The first ever greenhouse, or “glasshouse” to use its correct name, was built around 30AD for the Roman emperor “Tiberius” to satisfy his demand for out of season cucumbers! At this point glass had not actually been invented and so the spectrum was actually meticulously formed using tiny pieces of translucent sheets of mica.



The first greenhouse in its current form, however, with glass angled windows and a glass roof, was developed in 1500 by Jules Charles. He was a French botanist who constructed the glass outhouse so that he could grow tropical plants. It was initially built by Charles in Holland, where growing exotic fruits and plants was a symbol of extreme wealth.

Beeton's dictionary of Industries and Commerce wrongly informs its audience that the first green house was actually erected by Soloman de Caus in 1619 in Heidelburg and used to cover 340 oranges which had been transported into the village – however records of the first glass sheeted houses date back far earlier. Oranges were, at this time, a new fruit and orangeries were developed to combat the frost. The orangeries were clumsy buildings, which had a removable roof, developed and used to keep the exotic fruit trees at the right temperature all year round.

Experimentation with glass walls went on during the 17th century as the glass house came into vogue throughout Europe. The glass houses varied in style to satisfy the aristocracy's taste for decadence and better quality of glass meant these structures had a masterful presence in the period's design style. An example of such opulence is the Palace of Versailles which was designed by Philibert Le Roy under the instruction of Louis XIII in 1624. Eight years later, in 1632, Louis XIII obtained the seigneury of Versailles from the Gondi family and began to make enlargements to the château including a huge orangerie. The Versailles orangerie was more than 500 feet long, 42 feet wide and 45 feet high and had a southern exposure for light and heat.

By the mid-nineteenth century glass became plentiful and the cost of the glass houses fell. This was an age dedicated to illustrious glass houses, which competed against each other for recognition of wealth through bold design and elaborate choice of glass. The practical significance of these early houses for growing a vast range of foods was yet to be discovered and at this time they were mainly used to display and to grow oranges.

By 1825 the idea had spread through America (the first recorded greenhouse in America was in 1737 and designed by Andrew Faneuil) and was growing increasingly popular all over the world. The majority were heated by furnaces; however, some remained built into the ground like the earlier “pit” designs and were heated by south facing windows without the additional aid of fire.

Today, the immensely elegant glass buildings of yesteryear are designed from state of the art materials to create living spaces that are used for everything from dining rooms to kitchens; from playrooms to gyms.

Cult TV series and magazine Grand Designs have recently featured The Decagon House, a design largely taking queue from the old green house design. Mark Austin, Marketing Director of Hazlemere Windows who supplied the glass for the contempory live-in green house, notes the influence that this antediluvian trend has had on contempory design: “The green house are an example of fantastic glass design which practically has been adapted to become a very useful and traditional outhouse for growing food; but the use of glass in these buildings has also affected house design. It is really great to see how glass is used in less obvious contempory design and makes our work much more interesting.”

Homeowners have conservatories that are separated by doors from the rest of the house while others create vast openings that allow the conservatory extension to blend seamlessly with the home's interior. Replica Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian models, finished with detailed architectural features, compete for popularity with stunningly contemporary glass rooms where the emphasis is on creating impact from clean, simple forms. Who knows where the glasshouse story will end; what we can be sure of is that the footprint this canny little building has left, will go on influencing contempory designs and taking house design in innovative and unique directions nobody can predict.