The Glass Box House

Set in coastal Spain with breathtaking views of a lush Mediterranean landscape. Located on the northern outskirts of Valencia, a family residence “The Glass Box House”, designed by local practice Fran Silvestre Arquitectos that embraces surrounding nature through a modernist design of radical transparency and minimalist elegance.
Occupying an elongated plot perched on a verdant hillside, the house is defined by a floating roof above a stone podium. Comprising a horizontal and a vertical plane that stretch along the plot’s length, the cantileverd roof shields the house from both the summer sun and  neighbours’ prying eyes. Underneath, the house’s ground floor is completely enveloped in glass, eliminating the distinction between interior and exterior, a sensation further enhanced by the use of white marble which paves both inside the house and the pool terrace infront.
Similarly to the iconic 1950’s Farnsworth House, the main communal areas are located on either side of the elongated floor-plan, enjoying expansive views courtesy of floor-to-ceiling glazing on three sides of the building, while a white box enclosure in-between the living/dining area and the study contains the kitchen, bathrooms and two bedrooms. This box-within-a-box design not only affords privacy for the the private quarters and wet areas but ingeniously aslo conceals the structural supports for the floating roof #veryclever !
On the back, lower-level glazing, courtesy of the roof’s T-shaped section, ensures privacy without sacrificing natural lighting. Taking advantage of the sloped terrain, the architects have incorporated a lower level that houses, among other rooms, a living room and gym. As on the ground floor, the streamlined interior design by Alfaro Hofmann impresses with its radical minimalism, featuring an all-white colour palette, gleaming marble flooring and concealed lighting.