Designed in 1991 by Yung Ho Chang of Atelier FCJZ, this windowless house recently went up on the Shanghai waterfront as part of the West Bund Biennale of Architecture and Contemporary Art. With an austere concrete façade wrapped around steel-girded floors and ceilings made of glass, the home was originally envisioned as a 90-degree rotation of the typical Modernist glass house. As project architect Lu Bai explains in the project description, "the house opens to the sky and the earth, positions the inhabitant right in the middle, and creates a place for meditation," and it is rather ingenious, how residents can still see the sky in the basement, through three glass floors and a large skylight. That said, the firm's uncompromising commitment to this vision did give rise to a few... quirks, like how the toilet is visible right below the dining room table.
The building now serves as a guesthouse for visiting artists and architects, which should be a forgiving lot when it comes to form first, function later eccentricities, especially given all the natural light the homes takes in while keeping up an unbroken, fortresslike feel. Visit Dezeen for the full run-down, as well as a closer look at all the exposed piping and ductwork. Below is the latest in avante-garde commode placement:
· Vertical Glass House by Atelier FCJZ has glass floors instead of windows [Dezeen]
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