An atlas of glass architecture

The world built cathedrals for its plants.

Verrière catalogues the greenhouses that shaped the history of botany and glass engineering, from the Victorian Crystal Palace to the cloud forests of Singapore.

166Greenhouses catalogued
59Countries
6Continents
×1

Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom · double-click to dive in

The collection

166 greenhouses
Europe (70)
Burgers' Bush, Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem
1988

Burgers' Bush

🇳🇱 Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem
The first fully enclosed rainforest at this scale, since imitated by zoos around the world.
NetherlandsView entry →
Burggarten Palmenhaus, Vienna
1902–1906

Burggarten Palmenhaus

🇦🇹 Vienna
An art nouveau glasshouse built for the imperial court, now divided between a restaurant, a butterfly house and a public glasshouse.
AustriaView entry →
Central Siberian Botanical Garden Glasshouses, Novosibirsk (Akademgorodok)
1972

Central Siberian Botanical Garden Glasshouses

🇷🇺 Novosibirsk (Akademgorodok)
More than 7,000 species, forms and varieties of tropical and subtropical plants grow in glasshouses built when the garden moved to Akademgorodok.
RussiaView entry →
Chatsworth Display Greenhouse, Bakewell (Derbyshire)
1970

Chatsworth Display Greenhouse

🇬🇧 Bakewell (Derbyshire)
It holds direct descendants of the bananas and giant water lily that Joseph Paxton grew here in the nineteenth century.
United KingdomView entry →
1951

Chișinău National Botanical Garden Glasshouses

🇲🇩 Chișinău
The tropical glasshouses of Moldova's national botanical garden, in the heart of Chișinău.
MoldovaView entry →
1970s · domed orangery 1984

Great Orangery, Fomin Botanical Garden

🇺🇦 Kyiv
A 30-metre orangery, presented when built as the tallest in Europe, around Ukraine's oldest palm.
UkraineView entry →
Cluj-Napoca Botanical Garden Glasshouses, Cluj-Napoca
1960

Cluj-Napoca Botanical Garden Glasshouses

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca
A Canary Island date palm more than 145 years old grows in the palm house, beside an oil palm.
RomaniaView entry →
Comenius University Botanical Garden Tropical House, Bratislava

Comenius University Botanical Garden Tropical House

🇸🇰 Bratislava
On the banks of the Danube, seven hectares of garden hold a glasshouse where palms, cacti and orchids grow side by side.
SlovakiaView entry →
Curvilinear Range & Great Palm House, Glasnevin, Dublin
1843–1869 · Palm House 1883

Curvilinear Range & Great Palm House

🇮🇪 Glasnevin, Dublin
The dome of the same Richard Turner who designed Kew's Palm House.
IrelandView entry →
Eden Project, Bodelva, Cornwall
2001

Eden Project

🇬🇧 Bodelva, Cornwall
A dead clay pit reborn as a rainforest under bubbles.
United KingdomView entry →
Edenya, Pairi Daiza, Brugelette
2026

Edenya

🇧🇪 Pairi Daiza, Brugelette
Opened in 2026, the world's largest tropical greenhouse houses hippopotamuses, jaguars and manatees under glass.
BelgiumView entry →
1995

Edvard Anderssons växthus

🇸🇪 Bergianska trädgården, Stockholm
Glass walls that seem to float above five Mediterranean climates.
SwedenView entry →
Estufa Fria, Lisbon
1933

Estufa Fria

🇵🇹 Lisbon
A greenhouse without a single pane of glass, built inside an abandoned quarry.
PortugalView entry →
Giardino della Biodiversità, Padua
2014

Giardino della Biodiversità

🇮🇹 Padua
Five biomes under glass, in the world's oldest university botanical garden.
ItalyView entry →
Gliwice Municipal Palm House, Gliwice
1880

Gliwice Municipal Palm House

🇵🇱 Gliwice
Three Canary Island date palms planted for the 1924 exhibition still grow under the same roof, through two complete rebuilds.
PolandView entry →
Gondwanaland, Leipzig Zoo
2011

Gondwanaland

🇩🇪 Leipzig Zoo
Europe's largest tropical hall, where you cross the jungle by canoe in the heart of Saxony.
GermanyView entry →
1896–1898

Palm House, Peter the Great Botanical Garden

🇷🇺 Saint Petersburg
Bombed during the Siege of Leningrad, the glasshouse saved only about a thousand plants; its collections now exceed 12,000 taxa.
RussiaView entry →
Grandes Serres du Jardin des Plantes, Paris
1833–1836

Grandes Serres du Jardin des Plantes

🇫🇷 Paris
The secret backdrop for the imagined jungles painted by Henri Rousseau, the 'Douanier'.
FranceView entry →
Great Glasshouse, National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne
2000

Great Glasshouse

🇬🇧 National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne
Set on the Welsh hillside like a giant raindrop, this dome brings together six Mediterranean-climate regions of the world.
United KingdomView entry →
Great Glasshouse, Coimbra Botanical Garden, Coimbra
1859–1866

Great Glasshouse, Coimbra Botanical Garden

🇵🇹 Coimbra
One of the earliest examples of iron architecture in Portugal, restored and reopened after decades of partial closure.
PortugalView entry →
Great Glasshouses of the Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon
1877–1880

