Vertical Glass House in Shanghai

If — while eating dinner — you’ve ever wondered if you were out of toilet paper, consider the Vertical Glass House in Shanghai by Chinese firm Atelier FCJZ. See, the entire house has glass floors instead of windows, so one can peer directly into the downstairs bathroom from the upstairs dining room. Bon appétit!

Concrete walls are paired with wooden formwork, and each glass floor fits into a pair of narrow horizontal openings in the walls. Extra lighting along these slots generate stripes of light on the building’s façade at night. Designed by Yung Ho Chang as an urban housing prototype for a competition in 1991, the concept was taken to reality as part of the West Bund Biennale of Architecture and Contemporary Art. The Vertical Glass House now serves as a guesthouse for visiting artists and architects.