Conservatories
One of the side effects of global warming and climate change is that in many places both summers and winters are gradually getting hotter. Whilst this obviously affects us all in some ways, such as the greater tendency to eat more ice creams on that hot summers day, there are also other side effects which are changing the way bespoke buildings are designed and built.
Climate has always affected architecture. In colder climates domestic homes have been built to withstand the elements and in the hotter climates homes have been built primarily to protect people from the sun or wild animals. Over the centuries elaborate buildings such as orangeries and conservatories have been built primarily for wealthy inhabitants to enjoy the sun whilst being on the inside.
Conservatories are increasingly popular in both North America and the UK although in other parts of the world they are relatively unknown. One of the most elaborate timber conservatories was designed by the famous British architect Sir Joseph Paxton, who rose from being a gardener for the 6th Duke of Devonshire to the key designer and architect for Prince Albert. His big idea was to create a building of glass for the Great Exhibition of 1881. Joseph Paxton shared his ideas with the famous railway designer Robert Stephenson who enthusiastically supported his conservatory design. Crystal Palace was built and played a key part in the increase in activity for Victorian conservatories and its counterpart the orangery. Today conservatories are big business in the UK and there is extensive conservatory advice available from specialist conservatory architects. Conservatories are often named by the era that a monarch reigned. For instance architects will refer to conservatories as Edwardian Conservatories and Victorian conservatories. The quality of a conservatory or orangery is often determined by its material with hardwood conservatories being the best.
Conservatories design is becoming more popular with architects in creating features to peoples’ homes because of global warming and climate change . Global warming is leading to the melting of the polar ice caps and a rising of sea levels leading to more turbulent weather conditions. Ice in itself reflects heat but water absorbs it. One of the effects of the melting ice caps is that the oceans and winds are getting warmer. Countries like the UK are famous for the wet climate. However, in the last few years some of the hottest summers on record have been experienced. This is leading to home improvements in particular in the number of diy conservatories, garden rooms and orangeries that are being built. These vary widely in quality from PVCu which is a synthetic material to top quality hardwoods such as oak, teak and Brazilian mahogany. An oak conservatory or oak orangery sits at the top of the pile. Oak last for centuries and is the traditional favourite of architects and professional builders. In the UK there are many ancient buildings made from oak that stand strong today after 1000 years. Oak too is a very popular tree in North America but doesn’t carry quite the kudos as it does in the UK. Oak is environmentally friendly as it is not endangered species and its use for home improvements does not entail the culling of rain forest that is common for hardwoods such as Meranti and Sapele. The culling of these forests results in greater global warming. It is paradoxical in a way that conservatories and orangeries are becoming more popular because of global warming and that the very material used in their construction is resulting in greater global warming.
One of the recent changes in conservatory building has been the sophistication in the glass that is used. Traditionally, glass offered protection from the elements and retained little heat. It was not uncommon in the winter on an early morning for conservatory glass to have ice on the inside, rendering conservatories useless in the winter. Likewise in the summer the heat would be sweltering. We have seen many advances in glass which include double glazing which has an air cavity and the introduction of special gasses. But by far the most exciting development from an architectural perspective is the development of heat reflective glass. Heat reflective glass allows the light and the sunshine to come through as normal. However, it has a solar coating that prevents a large amount of the heat both entering and leaving the room. The effect of this is that a glazed extension, sunroom or glass conservatory can be kept at a consistent heat all of the year round.
Heat reflective glass is having an effect on architecture around the world. One of the world’s largest building sites is in Dubai which is part of the UAE. The building activity is so intense at the moment that 15% of the entire world’s cranes are being used in this small area of the world. In a country as hot as this solar control glass and heat reflective glass is becoming an important feature of all new glass design. Many of the hotels are designed with swimming pools on the 40th or 50th floor. One of the biggest problems in the past was the intense heat of the midday sun coming through glass conservatory sections, 100 metres in the air. Now with the advent of heat reflective glass and good air conditioning their clients are able to enjoy the recreation of the swimming pool with much more comfort.