The glasshouse is a typology that exists on the cutting edge of art and science, technology and style. Starting with medicinal plants, then scientific research, botanical display and finally industrial-scale cultivation, the evolution of the modern greenhouse has closely tracked available technology, from the development of glass itself to new kinds of structure and materials.
This new greenhouse in Pirque, Chile, by Max Núñez, presents the pleasures of collection, cultivation and display with quiet architectural sophistication. It is a relatively modest 11.4 x 11.4m structure, raised up on a plinth to give the impression of a floating glass box. It’s a seductive illusion, all the more potent when the greenhouse is lit from within, giving off a mysteriously misty aura that is reflected in the adjoining pool
AS FEATURED IN THE WALLPAPER* DESIGN AWARDS 2020 ISSUE
The greenhouse’s four glass walls are a nod to the classic modernist pavilion, from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to Philip Johnson and beyond. Instead of the archetypal at roof, however, Núñez has delved back further to the dawn of the modern era, when innovations in glass technology transformed industrial buildings and residential design. Above the greenhouse’s walls, mounted on a frame of inverted V-shaped steel braces, is a roof comprising two barrel vaults of glass blocks.
They allow for an internal height of around 6.3m, enough for even the heartiest specimen to spread its fronds, while the glass blocks diffuse direct sunlight to take the strain off the thermostat. An external boiler house, linked to a set of automatically controlled vents in the glazing, pumps in heat, while a system of pipes and nozzles spritzes the interior to create hot and humid conditions for tropical plants to thrive. Outside, in contrast, is a typical semi-arid Chilean landscape.
Núñez’s work has an eclectic formal intensity at its heart. His Ghat House, on the country’s wild Central Coast, scooped Best New Private House in our 2018 Design Awards, thrilling the judges with its cascade of sculptural concrete. This project could not be more different, both in terms of scale and response to the topography. A greenhouse is an inversion of modernism’s staple approach, designed to sustain a transformative interior realm. By using raw industrial finishes and materials, Núñez has shaped a diaphanous framework around a small slice of the tropics.
INFORMATION
-
Gucci’s ‘Blondie’ bag revival sees the enduring 1970s accessory reimagined anewFirst shown at Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci Cruise 2025 show in London, a new iteration of Gucci’s beloved ‘Blondie’ bag fuses 1970s insouciance with a crisp modernity
-
Private museum Simple Design Archive is a ‘poetic sound sanctuary’ in ChinaSimple Design Archive, located in China’s Anhui province, is a private museum by HAS Design and Research, fostering a contemplative environment
-
All hail the arrival of true autonomy? On Tesla’s proposed Robotaxi and techno-insecurityTesla’s new marketing push predicts a future of robot cabs, automated buses and autonomous home androids. We already want to get off
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globeModernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; here, we explore the genre by continent
-
Tour a Chilean pavilion perched on the coast: a sanctuary for sleep and star-gazingAlgarrobo-based architecture studio Whale! has designed a Chilean pavilion for rest and relaxation, overlooking a nature reserve on the Pacific coast
-
House in the Trees offers a bird's eye view of the Chilean forestHouse in the Trees by Max Núñez and Stefano Rolla is an angular Chilean cabin in woods, touching the ground lightly
-
Chile’s Panguipulli Theatre brings purpose-built architecture to the learning experiencePanguipulli Theatre, a community-centred cultural space in Chile's Región de los Ríos, combines purpose-built architecture and learning
-
This Chilean beach house comprises a series of pavilions set beneath a wooden roofWYND Architects has completed a Chilean beach house – a multigenerational family retreat, raised up above a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean
-
Minimalist architecture: homes that inspire calmThese examples of minimalist architecture place life in the foreground – clutter is demoted; joy promoted
-
The iconic British house: key examples exploredNew book ‘The Iconic British House’ by Dominic Bradbury explores the country’s best residential examples since 1900
-
Loyle Carner’s Reading Festival 2023 stage presents spatial storytelling at its finestWe talk to Loyle Carner and The Unlimited Dreams Company (UDC) about the musical artist’s stage set design for Reading Festival 2023
