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

When most people think of conservatories and greenhouses, they imagine lots of glass. Tanglewood Conservatories generally builds domes, skylights, lanterns and cupolas using glass, copper and other types of metals. However, we’ve come across a one-of-a-kind conservatory located in San Diego, California that we just had to write about. Known as the Balboa Park Botanical Building, this conservatory is thought to be the world’s only conservatory built entirely of wood lath and is one of the world’s largest lath structures.

Photo Courtesy of A. Jerabek

This historic greenhouse was built beginning in August 1913 in preparation for the First World’s Fair: The 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition that was scheduled to begin on January 1, 1915. Interestingly, the idea for the lath conservatory was based on a dream that the founder and president of the San Diego Floral Society, Alfred D. Robinson, had one night while sleeping.

By July 1914, the San Diego Sun newspaper reported that the Botanical Building was complete. The wood lath building measured 250 feet long, 75 feet wide and 60 feet tall, almost certainly qualifying it for historical significance as the largest in the world. Five arches formed the entrance with the left and right arches crowned by octagonal shaped Persian-style domes. At the top, the middle section of the Botanical Building has an arch that encloses straight vertical laths. A dome tops the arch, which itself is crowned by an open cupola. 70,000 feet of redwood is held together and supported by steel trusses.

Photo Courtesy of A. Jerabek

In the almost 100 years since the building was erected, the San Diego Botanical Building has continuously been a popular San Diego tourist and resident destination. In fact, even perpetual problems, such as termites, rust, mildew, and even pigeons, have not lessened its appeal to San Diegans. In 2002, renovations to the wood lath conservatory cost at least ten times the original 1915 cost and eight times the 1957-59 renovations cost! The 2,100 permanent plants on display and the just-for-kids area that features a “Carnivorous Plant Bog, with Pitcher Plants and Venus Fly Traps,” and “Touch and Smell Gardens” that have unusual varieties of plants that feature special aromas such as chocolate and lemon mint, continue to draw visitors from around the state of California, the U.S. and even the world.

To learn more in-depth information on the construction of the wood lath conservatory, its architects and others instrumental in getting it built, please visit the “Our Heritage” section.

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.

One of our engineers, Duane, found an interesting story online and sent Alan the link. After that, Alan tasked me with finding out more about this fascinating conservatory at the bottom of a lake! Read on to find out more.

Witley Park was originally a 19th century mansion on an estate in Surrey, England owned by J. Whitaker Wright. Wright obtained the property in 1890 and set about renovating the already large Georgian mansion into a huge residence with 32 bedrooms, 2 dining rooms, a ballroom, a theater and a private hospital!  The estate was located on approximately 9,000 acres of land on which Wright, using 600 men, created lakes, flattened existing hills and then built new ones in other places.  One of the man-made lakes, situated behind where the mansion once stood (it burned to the ground in 1952), contains the aforementioned underwater conservatory.

Finding information on the “ballroom under a lake” or as some writers posited, a billiards room under a lake, proved to be a little frustrating. I was hoping to be able to get first-hand accounts of the buildings, but many of the stories I came across were second or third-hand accounts. No matter, I did find the back-story, which I mentioned above, and many pictures, which I will provide links to below.

Suffice it to say, there are at least two rooms underneath the lake, including a conservatory, and the abovementioned glass-roofed billiards room. In order to reach the underwater conservatory, it’s been said that there is a door, which leads to steps made of stone.

At the bottom of the stairway is a boat that takes visitors (though the land is privately owned now, and presumably the conservatory is not open to visitors) to two large doors that open to a stairway leading to an underwater tunnel.

The tunnel leads to the underwater conservatory, with its algae covered glass panes.

For more pictures, and some informative commentary from some people who were able to access the underwater rooms in April 2006, go to Paul Holmes’ photostream on flickr. Included in that set of photos are some of a statue of a man standing on the surface of the water just above the underwater conservatory.

The next time I go to England, unfortunately it’s been 10 years since my last visit, I plan to see if I can explore this intriguing, mysterious, and unique conservatory at the bottom of a lake.

If you’ve been there, or know someone who has, I’d love to hear from you!

When I first began writing for Tanglewood Conservatories, I have to admit, I didn’t know much about the history of conservatories. I knew that I liked the look of them and that it would be nice to have one, but I didn’t know that they were developed long ago, and that they are known by many different names – orangeries, hothouses, cold houses, greenhouses, lanterns, domes, and skylights, to name just a few. As I began to write this post, I was going to write about my experiences over the past few months and how doing research on different conservatories around the world and delving into their individual histories has taught me so much. However, as I started to write, one of my favorite conservatories all of a sudden popped into my mind and the post took a different route than I had intended!

Image Courtesy of Como Park Website

I have been to many conservatories during my lifetime, but the one in St. Paul, Minnesota at Como Park was probably my first and I have fond memories of it. I lived in Minnesota from the time I was in 4th grade until a few years after I graduated from college, so about 15 years or so. Como Park was probably one of the first places my parents took my sister and me to visit. For one reason, it was close. The other reason, and probably the most important at that time in our lives, was because it was free! Como Park includes a zoo, the conservatory, a lake with a large pavilion (for concerts and other events), and many green spaces. The whole park is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon on a warm spring Minnesota day (other days too, but spring in Minnesota, especially May, was my favorite time of year).

It was these early memories that caused me to write a page on the Como Park Conservatory for the “Our Heritage” section. I hope you will visit the page and perhaps decide that a visit to St. Paul and Como Park is in order. Minnesota has a reputation of being bitterly cold in the winter and hot and humid in the summer, but it really is a lovely place to visit and the people, who may have cold noses in the winter time, actually have very warm hearts all year ‘round!