Great Glasshouses of the Parc de la Tête d'Or

🇫🇷 Lyon
Nicknamed the 'cathedral of glass and steel', they hold a cycad planted at the 1883 opening — the botanical garden's oldest resident.
FranceView entry →
Großes Tropenhaus, Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden
1905–1907

Großes Tropenhaus

🇩🇪 Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden
A permanent equatorial microclimate since 1907.
GermanyView entry →
Hivernacle del Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona
1888

Hivernacle del Parc de la Ciutadella

🇪🇸 Barcelona
A cathedral of cast iron and glass born for the 1888 Universal Exposition, brought back to life in 2023.
SpainView entry →
Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, Paris
1895–1898

Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil

🇫🇷 Paris
The City of Paris's greenhouse garden, where plants for municipal buildings were once produced.
FranceView entry →
1701–1739

Karlsaue Orangery

🇩🇪 Kassel
A princely orangery that served as both a summer residence and a citrus house.
GermanyView entry →
Kibble Palace, Glasgow
1873

Kibble Palace

🇬🇧 Glasgow
A travelling Victorian glasshouse: built on the shores of Loch Long, it was dismantled and shipped by barge to Glasgow's botanic gardens.
United KingdomView entry →
Masoala-Halle, Zurich
2001–2003

Masoala-Halle

🇨🇭 Zurich
An entire Madagascan rainforest under a single arched roof.
SwitzerlandView entry →
Old Orangery, Łazienki Park, Warsaw
1785–1788

Old Orangery, Łazienki Park

🇵🇱 Warsaw
The east wing of this neoclassical orangery still houses the court theatre built for Stanisław II August, opened on 6 September 1788.
PolandView entry →
Orangery of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles
1684–1686

Orangery of the Palace of Versailles

🇫🇷 Versailles
Designed by Hardouin-Mansart to shelter more than a thousand of Louis XIV's orange trees in winter.
FranceView entry →
Oranžerija du Jardin botanique de Kaunas, Kaunas
1923–1925

Oranžerija du Jardin botanique de Kaunas

🇱🇹 Kaunas
The president of the young Republic of Lithuania personally laid the cornerstone of this orangery, which went on to become the country's largest greenhouse.
LithuaniaView entry →
Palacio de Cristal, Retiro Park, Madrid
1887

Palacio de Cristal

🇪🇸 Retiro Park, Madrid
A colonial-era greenhouse turned cathedral of contemporary art.
SpainView entry →
Palm House, Kew, London
1844–1848

Palm House

🇬🇧 Kew, London
The technical cradle of every great glasshouse that followed.
United KingdomView entry →
Palm House, Botanic Gardens, Belfast
1839–1852

Palm House

🇬🇧 Botanic Gardens, Belfast
One of the oldest surviving examples of a curvilinear cast-iron glasshouse, whitewashed every summer to protect the plants.
United KingdomView entry →
Palmehuset, Tøyen Botanical Garden, Oslo
1868

Palmehuset

🇳🇴 Tøyen Botanical Garden, Oslo
Oslo's oldest palm tree grew here for nearly two centuries.
NorwayView entry →
Palmehuset, University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden
1872–1874

Palmehuset

🇩🇰 University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden
Inspired by the Crystal Palace, this glass palace houses a cycad planted as early as 1824.
DenmarkView entry →
Palmengarten, Frankfurt am Main
1869–1871

Palmengarten

🇩🇪 Frankfurt am Main
Born when Frankfurt citizens bought the Duke of Nassau's winter-garden collection.
GermanyView entry →
Palmenhaus Schönbrunn, Vienna
1881–1882

Palmenhaus Schönbrunn

🇦🇹 Vienna
45,000 panes of glass for three climates under a single roof.
AustriaView entry →
Palmenkas (Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam), Amsterdam
1911–1912

Palmenkas (Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam)

🇳🇱 Amsterdam
A rare Amsterdam School glasshouse, built to keep a brilliant botanist from leaving.
NetherlandsView entry →
Palmiarnia Poznańska, Poznań
1910–1911 · rebuilt 1992

Palmiarnia Poznańska

🇵🇱 Poznań
60% destroyed by World War II bombing, Poland's largest greenhouse was rebuilt without ever losing its living collections.
PolandView entry →
Palmiarnia w Wałbrzychu, Wałbrzych
1913

Palmiarnia w Wałbrzychu

🇵🇱 Wałbrzych
A princely 1911-1913 greenhouse lined with volcanic tuff from Etna, at the foot of Książ Castle.
PolandView entry →
Palm House (Palmimaja), Tallinn Botanic Garden, Tallinn
1999 · renovated 2021

Palm House (Palmimaja), Tallinn Botanic Garden

🇪🇪 Tallinn
Designed by two figures of Estonian postmodern architecture, this glass tower was once a nominee for best concrete-and-glass building of the year.
EstoniaView entry →
1972 · renovated 2025

