Seven buildings draped with fabric-like glass facades
In this roundup, we spotlight seven buildings with undulating glass facades that resemble flowing fabric, giving new meaning to the idea of curtain walling.
From a rippling theatre in Brisbane to a pearlescent flagship store in Tokyo, the featured projects each use curtain-like elevations to create a distinct character.
They demonstrate how architects are challenging the ubiquitous trend of rectilinear glazed buildings, proving that all-glass facades don't have to be visually homogeneous.
Read on for seven buildings draped with fabric-like facades:
Glasshouse Theatre, Australia, by Blight Rayner Architecture and Snøhetta
Spanning two street frontages, this rippling glass facade wraps the cantilevered first floor of Glasshouse Theatre in Brisbane.
Its design was intended to minimise the theatre's visual mass while transforming its first-floor foyer into "a kind of public theatre" observable by passersby.
Find out more about Glasshouse Theatre ›
La Samaritaine, France, by SANAA
Japanese studio SANAA updated the La Samaritaine department store in Paris with an undulating glass facade that marks an entrance on the Rue de Rivoli.
According to the studio, the glass pays homage to the rhythm of windows on nearby Haussmann-style buildings while helping to soften the look of the store.
Tiffany & Co, Japan, by Jun Aoki & Associates
Jun Aoki & Associates said it designed this blue-hued facade to feel lightweight, emulating "a wisteria trellis swaying in the soft wind".
Its curved glass panels, which are finished in Tiffany & Co's signature blue colour, bulge at the corners and curve up around its ground-floor entrance like draped fabric.
Find out more about Tiffany & Co ›
Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse, China, by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects
A trio of glass-walled greenhouses forms part of this cultural park, set on the site of a disused steelworks in Shanghai.
The curved structures offer a deliberate contrast with the old industrial building, appearing to "grow organically in between and around the strict existing grid", the studio said.
Find out more about Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse ›
Yale University Center for Innovative Thinking, USA, by Weiss/Manfredi
Weiss/Manfred designed this glass pavilion to juxtapose the brutalist and Gothic-style buildings of Yale University, where it is located.
It has a gentle, wavy shape, formed from 6.7-metre-tall glazed panels lined internally with an automated pleated curtain that enhances its ripple effect when viewed from the outside.
"The glass skin's reflective and transparent quality allows the pavilion to act as a chameleon, mirroring the surroundings and campus activity by day and creating a destination imbued with luminosity at night," said Weiss/Manfredi.
Find out more about Yale University Center for Innovative Thinking ›
Louis Vuitton, Japan, by Jun Aoki & Associates
Jun Aoki & Associates also used undulating glass panels at the Louis Vuitton flagship store it designed in Tokyo.
The facade has a distinctive pearlescent finish, achieved by covering the glass panels with a colour-shifting film. It is intended to resemble water, nodding to its proximity to Tokyo Bay.
Find out more about Louis Vuitton ›
Nordstrom, USA, by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill
This curvy elevation marks the Nordstrom department store, which sits at the base of the Central Park Tower by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill in New York.
The five-storey facade is illuminated by LED lights and lined internally with chainmail, helping to minimise solar gain.
Find out more about Nordstrom ›
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