The Conservatory: Gardens Under Glass - Hardcover

by Alan Stein (Author), Nancy Virts (Author)

2021 GardenComm Media Awards Gold Medal Winner, Publishing category

"Alan Stein and Nancy Virts knock it out of the park with this beautifully designed history of conservatory spaces.... This is the perfect gift for the architect, gardener, historian, or photographer in your life." --Washington Gardener

Elegant and magnificent, conservatories reveal fascinating social, cultural, botanical, and engineering advances as they have evolved across history. First appearing in the eighteenth century as simple structures designed to protect fruit trees and other delicate plants from harsh European winters, conservatories became grand glass houses that spread across the European continent to the Americas and, ultimately, around the world.

In The Conservatory, husband and wife Alan Stein and Nancy Virts, founders of design firm Tanglewood Conservatories, examine the development of conservatories "from their humble roots to their global expansion as awe-inspiring glass palaces to the avant-garde structures crafted by top architects today." (Architectural Digest) More than 50 beautifully documented locations include:

• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London
• Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
• Palacio de Cristal, Madrid
• The New York Botanical Garden, New York
• The Biltmore Estate, Asheville
• Jardin des Plantes, Paris
• Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
• Allan Gardens Conservatory, Toronto
• Kyoto Botanical Gardens, Kyoto

Through stunning contemporary and archival photographs, evocative drawings of landmark structures, and graceful, accessible text, The Conservatory celebrates the patrons and designers who advanced the technology and architectural majesty of these light-filled structures. A resplendent coffee table book perfect for gift-giving and display, this volume captures the importance of conservatories as modern efforts increase to conserve phenomenal plants and their environments.

Author Biography

Alan Stein is President and Director of Architecture at Tanglewood Conservatories, Ltd., founded in 1993 with his wife and business partner, Nancy Virts. The company's mission is to conceive and build the finest classical and modern glass conservatories. Tanglewood's work has been published in Architectural Digest, Garden Design Magazine, The New York Times, Town & County and other periodicals around the world. Alan studied design at the California College of Art and graduated from the University of Maryland with a professional degree in architecture. He lives in Maryland.

Nancy Virts is cofounder of Tanglewood Conservatories, Ltd., with her husband and business partner, Alan Stein. The company conceives and builds the finest classical and modern glass conservatories. Tanglewood's work has been published in Architectural Digest, Garden Design magazine, the New York Times, Town & Country, and other periodicals around the world.