Palmu māja, University of Latvia Botanical Garden

🇱🇻 Riga
A palm tree given in 1939 by national composer Jāzeps Vītols still grows beneath the renovated glasshouse of the largest tropical complex in the Baltic states.
LatviaView entry →
Palmusali (Kaisaniemen kasvitieteellinen puutarha), Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden, Helsinki
1889

Palmusali (Kaisaniemen kasvitieteellinen puutarha)

🇫🇮 Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden, Helsinki
The glass palace was reborn from seeds frozen through the bombing raids.
FinlandView entry →
Pálmaház du Füvészkert de Budapest, Budapest
1865

Pálmaház du Füvészkert de Budapest

🇭🇺 Budapest
The university botanical garden's 1865 palm house, immortalised in The Paul Street Boys.
HungaryView entry →
Pálmaház du zoo de Budapest, Budapest
1909–1912

Pálmaház du zoo de Budapest

🇭🇺 Budapest
Originally designed for a separate urban project on Gellért Hill, the greenhouse ended up housing Budapest Zoo's miniature jungle.
HungaryView entry →
Randers Regnskov (Tropical Zoo), Randers
1996

Randers Regnskov (Tropical Zoo)

🇩🇰 Randers
A zoo built entirely under glass domes, devoted to the tropical forests of Asia, Africa and America
DenmarkView entry →
1955

Rastlinjak, Ljubljana Botanical Garden

🇸🇮 Ljubljana
The first greenhouse at the Ljubljana Botanical Garden, born in 1955 out of postwar reconstruction.
SloveniaView entry →
Regenwaldhaus, Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Vienna Zoo)
2002

Regenwaldhaus

🇦🇹 Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Vienna Zoo)
An Asian rainforest slope recreated under glass, at the heart of the world's oldest zoo.
AustriaView entry →
Regenwaldhaus, Krefeld Zoo, Krefeld
1998

Regenwaldhaus

🇩🇪 Krefeld Zoo, Krefeld
At Krefeld Zoo, a barrier-free tropical greenhouse where animals roam freely
GermanyView entry →
Sefton Park Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool
1896

Sefton Park Palm House

🇬🇧 Sefton Park, Liverpool
Funded by a local benefactor, this Victorian glasshouse lost all its glass in 1941, but its frame held.
United KingdomView entry →
1889–1891

Sera Veche, Bucharest Botanical Garden

🇷🇴 Bucharest
Modeled on the glasshouses of Liège, which were destroyed in 1944 and no longer exist, Bucharest's Sera Veche has become their sole surviving example anywhere in the world.
RomaniaView entry →
1823

Serra Carolina (Giardino d'Inverno)

🇮🇹 Palermo
A gift from Queen Maria Carolina in 1823, this winter garden shelters coffee trees and papaya trees beneath the Sicilian sky.
ItalyView entry →
Serre Fata Morgana, Prague Botanical Garden, Troja
2004

Serre Fata Morgana

🇨🇿 Prague Botanical Garden, Troja
Three climates and a 6-meter waterfall along a single path.
Czech RepublicView entry →
Palm Greenhouse, Aptekarsky Ogorod, Moscow
1891

Palm Greenhouse, Aptekarsky Ogorod

🇷🇺 Moscow
Russia's oldest botanical garden shelters, beneath its glasshouse, a cycad over two centuries old, brought back around 1807.
RussiaView entry →
Serres Royales de Laeken, Brussels
1874–1905

Serres Royales de Laeken

🇧🇪 Brussels
Open to the public for only a few weeks each year, in spring.
BelgiumView entry →
Serres tropicales du Jardin botanique de Liberec, Liberec
1996–2000

Serres tropicales du Jardin botanique de Liberec

🇨🇿 Liberec
The Czech Republic's oldest botanical garden (1895) gained, a century later, the country's most singular greenhouse complex, its footprint mimicking a cluster of crystals.
Czech RepublicView entry →
Sheffield Winter Garden, Sheffield
2002

Sheffield Winter Garden

🇬🇧 Sheffield
One of the largest temperate glasshouses built in the UK in a century, framed entirely in glue-laminated larch.
United KingdomView entry →
Staklenik du Jardin botanique Jevremovac, Belgrade
1892

Staklenik du Jardin botanique Jevremovac

🇷🇸 Belgrade
On an estate given by King Milan Obrenović, the Jevremovac greenhouse has stood in the heart of Belgrade since 1892.
SerbiaView entry →
1891

Staklenik, Zagreb Botanical Garden

🇭🇷 Zagreb
Zagreb's greenhouse began as a marine aquarium before becoming, a century later, a jungle of palms in the heart of the city.
CroatiaView entry →
Temperate House, Kew, London
1860–1899

Temperate House

🇬🇧 Kew, London
The largest surviving Victorian glasshouse in the world.
United KingdomView entry →
Victoriahuset, Bergianska trädgården, Stockholm
1899–1900

Victoriahuset

🇸🇪 Bergianska trädgården, Stockholm
A cast-iron dome built for a single royal flower.
SwedenView entry →
Victoriakas (Hortus Botanicus Leiden), Leiden
1870 · current house 1936–1938

Victoriakas (Hortus Botanicus Leiden)

🇳🇱 Leiden
Beneath a cast-iron crown, giant water lilies have reigned since 1870.
NetherlandsView entry →
Wilhelma Amazon House, Stuttgart
1999

