With the era of plastic, the building
of greenhouses has been revolutionized and the number of choices and
possibilities cannot be compared to what it was before.
Back when greenhouses been built, all were built of either glass or wood. Back at their peak, these materials been the new thing and a huge development of their time. Times have changed, so have greenhouses. While greenhouses built back then and out of these older materials are still to be found in botanical gardens, the average user has changed to some of the new alternatives like aluminium or plastic.
After world war two, aluminium was made available to the public and the first hype of aluminium greenhouses hit the country. Back then, the greenhouses been glazed with normal glass and compared to todays prices, very expensive. But in the end, a new trend was set and greenhouses went mainstream.
With the top end greenhouses being made of quality wood (such as redwood) the average and most common greenhouses are built by aluminium frames. There’s no doubt about which design is superior with the wood looking more authentic and elegant. Different to this traditional and elegant look, aluminium often looks a bit cheap and more industrial, which is I many people prefer wood frames in their garden and see the greenhouse as a part of their whole garden design.
As mentioned above, aluminium is often used in industrial greenhouses. That’s still the case today, but with a small, but important change: the glazing. Traditional glass is hardly used on industrial planting houses anymore, being replaced by twin wall polycarbonate. The advantages of polycarbonate are very simple to explain: it’s cheaper to buy and won’t shatter unlike glass while doing a better job in insulating the microclimate inside the greenhouse. With the two walls being built in the twin wall, the temperature inside is kept longer as the insulation is more effective.
With a lot of new and differnet materials coming up in the recent years, the design possibilities have changed dramatically as well. Unlike the times a greenhouse was rectangular only with a pitched roof, dome shaped greenhouses are becoming more and more popular as they seem to insulate better and according to studies, the sun light is able to go through such a roof easier than a pitched roof. Back in the 19th century, dome shaped greenhouses been constructed out of cast-iron and were considered a product for the wealthy only.
With the landscaping changing towards aluminium, dome shaped greenhouses became a product for the masses. Moreover, the format is nowadays being used in wood frames as well.
But not only the personal use formats of greenhouses have changed over the years. Talking about industrial greenhouses, the so called humble polytunnel became a new standard. At this structure, plastic sheeting gets strechted over the framework which is built of steel. These polytunnels are extremely popular in very hot climates, such as Spain for example where it’s by far the most utilized form of greenhouses in the industry.
Back when greenhouses been built, all were built of either glass or wood. Back at their peak, these materials been the new thing and a huge development of their time. Times have changed, so have greenhouses. While greenhouses built back then and out of these older materials are still to be found in botanical gardens, the average user has changed to some of the new alternatives like aluminium or plastic.
After world war two, aluminium was made available to the public and the first hype of aluminium greenhouses hit the country. Back then, the greenhouses been glazed with normal glass and compared to todays prices, very expensive. But in the end, a new trend was set and greenhouses went mainstream.
With the top end greenhouses being made of quality wood (such as redwood) the average and most common greenhouses are built by aluminium frames. There’s no doubt about which design is superior with the wood looking more authentic and elegant. Different to this traditional and elegant look, aluminium often looks a bit cheap and more industrial, which is I many people prefer wood frames in their garden and see the greenhouse as a part of their whole garden design.
As mentioned above, aluminium is often used in industrial greenhouses. That’s still the case today, but with a small, but important change: the glazing. Traditional glass is hardly used on industrial planting houses anymore, being replaced by twin wall polycarbonate. The advantages of polycarbonate are very simple to explain: it’s cheaper to buy and won’t shatter unlike glass while doing a better job in insulating the microclimate inside the greenhouse. With the two walls being built in the twin wall, the temperature inside is kept longer as the insulation is more effective.
With a lot of new and differnet materials coming up in the recent years, the design possibilities have changed dramatically as well. Unlike the times a greenhouse was rectangular only with a pitched roof, dome shaped greenhouses are becoming more and more popular as they seem to insulate better and according to studies, the sun light is able to go through such a roof easier than a pitched roof. Back in the 19th century, dome shaped greenhouses been constructed out of cast-iron and were considered a product for the wealthy only.
With the landscaping changing towards aluminium, dome shaped greenhouses became a product for the masses. Moreover, the format is nowadays being used in wood frames as well.
But not only the personal use formats of greenhouses have changed over the years. Talking about industrial greenhouses, the so called humble polytunnel became a new standard. At this structure, plastic sheeting gets strechted over the framework which is built of steel. These polytunnels are extremely popular in very hot climates, such as Spain for example where it’s by far the most utilized form of greenhouses in the industry.