From Seidler to Murcutt, these homes are instantly recognisable.
Architecture can be serious and fun at the same time, and that’s exactly what these amazing houses and buildings show us.
From a house that appears to hover in the woods to a public pavilion where everyone walks upside down, these buildings show innovative design at its best.
They all trick the eye in varying ways, and they all appear to be invisible from certain angles.
The Mirror Houses, designed by architect Peter Pilcher, are twin guest houses near Bozen in South Tyrol, Italy. A special film on the reflective facade reduces glare to help minimise bird collisions. Photo: mirrorhouses.com
But while our own reflections will always stop us in our tracks, we wonder how many birds are fooled by the invisible walls. At least one architect, Peter Pichler, has designed his mirror house to be seen by birds. It features a glare-reducing film on the walls to help reduce bird collisions.
The second floor of this amazing concept forest house in Poland appears to levitate, thanks to the mirrored lower level. The design, by Marcin Tomaszewski of Reform Architekt in Poland, won an architecture award at Iconic Awards 2015. Photo: REFORMMARCHITEKT.PL
This garden pavilion, called the Treehouse, was designed by architect Scott Kyson as a playhouse for his family. The pavilion is covered in sheets of smoked glass and lined in lengths of charred larch. Photo: KYSON.CO.UK
It’s hard to know where the greenery begins and ends at the Cairns Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre designed by Charles Wright Architects. Photo: PATRICK BINGHAM HALL
Look carefully – much of what you see beneath the cantilevered end of this house is a reflection of the garden. The Living-Garden House in Poland was designed by Robert Konieczny. Photo: JAKUB CERTOWICZ
With its reflective stainless steel facade the centre has frequently been referred to as the “coolest” building in New Zealand. Photo: PATTERSONS ASSOCIATES
Designed as a “shoebox” volume, the house reflects its surroundings, imposing minimal visual disturbance on the landscape. Photo: CHRISTIAN BRANDSTAETTER
Atelier Vens Vanbelle designed this near-invisible extension to a notary’s office in the Belgian village of Horebeke. Photo: VENSVANBELL.BE
How do you insert a new facade into a street of historic terrace houses? Hope of Glory (HoG) Architektur’s response for the Stadthaus Ballhausgasse in Graz, Austria, was to provide a fully-mirrored facade that would reflect the old buildings. Photo: HOPE OF GLORY/PAUL OTT
The treehouse, designed by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, is an elegant suspended mirror box. Photo: MIRROR CUBE
This is the fabulous Vieux Port events pavilion in Marseille, designed by Foster + Partners. Photo: FOSTER + PARTNERS
Look how much fun you can have with mirrors. The Batiment was a temporary street installation in Paris, designed by Leandro Erlich. Passers-by are reflected up on to a mirrored wall with amusing results. Photo: LEANDRO ERLICH