Wilhelma Amazon House

🇩🇪 Stuttgart
A forest path runs through a recreated Amazon rainforest where some twenty bird species fly free.
GermanyView entry →
Wintertuin (Jardin d'hiver), Antwerp Zoo
1897

Wintertuin (Jardin d'hiver)

🇧🇪 Antwerp Zoo
The winter garden of one of the world's oldest zoos, where tropical butterflies sometimes flutter beneath a 19th-century glass roof.
BelgiumView entry →
Yerevan Botanical Garden Glasshouses, Yerevan
1939 · main greenhouse 1979

Yerevan Botanical Garden Glasshouses

🇦🇲 Yerevan
Hundreds of tropical and subtropical species under glass, including avocado trees and orchids from Japan, China and Mexico.
ArmeniaView entry →
Zielona Góra Palm House, Zielona Góra
1961

Zielona Góra Palm House

🇵🇱 Zielona Góra
Built over nineteenth-century wine cellars, it holds a Canary Island date palm counted among the tallest grown under glass in Europe.
PolandView entry →
Łódź Palm House, Łódź
1956

Łódź Palm House

🇵🇱 Łódź
Nearly 4,500 specimens across more than 1,100 taxa grow in the historic Źródliska park, in central Łódź.
PolandView entry →
2007

Greenhouse Complex, Central Botanical Garden of Belarus

🇧🇾 Minsk
A glass octagon where rainforest, African succulents and citrus trees have coexisted since 2007.
BelarusView entry →
Оранжерея Ботанічного саду Львівського університету, Lviv
1974

Оранжерея Ботанічного саду Львівського університету

🇺🇦 Lviv
Beneath a 24-metre glass roof, a century-old Canary Island date palm and bunya pine have come through the winters of war.
UkraineView entry →
Оранжерея Московского зоопарка, Moscow
2012

Оранжерея Московского зоопарка

🇷🇺 Moscow
A glass rotunda at the heart of Moscow Zoo, devoted to the tallest tropical trees, built in 2012.
RussiaView entry →
North America (38)
Allan Gardens Conservatory (Palm House), Toronto, Ontario
1910

Allan Gardens Conservatory (Palm House)

🇨🇦 Toronto, Ontario
Rebuilt as a glass dome after fire reduced the original pavilion to ashes in 1902.
CanadaView entry →
Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Detroit, Michigan
1904

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

🇺🇸 Detroit, Michigan
The dome, originally timber-framed, was rebuilt in steel and aluminium in 1949 and reglazed in a renovation completed in 2024.
United StatesView entry →
Bloedel Conservatory, Vancouver, British Columbia
1969

Bloedel Conservatory

🇨🇦 Vancouver, British Columbia
A triodetic dome perched atop Vancouver, where more than 200 tropical birds fly free.
CanadaView entry →
Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory, Denver, Colorado
1966

Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory

🇺🇸 Denver, Colorado
Its interlocking concrete arches form a petrified forest before visitors even step inside the tropical conservatory.
United StatesView entry →
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Conservatory, Buffalo, New York
1900

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Conservatory

🇺🇸 Buffalo, New York
An extremely rare Victorian tri-domed conservatory by Lord & Burnham, set in the heart of South Park.
United StatesView entry →
Climatron, St. Louis, Missouri
1960

Climatron

🇺🇸 St. Louis, Missouri
The world's first geodesic dome to serve as a botanical greenhouse.
United StatesView entry →
Conservatoire de Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
1921

Conservatoire de Longwood Gardens

🇺🇸 Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
The great conservatory of Pierre S. du Pont's estate, built to dazzle his guests.
United StatesView entry →
Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco
1878–1879

Conservatory of Flowers

🇺🇸 San Francisco
Rebuilt plank by plank after the 1995 storm.
United StatesView entry →
Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1988

Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory

🇺🇸 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
A cylindrical glass tube spanning downtown Oklahoma City, between rainforest and desert.
United StatesView entry →
Desert Garden Conservatory, The Huntington, San Marino, California
1985

Desert Garden Conservatory, The Huntington

🇺🇸 San Marino, California
More than 2,200 catalogued cacti and succulents, a living laboratory attached to the largest desert garden in the United States.
United StatesView entry →
Devonian Gardens, Calgary, Alberta
1977

Devonian Gardens

🇨🇦 Calgary, Alberta
This fully glazed winter garden occupies the top floor of a downtown Calgary shopping centre and holds more than 500 trees.
CanadaView entry →
Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory, Atlanta, Georgia
1989

Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory

🇺🇸 Atlanta, Georgia
A pair of biomes under glass — rainforest and desert — at the heart of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
United StatesView entry →
Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Bronx, New York
1899–1902

Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

🇺🇸 Bronx, New York
Saved from demolition by a single philanthropic gift.
United StatesView entry →
Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, Fort Wayne, Indiana
1983

Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory

🇺🇸 Fort Wayne, Indiana
More than 1,200 plants and 72 cactus varieties under glass, right in downtown Fort Wayne.
United StatesView entry →
Franklin Park Conservatory (John F. Wolfe Palm House), Columbus, Ohio
1895

