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

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

This is a conceptual design drawing of Tanglewood’s old world pool house conservatory now under construction in the Midwest about which I talked in my earlier blog posting.

In addition to the remarkable ornate steel and cast iron structure which supports the building, the exterior “skin” incorporates a host of custom designed stained glass panels that are reminiscent of Victorian era designs.

Just to give a sense of scale, from the floor to the top of the glass cupola ridge is almost forty feet high.

The first phase of the project installation is now complete and our crew will be returning to start phase two next week.

By the end of the first trip, the entire steel structure was in place, as was the framework for the lower roof and parts of the cupola roof lantern. The main walls for the custom pool enclosure were also up with some of the exterior trim complete.

Phase two will start with the completion of the roof lantern, trim work and the start of the roof glazing, then continue with work on the lower roof. Installation of the beautiful stained glass windows and doors will wait for the final trip.

Those are limestone stone columns supporting the three large pediments over the doors.

The cupola roof lantern, which is fifty feet long and twenty feet wide, was originally going to be hoisted into place in one piece using huge steel support beams and two large cranes however we decided not to risk the feat and it is now being built in pieces.

This is a huge new home that is scheduled to take another three years to finish so it will be a while before the swimming pool will be filled and the pool house enclosure complete.

Alan

Structural steel part being hoisted into place on for old world conservatory replica.

In addition to discussing the changes that have been taking place at Tanglewood over the past year which I began to do in my last blog, I also want to chronicle a really amazing project we’ve been working on for about the same amount of time.

It is one of the most challenging and unique project we’ve ever undertaken and it is now in the early stages of it’s on site installation.

The design challenge was to come up with a way of making the steel structure look authentically old – as if it were “found” somewhere in Europe and brought over and refurbished. Once we figured out how to design the building, we then had to figure out how to build it!

The room is to decorate a very substantial new home in the Midwest and enclose a large swimming pool, spa and lounge area. The unique feature of this conservatory pool enclosure is that from the beginning, the design was to mimic a true nineteenth century steel and glass greenhouse conservatory.

The building is supported by a decorative steel and cast iron structure which is then clad with glass. The owners fell in love with the great glass conservatory at Syon Park in London. They were enamored of the way the delicately detailed cast iron structure sits in distinct contrast to the heavier stone structure that encloses it and they wanted Tanglewood’s design to follow this concept.

What emerged is a truly remarkable building, as I think you’ll see.

Here is truck #4 of 6 (large flatbeds), steel and glass conservatory ready for shipment. Pictured is most of the team that has been working on the project.

Pictured below is the steel structure taking shape piece by piece. It was an elaborate jigsaw puzzle that was fabricated over a thousand miles away from the jobsite by several different fabricators working in tandem under Tanglewood’s direction.

The picture on the left is a picture of Nancy and myself with the project architect, the project manager and the owner of the construction company that is building the massive new house.

Those big round openings in the steel trusses are to accommodate a huge HVAC duct that will condition the entire space.

At the time of this writing, the steel structure is complete and we are just beginning the next phase of the erection, the wall and roof framing which will be the subject of my next report.

Alan