Tree houses are like Conservatories. I’m as much in love with great tree houses as I am great conservatories. In many ways they are quite similar.

Both conservatories and tree houses are unconventional building types and lend themselves to creative unconventional design solutions. Both wear their structure in a way that all can see. If done well, both conservatories and tree houses become really cool spaces and they are both synonymous with being in an enclosed space while still being “out in nature”.

A few months ago, after I posted the videos of the guitar factories, Olivia who is lead in our assembly department, sent me the following pictures of really some cool tree houses.

Check out these amazing pictures courtesy of her.

Alan

The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore. Additional picture gallery.

The Baltimore Sun ran an interesting article by Dennis Hockman on Saturday. In addition to being a columnist for the Sun, Dennis is editor of Chesapeake Home + Living Magazine. His article was about the beautiful historic conservatory in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park and how it was the inspiration for one of Tanglewood’s most popular custom greenhouse designs.

Dennis correctly notes that I visited the Druid Hill Park Conservatory many times when thinking about the design for this particular Tanglewood client. I was searching for an understanding of how to translate the historic conservatory’s gossamer transparency into a modern day construction – one that would adhere to the much more stringent structural requirements that are part of today’s building codes.

The unique aspect of the new conservatory greenhouse design that came for the older structure is the industrial inspired lightweight steel trusses. Their use gave the Tanglewood design team the ability to minimize the usual posts and beams that would be needed to hold up the building and along with the sensual curving glass roof, would make the new building as ethereal as it’s nineteenth century counterpart.

The conservatory in Druid Hill Park is the only remaining of four original grand public conservatories in Baltimore and is a fine example of the American style of engineering these great glass buildings that was begun in Europe in the mid nineteenth century. To have had four of these unique steel and iron conservatory greenhouse buildings built in Baltimore at the time was evidence of the importance of Baltimore as a major American port city and cultural center.

The remaining structure underwent an extensive renovation which began in 1999 and the magnificent building reopened to the public in 2004. It includes displays of Mediterranean, tropical, and desert specimens.

As an architect and designer, one of the most fascinating aspects of my business (and most challenging), is our work to capture the same blend of unique technology and artful composition that characterizes the great conservatories of a hundred years ago. It is one of my professional passions to study the “spirit of inventive genius” that prevailed at the time of the industrial revolution in Europe and led to the development of the building techniques that made the great glass houses of that time possible.

We have devoted a section of the Tanglewood website to cataloging these grand buildings and we use them as inspiration, not mere copies, for many of our unique custom conservatory and greenhouse designs.
The conservatory in Druid Hill Park, formally recognized as the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory, offers us a unique opportunity to see the creative spirit of these great building up close, in our own neighborhood and Tanglewood supports the staff’s efforts to bring a higher level of attention to this local treasure.

However, as Sheila Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator reminds us: “Sadly, the Conservatory is once again facing a financial crisis as the City of Baltimore struggles to balance its budget. Nevertheless, a small but dedicated group of staff and volunteers continues to expand programming to reach out to more people with diverse interests, and to teach environmental, social, and cultural lessons. New classes include Yoga, T’ai Chi, and Plants & People Sunday educational programming. The 3rd annual Art Under Glass show will be held this spring, and a Summer Concert Series will be featured this summer. Students from schools in Baltimore City and surrounding counties visit for tours and planting activities that comply with the State of Maryland’s science curriculum. The Conservatory is a popular venue for weddings and other social functions.”

“Despite many challenges, the Conservatory continues to fulfill its mission to foster an appreciation and understanding of plants from around the world and the vital roles they play in our lives.”
Take the time to stop by and marvel at this wonder of steel, glass and light and the verdant cornucopia of vegetation on display.

As Dennis Hockman remarks: “What has remained constant over the centuries, is the whimsical, magical limbo conservatories have the power to create. A segue to the landscape, an open ceiling to the sky, conservatories seem neither in-doors or out.”

Alan

The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory is located at 3100 Swan Dr. in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, MD 21217 close by to the Baltimore Zoo. It is open Wednesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Mondays & Tuesdays. You can reach them at: (410) 396-0008 or visit their website.

Oftentimes, Nancy and I get to work as part of a team of very talented professionals. These are some of our best projects and we enjoy the team approach best.

As it turns out, successful architects these days are increasingly successful team builders. With building products becoming more complex and technical, a successful project with a happy, satisfied customer often demands multiple team players each bringing specialized expertise to the job.

With a conservatory, the challenges are great because the building is so unique. Few architects or builders have had much experience with conservatory or greenhouse construction. Issues such as heating and cooling, wiring and structural loading can be difficult enough but when you realize the conservatory is not constructed using standard parts like 2 x 4’s or with the standard construction details that most architects and builders are familiar with, the challenges to great design can become daunting.

Therefore, the architect has a challenge to design a building that they do not know how will be built. This can lead to having to compromise on design ideas or details so that they will conform to a manufactures typical details or blowing out the budget completely with something totally custom. Sometimes the result is a building that though the client loves the design, the project comes in over budget and sometimes, it may never gets built.

So, how can this be prevented? One of the best methods that many architects, designers and builders have been using is to bring in the experts early.

Someone who knows their specialty is able to simultaneously work both the design side of the issues as well as the budget side so that at the end of the process, there are no surprises.

The project pictured above is a great example of how to do it right. The architect was designing a new home and produced an initial concept of the conservatory and then asked us to take over. We worked back and forth, the architect reviewing our schemes and making comments and suggestions as we went but relying heavily on our expertise.

The end result is a great project and a very happy customer.

Alan