Outdoor Room

Inspiration for the Outdoor Room

The notion of devising structures beyond the immediate house, in which to interact with nature in comfort, is not new. The Egyptians had gazebos nearly 5000 years ago and the Romans, Persians, Chinese and Japanese had their variations to encourage rest and reflection, get in touch with their spiritual leanings, absorb the beauty of their gardens and interact socially.

More recently, the Victorian conservatory sought to subdue the rigours of the climate by filling a largely enclosed, heated room attached to the house, with lush plants grown from seeds and cuttings gathered on exotic adventures.

Initial designs, favoured brick or stone structures with wide glazed areas between columns and a solid roof. However, as western development gathered pace the use of cast iron and cheaper rolled glass allowed architects to design increasingly delicate buildings. This trend was reflected so powerfully in the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London which provided highly ornate settings for formal tea parties and lover's trysts well into the Edwardian era.

By the 1920s, the cast-iron conservatory had succumbed to frost damage and the ravages of rust.

To some extent developers were also the victims of their own success, as conservatories were being added to smaller and smaller houses until they eventually fell from favour with the affluent. It wasn't until the 1970's that new developments in materials such as float glass and techniques like sealed double-glazing made the conservatory a practical proposition again.

Then, as now, the extent of buffering from the elements by those seeking a closer physical relationship with the natural world was obviously conditioned by climate. However, the desire to blur the line between indoor and outdoor living is an ongoing quest worldwide and has the potential to significantly improve our lifestyle.