glazed Archives

For this lookbook sponsored by Vitrocsa we’ve selected 10 buildings with glazed walls created using the Swiss window brand’s products, from a Foster + Partners-designed villa to a restaurant in a former police station.

Floor-to-ceiling windows maximise views and flood rooms with natural light, while enabling a seamless transition between interior and exterior spaces.

Founded in 1992, Vitrocsa specialises in minimalist windows with ultra-narrow aluminium-alloy frames, rails and thresholds designed at its facility in Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Switzerland.

Here are 10 projects where the brand’s sliding, pivoting, guillotine and turntable corner products have been used to form glass walls.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with pocket doors, interiors informed by biophilic design and garden swimming pools.

Headland House by Atelier Andy Carson — Photo by Michael Nicholson

Headland House, Australia, by Atelier Andy Carson

One end of Headland House in New South Wales features a rectangular glazed wall overlooking the surrounding coastline and farmland.

Sydney-based studio Atelier Andy Carson used Vitrocsa sliding doors to open up the living space onto a funnel-like, timber-clad balcony with a glass balustrade, leaving the vista uninterrupted.

Find out more about Headland House ›

Spring Road by EYRC — Photo by Matthew Millman

Spring Road, USA, by EYRC Architects

Stacked glass boxes define Spring Road, a house near San Francisco designed as a tranquil hilltop retreat by EYRC Architects.

In the large master suite, the dramatic views of Mount Tamalpais and the San Francisco Bay are exploited via a corner of Vitrocsa glazed walls that can be opened up onto an adjacent terrace.

Find out more about Spring Road ›

House in Jackson by McLean Quinlan — Photo by David Agnello

Jackson Hole, USA, by McLean Quinlan

British architecture firm McLean Quinlan was appointed to deliver a house in Wyoming modelled on a nearby settlers’ cabin dating from 1888.

Rustic materials are balanced with contemporary elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows spanning the open-plan kitchen, dining and living room, and an all-wood alcove overlooking the mountainous landscape through a large glass wall.

Find out more about Jackson Hole ›

Dolunay Villa by Foster + Partners in Turkey — Photo by Nigel Young

Dolunay Villa, Turkey, by Foster + Partners

A rare private residence designed by British studio Foster + Partners, Dolunay Villa has huge areas of glazing on its coast-facing southern side.

The glass wall slides open onto a terrace sheltered by a rippling timber roof that cantilevers outwards and was designed to look like an extension of the rocky, beachside setting.

Find out more about Dolunay Villa ›

Private spa in Israel by Pitsou Kedem Architects — Photo by Amit Geron

Private Spa, Israel, by Pitsou Kedem Architects

This glass-house pavilion in Herzliya was designed by Tel Aviv studio Pitsou Kedem Architects to have the feel of a hotel spa.

The main wing is enveloped with glazed walls on three sides set on a bespoke system of aluminium rails produced by Vitrocsa that allow them to slide wide open.

Find out more about Private Spa ›

F House by Pitsou Kedem — Photo by Amit Geron

House F, Israel, by Pitsou Kedem Architects

F House, also in Israel and by Pitsou Kedem Architects, features a glass curtain wall with a large pivoting door from Vitrocsa that swings inward from a private courtyard.

Glazing is used liberally throughout the project to produce multiple seamless transitions, including an all-glass corner section looking onto another courtyard and clerestory windows that frame views of a separate lounge space on the upper level.

Find out more about House F ›

Former Rocks Police Station by Welsh + Major — Photo by Katherine Lu

Former Rocks Police Station, Australia, by Welsh + Major

A trio of full-height, sash-style Vitrocsa guillotine windows face the street at this restaurant in Sydney that occupies a converted 19th-century brick building.

They were fitted to the building by Australian studio Welsh + Major as part of a renovation of the former police station.

Find out more about Former Rocks Police Station ›

Vitrocsa windows in Cleveland Rooftop by SJB — Photo by Felix Forest

Cleveland Rooftop, Australia, by SJB

Vitrocsa sliding windows divide the living spaces from a private garden at this rooftop apartment in the Sydney suburbs designed by architecture studio SJB.

The architects aimed to create a space that seemingly flows from inside to outside and used large glazed Vitrocsa Swimms sliding windows to divide the interior and exterior.

