Don’t Throw Stones: Modern Glass House is Super Sharp

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People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, or forget that they’re literally living in a fishbowl, if they have any modesty at all. Designed for a steep plot in Zurich, this ultramodern angular residence by L3P Architekten boasts all-glass, entirely transparent exterior walls that give the outside world more than a glimpse into the life of the family who lives there.

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Naturally, you can’t be too concerned about privacy if you live in a house like this, but the architects have taken a few steps to provide a few spaces that prying eyes can’t see. One is setting the house into the earth to create a ground floor that’s partially walled in black exposed concrete, accessible from a subterranean entrance that opens onto the hillside.

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The concrete continues throughout the interior, blocking off certain areas of the home without disturbing the views provided by all of that shimmering glass and adding a sense of weight and balance. The interior walls, floors and ceilings are all hewn in this solid material for contrast.

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“This work on the vineyard slope copies the logic of a vine: a supporting middle wall, platforms and non-bearing windows follow the structure of the stem, the trunk and the hanging fruit,” says architect Boris Egli.