Vertical Glass House: Know where you can't hide anything
Have you ever imagined living in a house where you can see the sky from the dining room? Or better yet, know if someone is in the bathroom just looking through your room? For know that all this is possible at the Shanghai Vertical Glass House in China.
Designed by the Chinese company Atelier FCJZ, instead of windows - which allow light to enter and represent the element of contact with the outside world - the building's main feature is the floors and glass ceilings that divide the floors. In all, there are four floors formed by a central steel structure that supports 7 cm thick glass plates.
But while those who enter the 40-square-meter building have a unique experience when faced with fully transparent environments - where you can view every room of the house and still have a privileged view of the sky -, outside the experience. It's very different.
The lightness of the glass contrasts with the strength of the concrete that finishes the entire facade of the house. The glass plates are embedded in cracks made of concrete, allowing light to enter these spaces and creating an interesting visual effect for those watching the house outside at night. While the concrete walls allow nothing to be seen by anyone outside the house, the glass-lined floors reveal everything that goes on inside.
The Shanghai Vertical Glass House is a project of Young Ho Chang and was created as a prototype urban housing for a competition in 1991. The concept came true at the West Bund Biennale of Architecture and Contemporary Art. Nowadays, the building is used to welcome artists and architects who visit the city and don't mind sharing their privacy, of course.
Below are some pictures of the interior and facade of the Shanghai Vertical Glass House:
1 - Central Structure