Franklin Park Conservatory (John F. Wolfe Palm House)

🇺🇸 Columbus, Ohio
The only public botanical garden in the world with a signature permanent collection of Dale Chihuly glass.
United StatesView entry →
Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago
1906–1908

Garfield Park Conservatory

🇺🇸 Chicago
Designed as a natural landscape, not a collection displayed in rows.
United StatesView entry →
Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory, Baltimore, Maryland
1888

Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory

🇺🇸 Baltimore, Maryland
The second-oldest public glass conservatory still standing in the United States.
United StatesView entry →
1985

JungleWorld

🇺🇸 Bronx Zoo, New York
Partly funded by a zoo patron, a barless Asian “jungle” opened in the Bronx in 1985.
United StatesView entry →
Krohn Conservatory, Cincinnati, Ohio
1933

Krohn Conservatory

🇺🇸 Cincinnati, Ohio
An Art Deco cathedral of glass nestled in Eden Park, with its indoor tropical waterfall.
United StatesView entry →
Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1995

Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory

🇺🇸 Grand Rapids, Michigan
When it opened in 1995 it was billed as the largest tropical conservatory in Michigan.
United StatesView entry →
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Conservatory, Richmond, Virginia
2003 · expanded 2026

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Conservatory

🇺🇸 Richmond, Virginia
The 2003 conservatory nearly doubled in size in 2026 and now includes a permanent butterfly house.
United StatesView entry →
1992

Lied Jungle

🇺🇸 Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha
One of the largest indoor rainforests in the world, opened on April 4, 1992, for $15 million
United StatesView entry →
Lincoln Park Conservatory, Chicago, Illinois
1890–1895

Lincoln Park Conservatory

🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois
Its fiddle-leaf rubber tree, planted in 1891, still rises beneath the glass roof today.
United StatesView entry →
Linnean House, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri
1882

Linnean House, Missouri Botanical Garden

🇺🇸 St. Louis, Missouri
The oldest continuously operating display greenhouse in the United States, devoted to camellias.
United StatesView entry →
Longwood Gardens West Conservatory, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
2024

Longwood Gardens West Conservatory

🇺🇸 Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
The largest construction project in Longwood Gardens' history, with a roof and walls that open according to the weather.
United StatesView entry →
Lyman Plant House & Conservatory, Northampton, Massachusetts
1894–1895

Lyman Plant House & Conservatory

🇺🇸 Northampton, Massachusetts
Ten of the twelve houses making up the Lyman Conservatory are open to visitors; the other two are horticultural work spaces.
United StatesView entry →
Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, Saint Paul, Minnesota
1915

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

🇺🇸 Saint Paul, Minnesota
One of the last great Victorian 'Crystal Palace' greenhouses still standing in the United States.
United StatesView entry →
Matthaei Botanical Gardens Conservatory, Ann Arbor, Michigan
1964

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Conservatory

🇺🇸 Ann Arbor, Michigan
Designed by architect Alden Dow, this university conservatory is said to be the largest university-run display glasshouse in the United States.
United StatesView entry →
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory (The Domes), Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1964

Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory (The Domes)

🇺🇸 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Three glass beehive domes, a modernist icon of Milwaukee, now under threat from age.
United StatesView entry →
Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton
1976

Muttart Conservatory

🇨🇦 Edmonton
Four tropical pyramids planted in a winter that reaches -30°C.
CanadaView entry →
Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, Niagara Falls, Ontario
1996

Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory

🇨🇦 Niagara Falls, Ontario
More than 2,000 tropical butterflies fly freely beneath its glasshouse, replenished at a rate of 3,000 imported chrysalises each month.
CanadaView entry →
Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh
1893

Phipps Conservatory

🇺🇸 Pittsburgh
A gift to the city from steel magnate Henry Phipps.
United StatesView entry →
Serres d'exposition du Jardin botanique de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec
1956

Serres d'exposition du Jardin botanique de Montréal

🇨🇦 Montreal, Quebec
Ten themed greenhouses tell the botanical story of the planet under one continuous ribbon of glass.
CanadaView entry →
Steinhardt Conservatory, Brooklyn, New York
1988

Steinhardt Conservatory

🇺🇸 Brooklyn, New York
A cluster of contemporary glass pavilions replaced decaying wooden greenhouses, beside the restored Palm House.
United StatesView entry →
The Leaf, Winnipeg, Manitoba
2022

The Leaf

🇨🇦 Winnipeg, Manitoba
An ETFE greenhouse-sculpture whose unfurled roof draws on the spiral of a nautilus shell.
CanadaView entry →
The RainForest, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland
1992

The RainForest

🇺🇸 Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland
An 8,100 m² glass-and-granite dome where a simulated tropical storm rumbles several times a day
United StatesView entry →
United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C.
Garden 1820 · greenhouse 1933

United States Botanic Garden

🇺🇸 Washington, D.C.
Born from a plant collection brought back by a Pacific expedition.
United StatesView entry →
Volunteer Park Conservatory, Seattle, Washington
1912

Volunteer Park Conservatory

🇺🇸 Seattle, Washington
A small Victorian Crystal Palace shipped "in kit form" in 1912, still standing on Capitol Hill.
United StatesView entry →
South America (10)
2026

