The Santambrogio Milano Glass Houses: Living Without Boundaries

Glass houses have been built before but never like this. They had glass walls and offered a 360 degree view but building an entire home only out of glass means taking this technology to a whole new level, whist defining a new concept in contemporary design.

Naturally, this concept has its flaws. Glass or, better yet, ‘extraclear glass’ is a pretentious material that needs a lot of attention; cleaning an entire house can be a challenge, especially because a stained glass house would be pointless. But some people might not consider this a problem so, it’s really all about how we feel about; the rewards though are amazing, and seem almost unreal: falling asleep while watching the stars and pointing out the formations, wondering how the next lighting would look like when stormy outside or just counting the thousands of snowflakes rushing to the ground without having to go outside. It is a dream come true although, I wonder, how would Santa come in without being seen?

The building has a commercial purpose too; it was created to showcase a new series of items created by Santambrogiomilano. The founder, Carlo Santambrogio, and designer Ennio Arosio collaborated and designed this new line called ‘Simplicity’ which features all kind of interior items like beds, sofas and bookcases, along with architectural elements such as staircases and kitchens. We have previously featured a simillar project on our website: The Mirrorcube Hotel by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter

Description from architects:

“The woodland house rests on a land with the scent of sun and rain. If erects the developments on its transparencies till it looks onto the tops of the branches and ancient trees.

The house on the sea lives the landscape. It bears witness to the succession of natural phenomena, responsive to these contrasts. Reflecting and integrating into its transparencies the anger and peace of the elements.”

Homesthetics conclusion:

This project is probably the boldest idea I have ever seen. The designers have done a great job and have overcome many obstacles allowing us to get a sense about how living in a glass house would be like.