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920 Exterior House Glass Siding Material Design Photos And Ideas

The long, low home sits unobtrusively atop the ridge. Large areas of glazing open the home to the landscape to the south.
An enclosed porch with a fireplace sits between the living wing and the services wing, providing a pivotal point from which the home fans out.
The simple, affordable material palette allows the home to sit comfortably within the natural landscape.
The home is oriented to take in views of Mount Canobolas in the Great Dividing Range. With an elevation of 4,577 feet, the extinct volcano is the highest mountain in the region.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing ensures natural light is plentiful throughout the home. The silvertop ash cladding on the exterior will develop a silver-gray patina over time.
The home is respectful to the rural site and champions the view. Thanks to the prefab construction, there was very little earthwork and minimal site impact. This approach also helped to eliminate potential weather delays—which would have been likely as, owing to the high altitude, the area frequently experiences frost and snow in winter months.
The steel bridge—which echoes the design language of the steel brise soleil—extends from the second-floor study into the rear garden.
The deep brise soleil shades the interior as well and offers privacy from neighboring buildings without compromising the views.
Both the boys' bedroom and family room spill out into the ground floor garden, providing the children with an expanded play area outside of the house.
The two monolithic walls on the north and south sides are integrally colored, steel-troweled plaster. They anchor the home in its site as well as provide privacy from neighboring homes.
The home has large areas of glazing on the east and west facades. Given the small footprint of the home and the open floor plan, the entire interior experiences direct light in the morning and evening.
There is now continuous, stepped landscaping from one home to the next as the buildings and street rise up the hillside.
The gable decoration is a Viking element traditionally used to protect homes from danger. The “moon” shape comes from the shape of Viking horns.
Architects Melissa and Jacob Brillhart wanted a home that took advantage of a lush lot and minimized any impact on the landscape. Drawing on principles of tropical modernism and the dogtrot model, the couple designed and built a simple, practical structure that is rich in cultural meaning. "There is something to be said for living in a glass house totally surrounded by nature," says Melissa. "I can't put my finger on it, but it has an impact on how I feel. It just isn’t the same experience as living in a house with traditional punched openings."
Built for a scholar, Casa Biblioteca is a sanctuary for reading, stargazing, and enjoying a cigar or two. Floor-to-ceiling glass allows light to freely flood the interior and illuminate its jewel-like structure.
At night, the staircase appears to sweep upward to a celestial destination.
From the long lane in front of the house, the transparent facade puts the focus on the staircase.
The expansive steps in front of the house grant it a public character.
An aerial view shows the neighborhood’s density and the relationship of the house with the lane in front of it.
Forty-seven years ago, Peter and Turkey Stremmel opened Stremmel Gallery, one of the first fine-art showplaces in Reno. They went on to exhibit work there by such luminaries as Wolf Kahn, Charles Arnoldi, and Phyllis Shafer. The same architect who designed the gallery, Mark Mack, designed their home, a cluster of colorful cubes in the mountains above the city.
Tapped by art collectors to design an inspirational residence in rural Montana, Jackson Hole–based Carney Logan Burke Architects crafted a modern house that frames the property’s extraordinary landscape views.
Walls of glass, horizontal roof planes, and a natural material palette enable this expansive home to feel like an extension of a dramatic boulder-strewn landscape in Idaho.
Designed by Portland-based Skylab Architecture, the 4,200-square-foot Owl Creek Residence in Snowmass, Colorado, has an unusual, triangulated floor plan that responds to the height and slope constraints of the site.
The living space extends out into the small backyard through large bifold doors. Horizontal weatherboards and vertical Mini Orb steel cladding creates a graphic, minimal rear facade that contrasts with the surrounding inner-city environment.
From the rear laneway, the parapet and veranda awning echo the original pitched roof, carrying the essence of the old house through to the addition.
The original building had been painted red and the client initially wanted to expose the old brickwork. After removing the paint, however, it was discovered that the entire facade was coated in tar. As a result, the decision was made to repaint the facade in cream. The new volume is hinted at by the portion of black framing that is visible at the side of the home.
These steps lead to the rooftop garden. They run alongside the master bathroom, which features a glazed corner detail inspired by Carlo Scarpa's Canova Museum.
A timber boardwalk through the veld grass leads to a 15-meter, reed-filtration lap pool.
The planted grass roofs are a recreation of the landscape that existed before the home was built. They are dynamic landscapes that change with the seasons.
"Wendy and Lukas were looking for a natural, sporty lifestyle and a sustainably designed home," says Daffonchio. "It is always rewarding to see the owners living the lifestyle they had dreamed, and seeing their joy in living the home and its incredible surroundings."
Off-shutter concrete is created by removing the shuttering—normally wooden planks used as a temporary structure to contain setting concrete. "Casting the perfect texture of old wooden planks on the concrete, while getting all the services placed correctly inside the shuttering, was an Herculean task," says Daffonchio.
The material palette is almost exclusively "off-shutter" concrete, both inside and outside. The main metal elements are crafted from raw steel.
Monaghan Farm is a 1,300-acre eco-estate about an hour north of the center of Johannesburg. The architectural and environmental guidelines for the estate outline that only 3% of the land will ever be built on.
The homeowner inherited the 1.36 acres over 40 years ago and finally saved enough to hire Matteo Arnone and Pep Pons of Atelier Branco Arquitectura, who came recommended by a family friend. The initial project was slated to be a modest, 540-square-foot space to house his books to be built for $50,000—but through the client’s involvement, the scope expanded.