Cali Botanical Garden Orchid Pavilion

🇨🇴 Cali
A new pavilion for orchids native to the tropical dry forest of the Cauca valley, a habitat under threat from deforestation.
ColombiaView entry →
Crystal Palace of Petrópolis, Petrópolis
1884

Crystal Palace of Petrópolis

🇧🇷 Petrópolis
An iron-and-glass pavilion made in France, a gift from the Count of Eu to Princess Isabel so she could grow her plants.
BrazilView entry →
Estufa das Bromélias Roberto Burle Marx, Rio de Janeiro

Estufa das Bromélias Roberto Burle Marx

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro
Nearly 1,700 bromeliads from the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest, in a greenhouse named after the great landscape architect Burle Marx.
BrazilView entry →
Estufa do Jardim Botânico de Curitiba, Curitiba
1991

Estufa do Jardim Botânico de Curitiba

🇧🇷 Curitiba
Curitiba's postcard image, inspired by London's Crystal Palace.
BrazilView entry →
Invernáculo du Jardin botanique Carlos Thays, Buenos Aires
Exhibited in 1889 · installed in 1897

Invernáculo du Jardin botanique Carlos Thays

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires
Award-winning at the Paris World's Fair before crossing the Atlantic.
ArgentinaView entry →
Invernáculo du Jardin botanique de Montevideo, Montevideo
≈1920 · restored 2023

Invernáculo du Jardin botanique de Montevideo

🇺🇾 Montevideo
A greenhouse from France crossed the Atlantic to bloom for a century on the banks of the Río de la Plata.
UruguayView entry →
Orchid House, Institute of Botany, São Paulo
1928

Orchid House, Institute of Botany

🇧🇷 São Paulo
Some 18,000 pots of orchids held as a scientific collection, including many threatened Brazilian species.
BrazilView entry →
Orchid House, Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, Rio de Janeiro

Orchid House, Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro
A micro-orchid section comes with magnifying glasses, so visitors can see flowers barely two millimetres across.
BrazilView entry →
1865

Quinta Normal Glasshouse

🇨🇱 Santiago
Once the glasshouse of railway magnate Henry Meiggs, now a national monument left derelict behind its railings.
ChileView entry →
Tropicario du Jardin botanique de Bogotá, Bogotá
2021

Tropicario du Jardin botanique de Bogotá

🇨🇴 Bogotá
This circuit of greenhouses was built on a platform designed as an artificial wetland, in tribute to the vanished marshes of the Bogotá savanna.
ColombiaView entry →
Africa (3)
Botanical Society Conservatory (Kirstenbosch), Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town
Not precisely documented

Botanical Society Conservatory (Kirstenbosch)

🇿🇦 Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town
Nine biomes of southern Africa, from the arid Namib to coastal fynbos, brought together under one glass roof.
South AfricaView entry →
Jardin d'Essai du Hamma, Algiers
Founded in 1832

Jardin d'Essai du Hamma

🇩🇿 Algiers
Served as a filming location for 'Tarzan the Ape Man' in 1932.
AlgeriaView entry →
2025

Tropical Display House

🇿🇦 Durban
Opened in October 2025, this tropical house took over from the historic Ernest Thorp Orchid House, closed after the 2022 floods.
South AfricaView entry →
Asia (31)
2015

Bayan Botanical Garden

🇰🇼 Bayan Palace, Kuwait City
A tropical jungle under glass within the Emir's palace grounds, even as temperatures outside reach 53°C.
KuwaitView entry →
2015

Butterfly Pavilion, Noor Island

🇦🇪 Noor Island, Sharjah
Four thousand gilded aluminum petals form the cocoon beneath which five hundred tropical butterflies flutter, facing Sharjah's waterfront.
United Arab EmiratesView entry →
Dubai Butterfly Garden, Dubai
2015

Dubai Butterfly Garden

🇦🇪 Dubai
Over 15,000 butterflies under climate-controlled domes in the middle of the desert.
United Arab EmiratesView entry →
Flower Dome & Cloud Forest, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
2012

Flower Dome & Cloud Forest

🇸🇬 Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Guinness World Record holder for the largest column-free glasshouse.
SingaporeView entry →
Forsgate Conservatory, Hong Kong
1991

Forsgate Conservatory

🇭🇰 Hong Kong
Three climates under glass nestled among the skyscrapers of Central.
China (Hong Kong)View entry →
Glass House de Lalbagh, Bangalore
1889–1891

Glass House de Lalbagh

🇮🇳 Bangalore
Stage for two major flower shows every year since 1892.
IndiaView entry →
Glass House, Government Botanical Garden, Ooty (Udhagamandalam), Tamil Nadu
1912

Glass House, Government Botanical Garden

🇮🇳 Ooty (Udhagamandalam), Tamil Nadu
Since 1848, Ooty's botanical gardens have grown flowers imported from an empire under glass, at 2,200 meters above sea level in the Nilgiris.
IndiaView entry →
1999

Glass House, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden

🇹🇭 Mae Rim, Chiang Mai
Thailand's first botanical garden built to international standards, nestled in the mountain foothills north of Chiang Mai.
ThailandView entry →
Grande Serre du Jardin botanique national de Chine, Haidian, Beijing
2000

