Only the kitchen crosses the divide- a territory shared by servants and mistresses and equipped with a variety of well-designed labor-saving devices. A row of bedrooms faces a narrow courtyard, on the other side of which is the staff wing’s blank wall. The other half sits on solid ground at the top of the hill, on the living room’s north side. The living area is only half of the house. In theory, the glass panels slide horizontally, but there is no balcony to encourage people to go outside. There are zones allocated to different functions in the house- a dining room, a library, and a sitting area around the freestanding fireplace- but the forest views unify all through the glass. Inside, the main living area is almost completely open, except for a courtyard that will enable the trees in the garden below to grow up into the house’s heart. The columns are pilotis, which allows the landscape to flow under the building. The main part of the house is horizontal between thin reinforced concrete slabs with slender circular columns.

The area is now the wealthy suburb of Morumbi, but a more domesticated version of the rain forest has since re-established itself around the house, concealing it from view. Located on a 7,000-square-metre plot of land, it was the first residence in the Morumbi neighborhood. In 1951 Bo Bardi designed the “Casa de Vidro” (“Glass House”) to live with her husband in what was then the remnants of the Mata Atlantica, the original rain forest surrounding São Paulo. Glass House Stairs | © Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre The Legacy of the Iconic Glass House Typology: Residential Architecture / HousesĪrchitecture and architectural freedom are above all a social issue that must be seen from inside a political structure, not from outside it – Lina Bo Bardi Glass House Photographs.Lina Bo Bardi’s Glass House Technical Information With its innovative design, the Casa de Vidro continues to be a symbol of Lina Bo Bardi’s avant-garde architectural style and is considered one of the most important works of modern architecture in Brazil. The name of the house is derived from its striking glass facade, which gives the illusion of floating due to its minimalist column structure. Designed by renowned Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi in 1950, the house served as her and her husband Pietro Maria Bardi’s home for four decades.

The Casa de Vidro, also known as the Glass House, is a landmark of modernist architecture located in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Casa de vidrio