On the site's southwest side, the second canopy structure atop the guest suite features deep overhangs to shelter the pool and lawn from the intense setting sun.
"The canopy structure was carefully edited down to only its essential parts," explain the architects. "Every component was designed so that each member is purposeful and is exactly the size and shape it needs to be and no more. The fabrication and assembly process was fully considered to allow for straightforward construction."
The west-facing outdoor patio is protected by deep roof overhangs lined with southern yellow pine.
Ipe decking connects the main house to the rear guest suite/pool house and pool, which were strategically placed to take advantage of natural shade conditions.
The view from outside the entrance gate, which was constructed from steel with welded wire infill. The entry path was made of Leuders limestone, the same material used on the outdoor patios and fireplace.
In response to a geotechnical report that revealed poor soils, the architects deepened the piers to support a structure slab that floats eight inches above grade. The unusual foundation design allows the elevated home to sit very close to the trees without negatively impacting the root systems.
Located in the heart of the city, the property "provided the best of both worlds," explain the couple, who were drawn to its location and its many mature trees that created the feeling of being immersed in nature.
“Cork is a massively sustainable material—it’s 100% natural, produced via additive-free industrial processes, totally recyclable, carbon negative, has a low embodied energy, and does not emit harmful compounds that affect indoor air quality,” explains Richard. “It also has great thermal performance, a low water absorption rate, excellent soundproofing qualities, and it’s fire retardant. It is such a fantastic material—and it should be embraced more in UK architecture and in the construction industry for larger-scale developments, as well as small-scale residential projects like A Cork House.”
"I like things not to have a beginning and an end," says Stan Symonds, an Australian architect obsessed with circular forms and curving walls. Many of his projects feature circular forms of one kind or another, including his Dome House in Seaforth. Just a year after building finishing that project, Symonds completed this striking house nearby for John and Margaret Schuchard that has also been known as the ‘Space House’ or ‘Spaceship.’ The building, resembling a lookout station or observation post, sits on a steep hill with panoramic views out across Middle Harbor. The house mushrooms upwards and thrusts outwards at one and the same time, like the rounded bow of a ship emerging from the rock.
The modernist architect André Wogenscky worked with Le Corbusier for many years before launching his own architectural studio in 1956. The Villa Chupin represents one of his most rounded residential projects, lifted by the fluid, open, and playful nature of its main living space. The house sits within a garden of tall pine trees that tower over the two-level building. Five bedrooms are locate at the upper level, but the linear plan is eroded at the ground level, where the space becomes dynamic. Here, an open-plan living room is protected by an angled wall of glass to the front and curving walls that encircle the rest of the space.
As well as a sequence of innovative country houses, Peter Foggo and David Thomas complete a number of residences in Wimbledon. The most accomplished of these was this project, completed in 1963, sitting on a street of traditional and substantial period dwellings, mostly in brick. Foggo & Thomas’ house, in contrast, is both low slung and distinctly modern. Its structural framework is provided by a combination of concrete trusses that span the flat-roofed house, forming a series of spider leg ‘bridges,’ working in concert with a linear and lighter steel frame.
A seamless deck at the central level extends the living areas. The house is orientated directly to the east to maximize daylighting and views.
The home is elevated above a carport, which can also be used as a covered semi-outdoor living space in the summer.
The dark blue facade is punctuated by a single cedar-clad wall that faces the deck and forms a timber nook that is protected from prevailing winds.
The majority of the house is clad in inky blue metal—a durable, low-maintenance material.
The Thornton House sits on a steep site in Brooklyn, Wellington, New Zealand, with a small footprint of just 50 square meters.
The mostly blank brick-clad exterior belies the complex geometries that inform the multilevel plan inside. The windows are arranged to frame specific views—including the steeple of the nearby St. Michael’s Church—while retaining privacy from the street.
The firm worked with landscape design company Alchemie to plan the landscaping and create a variety of seating areas throughout the property.
The addition houses a kitchen and family room on the main level, and the master bedroom and roof deck above. Sliding glass doors now allow generous sightlines to the yard, and also convey a lightness to the new architecture that contrasts with the character of the old.
For the new addition, new brick syncs with the old, while blackened steel provides a modern counterpoint to the historic facade.
A terrace (with a lawn for the children and dog to play on) runs the full width of the living space and is accessible through large glazed doors.
On a hill overlooking Lake Avándaro in Valle de Bravo—a popular weekend retreat about two hours west of Mexico City—lies the low-slung CMV House by Estudio MMX. The terrain around the lake is steep, rocky, and verdant, abounding with water-carved cliffs and boulders. The home’s site, in particular, boasts vast views of the lake and the dramatic mountains that surround it.
The owners of the 1929 Lovell Health house agreed to a rare tour of their home as part of the 85th anniversary celebration.
The concrete walls are perforated by large and small windows that frame views of the trees and local forest, as the site doesn't offer expansive views of the surrounding landscape.
The concrete pool structure has been conceived as a separate element to the home and is sunk into the sloped ground.
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Zoom out for a look at the modern exterior. From your dream house, to cozy cabins, to loft-like apartments, to repurposed shipping containers, these stellar projects promise something for everyone. Explore a variety of building types with metal roofs, wood siding, gables, and everything in between.