Budget Breakdown: This Ethereal Glass House in the Brazilian Forest Was Built for $187K

Though the very picture of serenity, this glass retreat in Vinhedo, Brazil, just north of São Paulo, was indirectly born out of political strife. In his youth, the client was a left-wing activist against the country’s military dictatorship; at one point, he received death threats and was even exiled. Fortunately, times are more peaceful for this now septuagenarian, who has built up a reputation as a renowned scholar, having retired from as a dean and professor of political science and philosophy at the University of Campinas.