With the erection of the Crystal Palace at the Great Exposition in England in 1851, the whole nation, or at least that portion which could afford it, wanted their own scaled-down versions of the Palace. The glass house became, for the growing middle class, the hallmark of the proper Victorian home. Such structures had been part of the most forward-looking of the great estates for over a hundred years. Formal, fanciful, or downright functional, glass went beyond class and became fashion.
Originally used for protecting semitropical plants from European winters, large structures such as the Orangerie at Versailles, built to house and protect twelve hundred orange trees, were known as conservatories. In London, the Palm House at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew was built in the decade preceding the Crystal Palace; as large as the Palm House was, far more elaborate structures had stood on great English country estates even earlier. The Great Exposition marked the high point of both interest in, and the technology for, steel framed buildings with great, soaring expanses of glass that allowed light and air to enter.
The domestic editions of the Palace were as varied as tastes and purses allowed. Usage dictated many applications, and it is from all of these that we get today's enormous range of possibilities: conservatories, greenhouses, solaria, sun porches, and even the small, simple constructions that turn a conventional window into a garden for the truly space-starved.
It is bewildering to contemplate the variety of possibilities available to those who want to add light and air to a dwelling--whether house or apartment--through the use of glass walls. The technology has come very far from just glass-and-steel structuring. The latest principles of solar engineering can bring large fuel savings and other advantages. Designs range from a prefabricated single-window installation to the breathtaking addition of a three-walled glass enclosure onto the side of a house, to a freestanding greenhouse, perhaps connected to the main house by a breezeway.
Whatever the format, the new room can serve many general or specific purposes: as an entryway, a kitchen, a family room, a dining area, an extra bed- or bathroom, a new living room, or an entertainment area. Or to return to the original purpose, for growing and showing more luxuriant plant life than is possible under any other conditions.
Whatever the choice, the look of luxury is a decided practicality. This is the most economical way to enlarge a house, and is much less costly than building wooden, brick, or other conventional constructions. It is also the home improvement most likely to recoup its cost, either totally or a very high percentage. In the case of the resale of a house, a glass-walled addition will add more to the value of a property than either a swimming pool or tennis court.
When considering building with glass, the most practical way to start is with the purchase of a new book on the subject that serves as both inspiration and practical tool. Garden Rooms (Linden Press, $24.95), by Ogden Tanner, traces the history and development of glass houses from the castles and places of Europe to a wide-ranging collection of contemporary examples. Ideas abound everywhere, from the most simple to the most elaborate structures. Beautiful and explicit photography details
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