Transparent additions to historic architecture physically
expand the space while making the subtlest possible changes to
the building exteriors, allowing you to see the original
structures right through the glazed walls.
Augmenting 500-year-old farmhouses, Victorian row
houses in London and some of Paris’ most iconic-looking
apartment buildings, these modern glass extensions aim to blend
in with the sky, offering transitions to gardens and bringing
natural light into formerly dark interiors.
17th Century Manor Update by Jonathan Tuckey Design
Invisible from the street, this ‘ghostly’ addition to the 17th
century Yew Street House in London by Jonathon Tuckey Design lets
you see right through its walls to the original stone
structure, disrupting its beautiful form as little as possible
while adding a gorgeous light-filled dining space.
Farmer’s Cottage in Croatia by Proarh
Zagreb-based architecture firm Proarh renovated a dilapidated
traditional Zagorje cottage in Croatia into a modern family
home, retaining the external frame while replacing the existing
porch with a transparent glass view facing a view of the
mountains.
19th Century Parisian Photography Studio to Rooftop Apartments
This glass addition to a 19th century photography studio in
Paris by Vincent
Parreira Atelier is conceived as an ‘inhabited observatory’
perched atop a Haussmannian building in the city’s
Opéra-Madeleine district.
Straatweg Extension by BBVH Architecten
An original masonry structure in Rotterdam, built in the 1930s,
gets some much-needed natural light thanks to a two-story,
all-glass wing added by BBVH
Architecten, which features a transparent roof, facade and
upper-level floor with an operable garage-style door leading
out to the garden.
‘Salle Labrouste’ Former French National Library
A major overhaul to the French National Library by Bruno Gaudin and Virginie
Bregal updated it for the 21st century while retaining its
dazzling beauty, adding a glass gallery that serves as a
rooftop promenade to link two sides of the structure’s
quadrangle.