LAYERED STRUCTURE

Cristina Parreño’s glass facade experiment discovers the boundaries of spatial perception, structural robustness and transparency.

Architect and MIT lecturer Cristina Parreño created a prototype for a self-supporting glass facade, entitled "The Wall." The design is the first in Tectonics of Transparency, a series of planned prototypes that will explore new ways of making glass structures. "The use of glass as the only material touches on issues of perception, privacy, transparency, light and opacity," says Parreño, with the design emphasizing a connection between structure and light in a way that is not possible with most other compressive structures.

The Wall relies on the compressive strength of glass to produce a spatial and visual experience that is specific to the use of glass. The depth and form of the structure gives multiple impressions depending on the angle it is viewed from, both through its volume and its transparent quality.

Photography: © Jane Messinger