Conservatories, also known as glass or greenhouses, have been around for hundreds of years. Often found in botanical gardens, there are many beautiful conservatories around the world that are stunning pieces of architecture in their own right. If you want to know more about some of the most beautiful conservatories around the globe, see the below list.
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Beautiful Conservatories Around the Globe
1. Kew Gardens, London
Situated in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames, the Kew Gardens boast more than 30,000 different plant types and three main conservatories. Two are from the Victorian era. The Palm House, built in the 1840s, focuses on tropical foliage. The younger Temperate House (built between 1859 and 1898) is the largest remaining Victorian-era glasshouse in the world in terms of area.
A third, more-modern glasshouse, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, was opened by (and named for) Princess Diana in the 1980s. It features 10 computer-controlled micro-climates, each with its own species of plants. Kew also has a waterlily greenhouse, one of the oldest glasshouses on the property, and a recently built alpine house where plants from higher elevations grow in tightly controlled conditions.
2. Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, New York
A major attraction of the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, this conservatory opened in 1902 and was inspired by Victorian and Italian Renaissance architectural styles. It houses many of the garden’s impressive collection of plants, including tropical water lilies, cacti, carnivorous plants, and much more. It’s the largest Victorian glasshouse in the United States and includes a spectacular 90-foot roof dome.
3. Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton
The pyramids, of which there are four, are located on the outskirts of the city of Edmonton – Alberta’s capital city, and also form part of the area’s largest botanic gardens.
What’s interesting about Edmonton’s glass pyramids, is not only their beauty but how they are used. Specifically, three of the pyramids house plants from separate biomes, with the fourth used for seasonal displays. The three biomes utilized are temperate, tropical, and arid. The temperate pyramid is home to plants from Western Australia and some mountainous regions of southeast Asia, the tropical pyramid is full of a huge diversity of central American rain forest flora – complete with waterfall, while the arid pyramid contains plant species from deserts, hot & cold, from five separate continents.
To emphasize the popularity of the location, the stunning conservatory Receives over 100,000 visitors a year, and subsequently, Peter Hemingway’s colossal glass pyramids have become one of Alberta’s major tourist attractions. In detail, the Muttart Conservatory is the name given to the combination of the four pyramids, and the central glass skylight. Two of the pyramids stand larger at 660 square meters, while the other two measure at 410 square meters.
4. Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
In most of the world, conservatories are built to grow tropical plants in colder climates. In hot-and-humid Southeast Asia, tropical foliage doesn’t need that protection. Instead, the two conservatories in Singapore’s futuristic Gardens by the Bay are cooled, not heated. The Cloud Forest and Flower Dome are oversized glasshouses with architecture that is often likened to seashells sticking out of the sand.
The three-acre Flower Dome features seven gardens that are mostly populated with flowers from semi-arid regions such as the Mediterranean. The misty Cloud Forest, meanwhile, mimics conditions in tropical mountains over 3,300 feet in elevation. This conservatory is smaller in the area but has different levels, each with its own set of plant species and themes. It also boasts the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
5. Brisbane Tropical Display Dome, Australia
This large glass lattice structure was opened in 1977 at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. Home to a variety of tropical plant species, the climate-controlled dome allows the plants to thrive and protects them from natural environmental threats in the outside world. The dome also includes a large circular pond, native fish, and various tropical food plants.
This is one of the most beautiful conservatories around the globe that you should visit.
6. Bicentennial Conservatory, Adelaide
The Bicentennial Conservatory is one of three greenhouses inside the Adelaide Botanical Garden in Australia. The Palm House is a Victorian-era glasshouse imported from Germany in the 19th century, while the Amazon Waterlily Pavilion was built in 2007 to house its namesake plants in modern, energy-efficient surroundings. The Bicentennial Conservatory is the headliner of the garden thanks to its size and unique curved shape. At its highest point, it is 27 meters (88.5 feet) tall. The distinctive building has earned praise for its architectural design. As its name suggests, it was built in 1988 to celebrate Australia’s 200th year.
The conservatory houses plants from regions around Oceania, some of which are endangered in their natural habitats. The garden’s administrators made major changes in 2012 when they decided to turn off the climate controls in order to reduce the budget and the conservatory’s carbon footprint.