Find out more about Cleveland Rooftop ›

A House by the Sea by Pitsou Kedem — Photo by Amit Geron

A House by the Sea, Israel, by Pitsou Kedem Architects

The third home designed by Pitsou Kedem Architects on this list is a beachfront house where the studio aimed to maximise the connection with the Mediterranean Sea.

Giant windows flood the home with views and natural light, including in the double-height living area and in the cantilevered upper storey’s master bedroom where thin protruding lintels help to provide shade.

Find out more about A House by the Sea ›

Portland Japanse Garden by Kuma — Photo courtesy of Kengo Kuma Associates

The Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village, USA, by Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma created pavilions for a new complex at a Japanese-style urban garden in Portland, Oregon.

To maximise the connection between the interiors and their serene surroundings, the Japanese architect used Vitrocsa sliding windows throughout the scheme.

Find out more about The Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village ›

This lookbook was produced by Dezeen for Vitrocsa as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Reference

Spanish architecture studio Sierra + De La Higuera has used traditional Moroccan zellige tiles to define the different spaces in this open-plan apartment in Madrid.

Housed in a 1940s building in the city’s bohemian Conde Duque neighbourhood, the apartment belongs to a well-travelled couple that wanted to stamp its Mexican and Galician heritage onto the interior.

Wood-panelled hallway with white armchair in flat by Sierra + De La Higuera — Colourful tiling features throughout the Conde Duque apartment

“Our clients wanted to bring part of their origins to Madrid,” Sierra + De La Higuera told Dezeen. “This project is the outcome of a quest to find colour in Madrid, a characteristic marked by the owners’ journeys and origins.”

The studio was commissioned to carry out a complete refurbishment of the apartment, which included totally changing its layout.

Built-in green sofa in Conde Duque apartment — The apartment is housed in a 1940s building in Madrid

The original plan consisted of a series of rooms laid out along a long windowless hallway. Sierra + De La Higuera removed as many walls as possible to create an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space.

“Historically in Madrid, houses had a lot of rooms and partitions,” the studio told Dezeen.

“But nowadays, we like to live on a more open-plan basis. The main aim of the new layout was to open spaces, eliminate corridors and hallways, and to gain as much natural light as possible.”

Curved, wood-panelled doorway in Conde Duque apartment — A wood-panelled entrance hall separates the living and dining spaces

Two bedrooms – one with a walk-in wardrobe and both with adjoining bathrooms – are located at the north end of the apartment while a bright sitting room wrapped by south-facing terraces sits at the opposite end.

Throughout the apartment, natural timber, terracotta tiles and white walls were used as foils to the zellige tiling, which is distinguished by its imperfect hand-moulded surfaces.

View from wood-panelled room into green-tiled kitchen of Sierra + De La Higuera apartment — Emerald green zellige tiles distinguish the kitchen

The wood-panelled entrance hall with its arched doorways was conceived as a buffer between two different zones. On the one side is the Mexico-influenced kitchen and dining area finished with emerald green tiles.

And on the other side are the living room and the terraces with their bold yellow colour scheme, which were informed by the couple’s travels to Singapore.

“We focused on vivid colours: bright yellows, greens, blues and reds, paired with materials like tiles, ceramics and fine wood,” explained Sierra + De La Higuera.

In the sitting room and the two bathrooms – finished in red and blue respectively – the tiles were used to create decorative striped skirting that frames the different zones.

In some areas, the colours of the tiles are applied to other furnishings to create a cohesive feel, with the green upholstery in the living room echoing the glazed green tiles in the kitchen.

Terrace with yellow-and-white tiles in Conde Duque apartment — Yellow was applied liberally throughout the terraces and in the living room

A large bookshelf that runs around the kitchen, dining and living room area was custom designed for the space by Sierra + De La Higuera.

“This element is very important to the clients, as it holds all the objects they have collected on each of their journeys in addition to all their books,” the studio explained.

Bathroom with red-and-white striped tiles by Sierra + De La Higuera — Tiles were also used to create decorative striped skirting in the bathrooms

In the bedroom, the architects designed custom cabinetry and specified a cloud-grey carpet to create a calm and cosy ambience, which is intended to evoke Galicia.

Other projects that use tiles to delineate rooms include a Barcelona bed and breakfast by Nook Architects that features vibrant blue tiles and cobalt-blue paintwork.

The photography is by German Sáiz.

Reference

glazed

Ten buildings with glazed walls that bring the outside in

Vibrant glazed tiles divvy up Madrid apartment by Sierra + De La Higuera

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