GLASS HOUSE


Natural light is the best light we can get. It varies through the day, and psychologically stops fatigue in many environments, and makes the internal environment much more interesting.

The Glass House embodies all the developments that have taken place in the glass industry, to improve the thermal and optical performance of glass. There are glasses in the house that are self-cleaning. When it rains, it doesn't form down in droplets or rivulets, it comes off in a sheet and cleans the glass.

On the roof of the pavilion we have vents, and all the air comes in at floor level through glass louvres. This forms a natural heat siphon which pulls the air through the pavilion and keeps it cool. You needn't be scared of large areas of glass. We can open up, enjoy the view, enjoy everything that's around us.

The 4 x “Houses of the Future” are part of a project commissioned by the NSW Government as the climax of the Year of the Built Environment (2004)

Quality design and environmental sustainability are key issues & according to NSW Govt. Architect, Chris Johnson, the project is about rethinking & improving suburban housing

The houses feature passive solar design, natural cross- ventilation, minimal energy consumption, recycled & recyclable materials, stormwater detention, indoor-outdoor flow & so on.

Although they are affordable, they profile innovative technologies being researched & tested by the University of Technology, Sydney, CSIRO, & the University of Sydney Ian Buchan Fell Housing Research Centre & supported by many industry associations & interests.

All the houses are designed to be mass- produced, following a tradition established by Robin Boyd’s House of Tomorrow (1948), Harry Seidler’s House of the Future (1954) & the Parade of Homes, in Cherrybrook, Sydney (1960).

The difference is, mass-production no longer means dull uniformity or conformity, since in this age of the computer, it’s easier to introduce variations. Sophisticated modular systems allow very different looking houses to be produced from the same blueprint. Government Architect, Chris Johnson says the Houses of the Future are therefore more about mass customisation rather than mass production.

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