May I add that the challenge in doing a great glasshouse is finding the right architect.
The tension between horticultural requirements and heating/cooling issues, “green design,” water use, etc. puts us at odds with the architects. Many public glassshouses have been designed by architects who have never done anything like it before. They do not really grasp that it has to be a growing facility to succeed. Other architects are fantastic and creative. The most important quality for the architect (and landscape architect or designer) is that they have a truly collaborative approach and attitude.
Longwood Gardens is successful because the garden staff is so knowledgeable. The Eden Project is successful because the architects and owners worked so well together. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s buildings have had problems from Day 1. San Antonio Botanic Gardens….same thing.
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