Glass lake house appears to float on water

Mecanoo, the Dutch architecture firm behind Denmark’s futuristic train cars and the New York Public Library’s pending renovation, recently completed a smaller scale yet still striking project—a glassy modern lake house in rural England that appears to float on water.

The appropriately named Glass Villa is a cube of glass and charred wood. Windows flank all four sides of the home, providing panoramic views of the landscape from nearly every room in the house.

mariashot.photo courtesy Mecanoo

Mecanoo designed the home to orbit around a central atrium and open staircase that leads from the basement to the third floor. Despite the villa’s size, rooms flow into each other naturally, as if there’s an invisible path connecting all 6,450 square feet.

Blue Sky Images courtesy Mecanoo

mariashot.photo courtesy Mecanoo

mariashot.photo courtesy Mecanoo

mariashot.photo courtesy Mecanoo

The architects made the house feel like a self-contained fishbowl from the inside. And outside, it blends into its surroundings thanks to its reflective surface and another clever visual trick.

The villa sits on a platform that hovers over water at the edge of the lake, creating the sensation that the house is floating. A bridged walkway connects the residence to the main land, while a wooden deck wraps around the outside of the home, like a beautiful habitable dock.

mariashot.photo courtesy Mecanoo

Via: Designboom