VISION 40 — OPEN HOUSE
There’s a cinematic quality with the internal/courtyard
glazing amplified by large, sliding doors and curtains
that blur the boundaries of inside and out.
The theatre of the house is interesting because it has
this big presence – this heroic gesture. That whole
courtyard façade essentially is glass and viewed in
sections so that you can view inside out and outside in,
in sections. And glazing which incorporates the pool
essentially looks at the house in sections so that you can
see from both aspects. What that does is engage with
the client’s lifestyle. They love to entertain, be outdoors,
have barbeques and so there is that theatre of those
activities and glass essentially offers that camaraderie
of that space.
Any concerns about glazing and privacy,
or thermal control?
The only constraint glass offered in terms of the client’s
questions was really with privacy on the front façade.
The front glazing is mirrored. During the day you can’t
see inside, but you can see outside. At night, you have an
inverse effect, but we’ve got remote controlled blinds
that can adjust the level of privacy. We were interested in
interacting with the street at certain times when privacy
wasn’t an issue. The thermal properties and performance
of the glass is excellent and so that wasn’t an issue at all.
Did you engage with Viridian for glass selection and with
assistance concerning energy rating requirements?
Viridian for this particular project were instrumental,
particularly with the really large panel of glass at the front.
It’s about 450 kilos and we obviously had to comply with
technical requirements for our energy ratings, but also I
wanted to get the glass to be completely seamless.
That was a very, very difficult task in getting one piece of
glass to be sitting on essentially a cantilever. So the
technical information we were able to get from Viridian
was very useful so that we could implement it into our
design and get the glass installed.
Are there any simple tests you apply to a finished project
that helps establish a project’s success?
It’s an interesting question to see when a theory has
actually worked in practice. One test is sustainability and
the things that you put in place for environmental
outcomes. Do they actually work in the finished product?
Does the space work and interact in the way that you
planned it to work? Are the materials weathering and
behaving? These are things architects test. You don’t
really learn whether you’re fully successful in the first
couple of months. The ultimate success is measured by
the clients’ response and the clients were pretty
overwhelmed and that was great for us.