Optical Glass House


Hiroshi Nakamura and NAP Japanese agency signed the proposed individual home in Hiroshima. In the heart of the city, built right between high buildings, Optical Glass House would open on a street side garden protected from the everyday bustle on the street by a screen made of 6000 blocks of optical glass.

Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP give a little detail about the house:

Optical Glass Front:

A panel of some 6.000 pure-glass blocks (50mm x 235mm x 50mm) was employed. The pure-glass blocks, With Their wide mass-per-unit area, Effectively shut out sound and enable the establishment of an open, Clearly articulated That allowed on the garden city scenery. To Realize Such a facade, glass casting was employed to Produce glass of extremely high transparency from borosilicate raw material for the optical glass. The casting process was exceedingly difficulty, for it required slow cooling to remove Both residual stress from within the glass, and high dimensional accuracy. Even then, however, the glass micro-level Retained Surface asperities, we aim Actively Welcomed this effect, for it Would Produce unexpected optical illusions in the interior space.
Waterfall:
So wide was the 8.6mx 8.6m façade Could not stand it if indépendamment Constructed by laying rows of glass blocks a mere 50mm deep. We therefore punctured the glass blocks with holes and strung 'em on 75 stainless steel bolts suspended from the beam above the façade. Such a structure vulnerable to lateral Would Be stress, however, so along with the glass blocks, we aussi strung on stainless steel flat bars (40mm x 4mm) at 10 centimeter intervals. The flat bar is seated Within The 50mm-thick glass block to render it invisible, and Malthus has uniform sealing gasket entre le 6mm glass blocks was Achieved.  The result?  -a transparent facade When seen from the garden Either or the street. The façade Appears like a waterfall flowing downward, scattering light and filling the air with freshness.
You can find out more about this house on Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP website.



Photographs:  Nacasa & Partners

Source: Archidesignclub

10 Comments | Post A Comment

  1. Japanese really love building unique houses. I can’t even distinguish if it’s a house or not.

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  2. That’s one good thing in owning an optical glass house, it can give you the feeling of being close to nature. This is what I want to achieve with my salcedo village apartment.

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  3. I’ve always wanted to stay in a house like this one, for it gives me a happy and calm feeling where you could see the beauty of nature. Actually, we are planning on putting up an Optical Glass House, we just need to finish deciding on its floor and basement flood protection plans.

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  4. The interior looks so eco-friendly, it matches well with the modernistic design of the house. I love the overall look and mood of the house, very calming and refreshing.

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  5. I don't know why it looks small with all the glass outside, though 6000 blocks of glass is such a number. I like the minimalistic approach of the furniture: too classy despite the simplicity. They are just too pretty to sit on, I might take photos of them instead!

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  6. Talk about creative design. It's amazing how they managed to find the furnishings and furniture that would fit an innovative structural design like this.

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  7. I love how the designers managed to incorporate various natural elements to the building's overall aesthetic. The balance of contemporary urban and classically natural in the fixtures, furniture, and exteriors are commendable.

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  8. I wish they made some of those house designs here. I'd love to live in a unit with fixtures that look like that, and with a whole lot of trees when I look out the window.

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  9. I can imagine how happy and comfortable life is living in an optical glass house. If given the chance and enough money I would love to remodel my house and turn into this one.

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