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Laminated glass opens novel Bordeaux home to countryside views

Private house in Bordeaux, France

Building a three-story house on top of a hill is not the obvious solution for a client who uses a wheelchair. Then again, clients don't turn to Rem Koolhaas for obvious solutions. Koolhaas actually built three houses on top of each other. The middle floor is almost invisible; the external walls are all of laminated glass and open up the main public rooms to the countryside and views of Bordeaux and the Garonne River Valley. At the house's heart is a hydraulically-operated, 3m x 3m open platform, furnished as a study which moves the client from floor to floor.

Koolhaas said: "The effect is not intended to be oppressive but to define the living space by the implied pressure of the floor below and the concrete form above. To achieve intimacy with, and orientation to, the space beyond the house, it is essential that the concrete top story appears to float. This is achieved by evacuating or exiling the supporting structure from the space itself."

The living area's laminated glass walls are made of huge (240 cm x 400 cm) panes

The living area's laminated glass walls are made of huge panes (240 cm x 400 cm) with no columnar grid to support the enormous weight above; the effect is that the 'walls' become almost totally invisible. According to the OMA architect Oliver Schuette: "We achieve maximum size insulated glass units by laminating two sheets of glass on the outer layer."

The firm's glazing consultant, Robert Jan van Santen confirmed: "This solution met French regulations in terms of safety and strength. The total laminated glass area of the walls is 100m² – enormous for a relatively small house of 500m²_. It's visually amazing from the outside – but from the inside, it's spectacular! You feel like you're living outside. The mountings are invisible, so that you have a real impression of freedom from the interior."