Design Showcase
Explore modern living through our specially curated gallery, highlighting stunning designs and unique concept of the Glass House.
The guiding design principle for Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo was to create a house that combines transparency with sustainability, forging a strong relationship between the villa and the landscape. The harmony between landscape and interior, architecture and nature, was a key design determinant, particularly regarding sight lines, materials, colours, and lighting. The house is designed from inside out, creating uninterrupted views to the surrounding nature while providing shelter and intimacy. All these aspects work together to ensure the house’s sense of timelessness. The villa is situated in a green oasis of trees and plants that hide the house from view.
Spread over three floors, the structure is the essence of contemporary design — from the ultra-modern, fully glazed façade to the sleek and elegant dark wood detailing. Terraces on two different levels connect the villa to both the land and the water, anchoring the house in nature. And since floor-to-ceiling windows flank all four sides of the home, there are panoramic views of the landscape from nearly every room in the house.
The exterior wood used in the Glass House was treated using the ancient Japanese art of Sugi Ban, which involves subtly charring timber to provide a beautiful, long-lasting finish. As well as providing effective fire resistance, this natural technique is free from chemical preservatives, paints and retardants. An elegant, practical and environmentally friendly solution.
In order not to detract from the surroundings, the interior design makes use of earthy, light and transparent materials: glass, dark wood, Negro Marquina and Carrara marble slabs, dark metal and bright white walls, ceilings and doors. The colour of the flooring extends outside the house, cladding the edges of the deck that surrounds the building, as well as the bridge that connects it with the land.
To create the feeling of ‘living outside on water’ that the architects were trying to achieve, the house sits on a platform, which hovers over water at the edge of the lake. To enter the house you cross a bridge, which has been positioned diagonally to the access road, to ensure the house is effectively hidden from view and to avoid cutting down mature plants and trees. Besides providing a physical barrier, the trees and plants have a muffling effect, absorbing any lights or sounds from the road and increasing the sensation of being cocooned in nature. It’s a place of luxurious refuge and sublime relaxation.
Photography:
© mariashot.photo,
© ATMOS
© Greg Holmes
© Adam Lynk
Text:
Faith Kitchen
Mecanoo.nl