Grande Serre du Jardin botanique national de Chine

🇨🇳 Haidian, Beijing
In 1999, the largest greenhouse in Asia at the time opened at the foot of the Fragrant Hills, under a roof conceived as the leaves' memory of their roots.
ChinaView entry →
1999

Grand Greenhouse, Kunming World Horti-Expo Garden

🇨🇳 Kunming
A living remnant of the 1999 Horticultural Expo, four climates aligned along the park's monumental axis.
ChinaView entry →

Jardin botanique de collection de Taipei

🇹🇼 Taipei
A flower-expo pavilion converted into Taiwan's most biodiverse greenhouse per square meter.
TaiwanView entry →
Jindai Botanical Gardens Greenhouse, Chofu (Tokyo)
1984

Jindai Botanical Gardens Greenhouse

🇯🇵 Chofu (Tokyo)
A large tropical glasshouse in western Tokyo, extended in 2016, with its room of tropical water lilies.
JapanView entry →
Konya Tropikal Kelebek Bahçesi, Selçuklu, Konya
2015

Konya Tropikal Kelebek Bahçesi

🇹🇷 Selçuklu, Konya
A butterfly-shaped glass roof shelters Turkey's largest tropical aviary in the heart of Anatolia.
TurkeyView entry →
Lloyd Botanical Garden Conservatory & Orchidarium, Darjeeling

Lloyd Botanical Garden Conservatory & Orchidarium

🇮🇳 Darjeeling
An orchidarium of 2,500 Himalayan orchids, in the highest botanical garden in West Bengal.
IndiaView entry →
2007–2025

Oman Botanic Garden

🇴🇲 Al Khoud, near Muscat
Two glass arches spanning 75 meters recreate Oman's mountains at full scale, in the middle of the desert.
OmanView entry →
Rumah Kaca Anggrek Soedjana Kassan, Bogor
2021 · inaugurated 2023

Rumah Kaca Anggrek Soedjana Kassan

🇮🇩 Bogor
The new orchid house of the garden where Sukarno gave Kim Il-sung the orchid that became the Kimilsungia.
IndonesiaView entry →
1969

Greenhouse, Main Botanical Garden of Almaty

🇰🇿 Almaty
Cycads 80 to 90 years old and a palm house inherited from the Soviet era, at the foot of the Tian Shan.
KazakhstanView entry →
Serre du Seoul Botanic Park, Seoul (Gangseo-gu, Magok)
2018–2019

Serre du Seoul Botanic Park

🇰🇷 Seoul (Gangseo-gu, Magok)
An inverted glass saucer 100 meters across, where Seoul recreates the tropics and the Mediterranean under one roof.
South KoreaView entry →
Serre du jardin botanique de Higashiyama, Nagoya
1936–1937

Serre du jardin botanique de Higashiyama

🇯🇵 Nagoya
The oldest greenhouse still standing in Japan, nicknamed the 'Crystal Palace of the Orient.'
JapanView entry →
Serre du jardin botanique de Kyoto, Kyoto
1992

Serre du jardin botanique de Kyoto

🇯🇵 Kyoto
A glass silhouette designed to echo the nearby Kinkaku-ji.
JapanView entry →
1986 · renovated 2019

Tropical Conservatory, Jerusalem Botanical Gardens

🇮🇱 Givat Ram, Jerusalem
A single gardener tends the mini rainforest growing, almost secretly, at the heart of Jerusalem.
IsraelView entry →
Tropical Rainforest Greenhouse, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung
1999

Tropical Rainforest Greenhouse, National Museum of Natural Science

🇹🇼 Taichung
A 31-meter-high glass-and-steel bubble planted in the middle of the city, growing a jungle under a dome.
TaiwanView entry →
Serres du Jardin botanique national de Chine du Sud, Guangzhou
2008

Serres du Jardin botanique national de Chine du Sud

🇨🇳 Guangzhou
Five of the world's climates recreated in one of Asia's largest landscaped greenhouse complexes.
ChinaView entry →
Serres du jardin botanique de Chenshan, Shanghai
2010

Serres du jardin botanique de Chenshan

🇨🇳 Shanghai
A ring of glass built around a former quarry.
ChinaView entry →
2008

Tropical and Subtropical Greenhouses, Korea National Arboretum

🇰🇷 Pocheon (Gwangneung Forest)
A glass pyramid nestled within a forest designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
South KoreaView entry →
Tashkent Botanical Garden Greenhouse, Tashkent

Tashkent Botanical Garden Greenhouse

🇺🇿 Tashkent
With no working shading system, staff had to paint the glass with clay to protect tropical plants from the Central Asian sun.
UzbekistanView entry →
The Green Planet, City Walk, Dubai
2016

The Green Planet

🇦🇪 City Walk, Dubai
An origami-shaped glass cube in the heart of City Walk encloses a rainforest built around the largest artificial tree of its kind.
United Arab EmiratesView entry →
The Orchard, Hamad International Airport, Doha
2022

