Amazing glass homes

Taghkanic House, by Tom Phifer; New York Behold the Taghkanic House, presiding over a gentleman’s farm in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley, a two-hour drive from New York City. The most visible part of this largely invisible contemporary home consists of an 1,800-square-foot glass pavilion. Glass houses always raise questions of privacy. However, in this case such practical concerns are addressed so that the majority of the home's living space consists of hidden subterranean chambers.

Taghkanic House, by Tom Phifer; New York The glass rectangular shapes seen in the sod here are skylights for Taghkanic House's underground spaces.

Taghkanic House, by Tom Phifer; New York This minimalist habitation of glass and white-painted steel was built in 2001 as the first major project by architect Tom Phifer. The architect is known for his facility with light, as exemplified in the sun-filled, sky-lighted galleries he designed for the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Taghkanic House, by Tom Phifer; New York The 8,800-square-foot home has six bedrooms, six full and three partial bathrooms. It has an asking price of either $6.75 million for 200 acres of protected property, or $8.25 million for an additional 150 acres and a three-bedroom renovated farmhouse.

Taghkanic House, by Tom Phifer; New York The above-ground glass living area allows 360-degree views of the surrounding Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains. Phifer designed another glass structure, Fishers Island House, for a client who wanted to sit in his house and look at his garden and his art at the same time, according to Dwell magazine.

Glass House, by Phillip Johnson; New Canaan, Connecticut Used as the famous architect’s “Glass House Retreat” (he died there in 2005), the building was originally designed as a home. Johnson preferred to use it for the 58 years he lived after building it.

Glass House, by Phillip Johnson; New Canaan, Connecticut Philip Johnson built the Glass House in 1949 as his own residence. It has proven and important structure to modern architecture. The building is an essay in minimal structure, geometry, proportion, and the effects of transparency on reflection.

Glass Home, by Santambrogio; Milano, Italy If you have the funds, architect and glass designer Carlo Santambrogio will design for you almost any indoor or outdoor glass structure you can think of. But it is his Glass Concept Home, located in Milan, which is perhaps his most impressive architectural feat.

Glass Home, by Santambrogio; Milano, Italy A blue-tinged glass cube sits in the middle of a wooded clearing – a location private enough to reasonably place a home that is made almost entirely of 6 to 7 millimeter glass (the material can be specially heated during the winter).

Glass Home, by Santambrogio; Milano, Italy “After the client requested it,” says Santambrogio, “I came up with the project idea.” Almost every feature or piece of furniture is made from glass as well, from the dining room table, to the stairs, to the bookcase.

Glass Home, by Santambrogio; Milano, Italy In fact, one of the few items not made of glass is the bed. Seems glass is just not comfortable to sleep on, even with a great comforter.