Optical Glass House

By Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP, Project description:

This house is sited among tall buildings in downtown Hiroshima, overlooking a street with many passing cars and trams. To obtain privacy and tranquility in these surroundings, we placed a garden and optical glass façade on the street side of the house. The garden is visible from all rooms, and the serene soundless scenery of the passing cars and trams imparts richness to life in the house. Sunlight from the east, refracting through the glass, creates beautiful light patterns.

Optical Glass House

By Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP, Project description:

This house is sited among tall buildings in downtown Hiroshima, overlooking a street with many passing cars and trams. To obtain privacy and tranquility in these surroundings, we placed a garden and optical glass façade on the street side of the house. The garden is visible from all rooms, and the serene soundless scenery of the passing cars and trams imparts richness to life in the house. Sunlight from the east, refracting through the glass, creates beautiful light patterns.

Garden & House

The Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa designed this “Garden & House” in Tokyo on a very small lot of just 8 x 4 m. It doesn’t really have a facade or walls: vases, planters, concrete benches, plexiglass railings, full-height windows and curtains form the boundary between inside and outside. I’m baffled.