5 Creative Uses of Glass in Architecture

October 18th, 2013

Tower-infinity

This invisible building above that is currently in the works in South Korea has us really intrigued.

The building won’t actually be invisible pers se, but will be sheathed in glass and will use a skin of LED screens to blend in with the surrounding skyline. The concept is similar to what we’re doing with our latest project 1 Yorkville which will have a sculptural 3D wallpaper that changes according to light, shadow, colour, and perspective.

The innovative use of glass on the South Korean tower has inspired us to search for other structures that creatively use glass in their exterior.

Here’s what we found:

National Centre for the Performing Arts, China

The titanium and glass structure surrounded by a man-made lake is informally known as The Egg, which fits the description perfectly. It took six years to construct this masterpiece and it houses three performing spaces including an opera house, a concert hall and a drama theatre.

the egg

Image via award.io

La Estancia Glass Chapel, Mexico

We like the back story that goes along with this beautiful building. A young architect wanted to get married at La Estancia Gardens in Mexico and the site owner thought it would be a great idea to have him design a new chapel for the gardens. That resulted in this cool glass chapel.

La Estancia Glass Chapel
Image via Flickr – Yufu Lin

The Dune House, United Kingdom

The British firm Living Architecture commissioned Norway’s Jarmind/Vigsnæs Architects to design this remarkable home. It’s close to the beach and is an architectural beauty. The first floor is made almost entirely of glass, which allows the house to be slightly camouflaged. It’s the kind of place you can imagine yourself escaping to, and you soon can as it’s available for holidaying starting late 2014.

The Dune House
Image via Flickr – Joe Wolf

Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Netherlands

We love this colourful building, sheathed in modern stained glass. If you think that it looks like blurred images from a wonky television set, then you’re somewhat right. The coloured glass panels are famous images from Dutch television. The building is actually a cube but half of it is underground. It houses a museum, offices, and the national broadcasting archives.

Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision
Image via Flickr – Luke McKernan

Selgas Cano Architecture Office, Spain

We would love to work in this awesome office building designed by architecture firm Selgas Cano. It’s a sunken office and their employees are surrounded by the beautiful and colourful forest around them. It’s also environmentally friendly – the curving glass walls completely eliminate the need for artificial lighting during the day.

selgas cano office
Image via Iwan Baan

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