The Orchard

🇶🇦 Hamad International Airport, Doha
At Doha's terminal, a steel grid shell suspends an entire rainforest above travelers in transit.
QatarView entry →
Tropical Montane Orchidetum (Cool House), Singapore
2021

Tropical Montane Orchidetum (Cool House)

🇸🇬 Singapore
A tropical mountain microclimate maintained at 16-23°C, right in equatorial Singapore.
SingaporeView entry →
Yeomiji Botanical Garden, Seogwipo (Jeju)
1989

Yeomiji Botanical Garden

🇰🇷 Seogwipo (Jeju)
A giant sunflower-shaped glasshouse gathers six themed gardens under one glass roof, at the heart of the Jungmun resort complex.
South KoreaView entry →
Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome, Kōtō, Tokyo
1988

Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome

🇯🇵 Kōtō, Tokyo
On a former landfill in Tokyo Bay, three glass domes heated by waste heat from a nearby incineration plant.
JapanView entry →
Oceania (14)
Auckland Domain Wintergardens, Auckland
1921–1928

Auckland Domain Wintergardens

🇳🇿 Auckland
Funded by the proceeds of an exhibition, a century before their restoration.
New ZealandView entry →
Bicentennial Conservatory, Adelaide Botanic Garden
1989

Bicentennial Conservatory

🇦🇺 Adelaide Botanic Garden
The largest single-span glasshouse in the entire Southern Hemisphere.
AustraliaView entry →
Butterfly House, Melbourne Zoo, Parkville
1985

Butterfly House

🇦🇺 Melbourne Zoo, Parkville
At Melbourne Zoo, a free-flight butterfly house opened on December 11, 1985.
AustraliaView entry →
Cuningham House, Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Christchurch
1923–1924

Cuningham House

🇳🇿 Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Christchurch
Described at its opening as "the finest building of its kind in Australia and New Zealand."
New ZealandView entry →
Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory, Melbourne, Victoria
1930

Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory

🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria
A greenhouse built during the Great Depression to bring a touch of color to a city in crisis.
AustraliaView entry →
John Hart Conservatory, City Park, Launceston, Tasmania
1932

John Hart Conservatory

🇦🇺 City Park, Launceston, Tasmania
A small Art Deco greenhouse tucked into Launceston's historic park, alongside its famous Japanese macaques
AustraliaView entry →
Lady Norwood Begonia House, Wellington Botanic Garden, Wellington
1960

Lady Norwood Begonia House

🇳🇿 Wellington Botanic Garden, Wellington
Hailed as the largest greenhouse in the entire Southern Hemisphere when it opened, it is now fighting for its survival.
New ZealandView entry →
Palm House, Adelaide Botanic Garden, Adelaide
1877

Palm House

🇦🇺 Adelaide Botanic Garden, Adelaide
Prefabricated German Victorian greenhouse from Bremen, the only known surviving example of its kind
AustraliaView entry →
Pukekura Park Fernery, New Plymouth
1928

Pukekura Park Fernery

🇳🇿 New Plymouth
Building this fernery required hand-excavating roughly 3,000 m³ of earth from former swampland.
New ZealandView entry →
Pyramid Glasshouse (Tropical Centre), Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
1970–1971

Pyramid Glasshouse (Tropical Centre)

🇦🇺 Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
The vanished glass pyramid that preceded The Calyx at Sydney's botanic gardens
AustraliaView entry →
Robert Clark Conservatory, Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Ballarat, Victoria
1995

Robert Clark Conservatory

🇦🇺 Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Ballarat, Victoria
The third glasshouse on the site, and the first to let visitors walk among the flowerbeds rather than view them from a distance.
AustraliaView entry →
The Calyx, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, New South Wales
2016

The Calyx

🇦🇺 Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, New South Wales
A 21st-century conservatory designed as a camera trained on the garden rather than a mere glass shelter.
AustraliaView entry →
Tropical Display Dome, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Queensland
1977

Tropical Display Dome

🇦🇺 Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Queensland
A geodesic dome planted on the heights of Brisbane to grow a jungle in the middle of the city.
AustraliaView entry →
Winter Garden Glasshouse, Dunedin Botanic Garden, Dunedin
1907–1908

Winter Garden Glasshouse

🇳🇿 Dunedin Botanic Garden, Dunedin
The very first winter garden built in Australasia, entirely funded by a local benefactor.
New ZealandView entry →

Read next

All articles →
Season

Tropical Greenhouses: 14 Indoor Jungles to Warm Up in Europe This Winter

When it's 2°C outside, it's 25°C under these glass roofs: Europe's best tropical greenhouses for a winter weekend.

September 30, 2026
History

The Oldest Greenhouses in the World Still Standing

From the Orangery at Versailles (1684) to the Victorian palm houses: the elders of glass architecture, still there to see.

September 30, 2026
Days out

Butterfly Houses: Where to See Tropical Butterflies All Year Round

Air-conditioned domes, tropical flight halls, Art Nouveau palm houses: the atlas's butterfly conservatories on four continents.

September 30, 2026
Days out

Zoo Greenhouses: the World's Largest Indoor Rainforests

Gondwanaland, Burgers' Bush, Lied Jungle, JungleWorld: when zoos build entire rainforests under glass.

September 30, 2026