot and his office for the opportunity to show what hard work and determination can do, even during slow economic times.

On May 30, 2011, Wentworth Castle conservatory in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, was awarded a £2.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for much needed repairs. The conservatory, which has been described as one of England’s finest Victorian glasshouses, was featured on the British TV show, “Restoration” in 2002 but came in third in the contest and thus was not awarded a makeover. However, because of the U.K.’s National Lottery, funds are now available to begin restoration of this building, which is one of the last surviving Victorian winter gardens in England.

Crompton and Fawkes of Chelmsford who described the Victorian glasshouse, with its ornate tiled floor, intricate wrought iron grilles, stone benches, and cast iron heating pipes, as “an iron winter garden” built the conservatory in 1885. Thomas Vernon Wentworth, whose father purchased the estate in 1708, commissioned the building of the glasshouse. The conservatory, which has been described as an architectural and engineering triumph, was ahead of its time and included a subterranean watering system and electrical lighting.

Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton was a pioneer of electric street lighting in the UK and it was his company, along with Frank Fawkes, a hot water engineer, that provided the electrical and watering systems within the conservatory. Wentworth hired Crompton and Fawkes to satisfy his enthusiastic passion of  using cutting-edge technology. It is easy to imagine that this glasshouse looked spectacular at night when it was all lit up.

Photo credit Mr. Stuart Fenton

The original structure of the Wentworth conservatory is quite large; approximately 117 feet long and it housed a collection of rhododendrons, orchids, ferns and palms. There are said to be some varieties of Camellia japonica still growing inside, including what is believed to be a variety of Contessa Lavinia Maggi from 1858! Historian  Steve Jones describes the conservatory and its surrounding buildings, thusly:

Its positioning, on the same elevation as the Corinthian Temple and on the same axis as the Palladian Wing continued the Strafford’s [Wentworth Castle was formerly known as the seat of the Earls of Strafford] love of relating the positioning of house and garden structures one with another. What better way to enhance their social standing and demonstrate their affluence, taste and interest in the latest engineering and scientific developments?

I plan to follow this story throughout the Wentworth conservatory restoration process and report back on the progress being made. I cannot wait to see how it all turns out. If you happen to be visiting South Yorkshire in the upcoming months, and take a trip to Wentworth Castle, please take some photos of the conservatory and let us know via the comments section. Maybe we will be able to post them for you! We would love to see this work in progress from some of our readers’ perspectives.