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Glass Haus
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A Case Study in Optics of “Public + Private” Spaces in residential Architecture

Berkeley Hills, CA
37°50'13.4"N 122°11'18.4"W

Studio Saliklis
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Winter 2021

 The Farnsworth House by Architect+Engineer Mies Van Der Rohe is globally recognized as one of the most significant embodiments of modernist principles in architectural design. Its minimalist design, integration with nature, open floor plan, structural innovation, and spatial hierarchy have influenced subsequent generations of architects and remains to be studied and celebrated in the history of modern architecture.

The Glass Haus is an homage to Mies’s most iconic work of architecture. As instructed, the design required adherence to the Farnsworth House’s modernist principles [transparency through the use of glass walls above all]. This project simultaneously embraces the paradigm shift in the “work-from-home” time period we as a society now function within as it finds itself architecturally reprised in the 21st century.  

Over the course of the  pandemic, we adapted to interact almost entirely through technology, the most common for us being through conference calls. In a time where we are physically isolated more than ever before, we simultaneously feel more surveyed than ever before in this virtual social space. In essence, we engage in our most public activities from our most private places at home. With this thinking, we decided to place our living spaces on the public entry level and our office and gym spaces on the private lower level, mirroring the swap between public and private spaces we’ve experienced over the past year

 




First Floor Plan + Circulation w/ Nodes

Second Floor Plan + Circulation w/ Nodes


Display Level Interior Perspective



EW Section




Private Level Interior Rendering  







[Above] - N/S Section Drawing
[Below] - Glass Haus Visual - nat geo on card stock

The diagram itself consists of two stacked rectangular boxes, the top one representing the living spaces of a house that are easily visible to the public passerby which could be understood as a sort of “display case.” This level is represented by the black and white images that create a defined rectangular “case” that translates to the non-operable glass windows of the entry living floor of the Glass House. The lower, seemingly sub terrainian, level serves a more private function and is represented by the projecting walls that release the inhabitant into nature, freeing them from the confines of their glass display case.








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