Cozy on the inside and virtually invisible on the outside, this Modernist home has a reflective facade allowing it to blend in with the natural environment. Meanwhile, residents can enjoy views out thanks to the one-way mirrored panels.

Designed by Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao (images by Rory Gardiner), the vacation complex in Monterrey has been dubbed Los Terrenos (Spanish for “The Terrains”). Each of three structures in the set are based primarily on one material: glass, earth or wood.

The earthen home has solid walls for privacy, ideally suited for bedrooms. Open-plan living, dining and kitchen spaces are in the more open and naturally lit glass companion building.

The glass curtain wall of the mirrored structure is hung to minimize interruption on the exterior, creating a nearly seamless reflective effect.

The other soil-based structure is composed of clay brick and rammed earth, creating a grounded contrast with its disappearing partner. The third structure has yet to be built, but will be elevated and wooden, again tying it to the forested surroundings.

Tall, dark and brooding, the infamous Maine-Montparnasse Tower is an unexciting skyscraper, especially by Parisian standards, but that could all change if MAD Architects converts it into a city-scale mirror. Their renovation proposal employs clever optical tricks to reflect and invert the surrounding cityscape.

When it was built, Montparnasse was the tallest building in France and heralded as a technological achievement. But unlike the Eiffel Tower, which was controversial at first but became a symbol of the city, this skyscraper never gained iconic status — in fact, it led urban building heights to be capped at seven stories. Some quip it has the most beautiful views in the city, in part because those views don’t include the building.

MAD Architects aims to change perceptions of the tower and its role in the city using concave glass panels tilted at an angle to create reflections of the surrounding built environment.

Viewers would be able to see surrounding streets, roofs and buildings in its mirrored facade. In a way, the resulting design both blends into the environment while also highlighting the beauty of the French capital and showing it from generally unseen angles.

“Today, we cannot really demolish this building and the historical regrets it stands for,” explains one of the architects behind the proposal, “but we can establish a new perspective to re-examine and think about how humanity can co-exist and interact with the tower and its environment, to bring meaning to our hearts.”

Perhaps unfortunately, while the firm was shortlisted in a redesign competition, another team was chosen to renovate the structure before the upcoming Olympic Games. Still, the design idea is out there, and another city might have its own ugly tower in need of transformation.

Dazzling in the most literal sense, architecture clad in mirrored glass or stainless steel almost seem to become part of the sky and landscapes that surround it so you can’t quite tell where the man-made objects end and nature begins. That’s often the point, with architects creating structures that virtually disappear into their surroundings (to the chagrin of more than a few birds.)

Reflection Field by Phillip K Smith III, Indio, California

Reflecting the vast open sky and signature palm trees of Indio, California, where Coachella is held each year, the installation ‘Reflection Field’ by Phillip K. Smith III consists of five monolithic volumes that transform all day along with the environment. At night, colored light is projected from within.

Refinished French Country House

It’s safe to say there’s no French country estate quite as dazzling as this one, now that its facade has been entirely replaced with mirrors. Architecture studio Bona-Lemercier worked with artist Xavier Veilhan and set designer Alexis Bertrand to transform a 1960s home into ‘Le Château de Rentilly,’ a contemporary art gallery.

Guest Houses by Peter Pichler, South Tyrol, Austria

A pair of vacation homes in the South Tyrolean Dolomites by Peter Pichler offer up space for guests without interrupting the property owners’ view of the stunning mountains. Reflective, but coated in a glare-reducing film to prevent bird collisions, the two ‘Mirror Houses’ blend into the property so they don’t compete with the client’s garden and existing 1960s farmhouse.

Mirrored Ziggurat by Shirin Abedinirad

“In this installation I have been inspired by the pyramidal structure of ziggurat, a common form of temple in ancient Mesopotamia, attempting to connect earth and sky, so humans could be nearer to God,” says artist Shirin Abedinirad. “The Mirrored Ziggurat acts as a staircase, which seeks to connect nature with human beings and to create union of ancient history and today’s world. The installation offers a transformative view of the self. The Mirrored Ziggurat has seven levels that represent seven heavens. For me, mirrors amplify this paradise, giving light; an important mystical concept in Persian culture, and a medium creating an optical illusion.”

Mirrored Auditorium by MVRDV, Tianjin, China

It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s reflection when gazing inside the transparent facade of MVRDV’s beautiful new library at the Binhai Cultural Centre in the Chinese city of Tianjin. A mirrored spherical auditorium inside the main atrium reflects both the interior space around it (including all those books!) and the park outside.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Disappearing Architecture 15 Mirrored Buildings Distort Perception

A brilliantly low-tech way to provide a unique view of the surrounding landscape, this massive yet cost-efficient shipping container periscope uses the same elementary construction principles as those childhood do-it-yourself milk carton equivalents.

Framing a clear vista of the nearby Lagoa Santa, a Brazilian lagoon, this upturned container designed by Pedro Barata e Arquitetos Associados sits alongside a structure likewise built in part from containers.

Though a one-off idea for now, this would be a great low-cost solution for sites where excellent views are close but building permanent staircases and decks would not be feasible.

Analogous to the traditional role of a fireplace and chimney inside a home, the tall structure is also a natural focal point for outdoor gatherings.

A simple system of wood supports and set of mirrors tilted at 45 degree angles reflects the view above for onlookers below. It is ultimately designed to travel, set up to similarly enable views elsewhere, before coming to rest in a final spot yet to be determined.

The architect is pleased with resulting reactions so far: “there’s always someone peeking through the vertical tunnel, trying to understand the ‘technology’ allowing them to do so. By connecting directly two different and faraway spaces, the Superiscope introduces people to architecture as hypertext”

Splintered corners, giving The Shard in London its iconic multifaceted look, are now also responsible for letting guests of Europe’s tallest hotel see into the spaces of their nighttime neighbors.

Having sent a reporter to spend the night, the Financial Times confirmed guest reports in a snapshot: a series of glass panels standing out from the structure have turned into a series of accidental mirrors, giving room-with-a-view a new meaning in the context of this building.

During the day, visitors to the Shangri-La can see out in nearly all directions, but at night with inside lights on they also get an uninvited sneak peak back into adjacent bedrooms. Designed by Renzo Piano, the famous building may not be as problem-plagued as its car-melting sibling but it certainly has some issues yet to be resolved.

The solution so far offered by the hotel seems somewhat incomplete – they are notifying guests of the issue and advising them to use curtains. Still, not everyone will remember to take such steps and many will want to leave their curtains open, since they came for the lovely views in the first place. In the end, one is left to wonder how no light modeling of the building revealed this potential problem (image above by Patrick Collins).