The Most Beautiful Greenhouses Around the World
People have been trying to outsmart the seasons by growing plants in controlled environments since the Roman Empire. As methods grew more sophisticated and successful, the structures also became more elaborate and took pride of place on the estates of royalty and nobility, such as the l’Orangerie at the Château de Versailles . The greenhouse as we know it today, an often ornate glass and iron building, became more common during the 19th century as materials became more accessible. Striking examples are now found around the world, from classic Victorian-style conservatories in London to sleek and modern greenhouses in Australia. We’ve rounded up must-see greenhouses for architecture and gardening fans alike.
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Composed of 45,000 sheets of glass, the Palm House at Schönbrunn Palace Park in Vienna takes the cake as the largest glass house in continental Europe. Devised by designer Franz von Segenschmid and constructed by metalworker Ignaz Gridl in the 1880s, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.* schoenbrunn.at *
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The angular glass façade of the Tropicarium at Frankfurt’s Botanical Garden reflects waterlilies in the nearby pond.
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The famed Temperate House at London’s Kew Royal Botanic Gardens was built in 1860 by Decimus Burton to house the region’s growing collection of temperate plants collected across the globe. Measuring 52,527 square feet, it is the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world. kerg
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The Palm House, part of the Botanic Garden at the Natural History Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, was built by Carlsberg Breweries founder J. C. Jacobsen in 1874. Designed in the Victorian style, the structure took its inspiration from the Crystal Palace, an iron-and-glass structure erected in London in 1851 to house the World’s Fair. snm.ku.dk
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Built in 1988, the Bicentennial Conservatory at Australia’s Adelaide Botanic Garden is a contemporary take on a greenhouse. Designed by architect Guy Maron, it is the largest single span conservatory in the Southern Hemisphere and cuts a striking figure against the lush landscape. botanicgardens.sa.gov.au
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Following the popular style of the time, architect Alphonse Balat built a complex of greenhouses for Belgian King Leopold II in 1873. With its glass cupolas and soaring pavilions, it springs up like a glass city from the Brussels landscape. monarchie.be
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The pyramid-shaped Muttart Conservatory in Alberta was built by architect Peter Hemingway in 1976, a modern contrast to the surrounding prairie. muttartconservatora
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The greenhouses in the Botanical Garden of Curitiba in southern Brazil resemble the glass palaces of 19th-century France but were actually constructed by architect Abraão Assad in 1991.
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The Victorian-style Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden boasts a 90-foot-high central Palm Court and 11 interconnected galleries, which house different habitats. Situated around two outdoor courtyard pools, the greenhouse measures 400 feet long and contains 17,000 panes of glass. Completed in 1902, based on plans by architect William R. Cobb and the greenhouse design firm Lord & Birnham, it was declared a New York City Landmark in 1975 and now contains tropical and desert plants for study and exhibition. nybgrg
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The petite glass-and-steel Mexican hothouse in Paris’s Jardin des Plantes was one of the first of its kind, created by architect Charles Rohault de Fleury in the 1830s, when building with such materials had only just become popular. jardindesplanteet
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Completed in 1840, the Palm House at Ireland’s Belfast Botanic Garden is one of the earliest examples of the Victorian greenhouse. Just ten years prior, developments in glass manufacturing introduced six-foot sheets, which, when paired with cast-iron frames, could create glass domes tall enough to allow in the light necessary for tropical palms. The curvilinear Palm House was designed by architect Charles Lanyon and built by ironworker Richard Turner—one of the first builders to assemble prefabricated materials such as glass and iron on-site. belfastcity.gov.uk