Hello! Today we want to briefly tell you what a pergola is and how we love it when designing open spaces of terraces.
So, let's figure out what a pergola is. Pergola comes from the Latin word pergula - a canopy, which in fact is. Pergola is a canopy, an extension canopy, originally of natural origin from climbing plants for the passive protection of our terrace from heat and heat. These times have passed, and now the pergola consists, most of all, of metal or wooden sections connected between their sections by transverse beams or beams, depending on the type of manufacture. Thus, it is not necessary that the pergola be part of your building, it can be an independent architectural element. Simply put, a pergola is a kind of gallery with horizontal overlap.
The architecture of pergolas ranges from the simplest wooden structures to structures made of marble columns, which were often built in the 19th century and modern pergolas made of reinforced concrete structures with active roofs, canopies and glazing, with automatic opening and backlighting. One of the most beautiful elements of a pergola is a light-shadow pattern that appears inside the pergola itself. This pattern is especially beautiful at sunset and creates a feeling of warmth and comfort, like a fireplace.
The most advanced Ukrainian company in the market of pergolas and sunscreens is MANEZH. This company sells a full range of sun protection systems. The company has been on the market for more than 25 years and during this time it has implemented 3200 projects. The company successfully exports its products to countries such as the USA, Switzerland, France, Canada, Austria, Spain, etc. The company's mission is, together with architects, to create complex simple solutions in the field of OUT-HOME, by introducing the best ideas of world experience, creating their own unique engineering solutions in the field of sun protection systems, developing our own production, introducing the LEAN concept.
We recommend this Company with all responsibility! Creating a Project you will receive not only a system of the highest quality and elaboration of the product to the smallest detail, but also get great pleasure from communicating with the energetic MANEZH professionals.
Among the world leaders we also want to mention the company Corradi - Italy. It is also the undisputed leader in the segment of pergendos and sunscreens. The main advantages of Corradi are high reliability (5 years warranty), wind resistance, functionality and mobility. It is important to note that the price will also correspond to all these parameters.
Summarizing all of the above, a pergola is a great way to not only hide from the scorching sun, but also to get aesthetic pleasure from the play of rays, add aesthetics to architectural forms, but also of course - evidence of your capabilities
Wood in the Pacific Northwest, Aluminum in Ukraine
Pergola material choice tends to follow climate and building culture more than personal taste, and the difference between our Seattle-area and Ukrainian projects makes that clear. In the Pacific Northwest, cedar and pressure-treated lumber remain the default choice for pergolas - both hold up well against the region's persistent moisture, cedar in particular resists rot and insects naturally without chemical treatment, and the material reads as consistent with the area's broader wood-forward residential architecture.
In Ukraine, by contrast, aluminum pergola systems dominate the premium segment. Aluminum doesn't warp, doesn't require repainting or resealing, and holds tight tolerances that matter for motorized components - which is important, because Ukrainian and European pergolas tend to be considerably more technologically advanced than the simple fixed structures still common in North America.
Retractable Roofs, Glazing, and Motorized Control
A modern Ukrainian or European pergola is often closer to a piece of outdoor engineering than a garden structure. Retractable roof slats that rotate open or closed, motorized or manually operated, let the same structure function as full shade, full sun, or anything between. Some systems add sliding glass walls, turning the pergola into a genuinely enclosed, heated space usable through cooler months rather than a purely fair-weather feature. Others stay fully open, prioritizing airflow and a lighter visual footprint.
This level of engineering is part of why aluminum makes sense as the base material in that market: the moving parts, motors, and glazing tracks need dimensional stability that timber - which expands, contracts, and moves with humidity - cannot reliably provide over years of use.
A Pergola in Our Own Work
Our Lesnoe House project used a transparent attached pergola specifically to create a genuine transitional space between the house and the surrounding landscape - not a bolted-on afterthought, but a structural extension of the living environment, protected when needed and visually open to the garden the rest of the time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a motorized retractable pergola worth the added cost over a fixed structure? For a climate with real seasonal variation, yes - the ability to fully open the roof on a clear day and close it during rain or intense sun turns a single structure into something usable across far more of the year than a fixed canopy allows.
Does a glazed pergola need to be heated to be usable in cooler months? Not necessarily - even unheated, enclosing a pergola with sliding glass walls blocks wind chill and extends comfortable use well beyond what an open structure allows, though adding heating extends that further.
How do you decide between wood and aluminum for a specific project? It comes down to climate, maintenance expectations, and whether the pergola needs to support motorized components - a decision we make project by project rather than defaulting to one material everywhere.
Choosing the right pergola material and technology for a specific climate and use case is exactly the kind of decision our material selection and home design services are built around.
