atelier fcjz erects a vertical glass house in shanghai

the ‘vertical glass house’ by atelier fcjz was designed as an entry to the annual shinkenchiku residential design competition and now serves as a guest house for visiting architects and artists and as a permanent pavilion. encased in a concrete wall cast with rough timber on the exterior and smooth wood on the interior, the home lies within an opaque square tube that boldly contradicts the revealing contemporary glass houses. a singular steel column at the very center of the footprint supports crossing steel columns that subdivide the space into exact cubes. a 7cm thick tempered glass panel serves as the floor in each quadrant dedicated to a distinct domestic activity. a metal spiral staircase extends through all 4 levels of the building, ending in a double-height atrium facing the sky. horizontal slit openings in the exterior envelope allow the glass floor to break through the wall and allow the floor planes to be illuminated naturally while they glow at night. everything in the house is exposed to itself, while being entirely concealed from the outside world.