Max Núñez' greenhouse in Chile gives the impression of a floating glass box
Modernism meets innovation at Max Núñez Arquitectos’ greenhouse in Pirque, Chile, where a steel frame supports two barrel vaults built of glass blocks, and its modest glass plinth creates a seductive illusion

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
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Achille Salvagni imbues Upper East Side townhouse with understated glamour
Designer Achille Salvagni’s latest project is a Manhattan townhouse whose understated design is led by function and inspired by 1920s and 1930s architecture
By Pilar Viladas • Published
-
Discover July 2023 Wallpaper*: the Design Directory
See Wallpaper’s July 2023 Design Directory for the best new seating, tables, beds, lighting, outdoor furniture, rugs and more, on sale now
By Sarah Douglas • Published
-
Ruinart’s Food For Art promises culinary delights in Basel
Hosted during Art Basel in Basel 2023, Ruinart’s latest Food For Art dinner draws on Eva Jospin’s Carte Blanche commission
By Simon Mills • Published
-
Minimalist architecture: homes that inspire calm
These examples of minimalist architecture place life in the foreground – clutter is demoted; joy promoted
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Seosaeng House is a holiday home designed to capture the rising sun
Seosaeng House, Studio Weave’s first project in South Korea, is a clifftop holiday home perfectly designed to capture a new day dawning over the East Sea
By SuhYoung Yun • Published
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
For some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond, scroll below. Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we.
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globe
Modernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; check back soon for new additions to our list
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
MJE House is a rural Brazilian retreat defined by its striking cantilever
MJE House by Jacobsen Arquitetura is an idyllic, rural Brazilian retreat defined by its contemporary forms and bold cantilever overlooking the countryside in Upstate São Paulo
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Villaggio Eni: a modernist gem in the Italian Dolomites
Designed by Eduardo Gellner in the 1950s, the Villaggio Eni holiday resort, in the Italian Dolomites, is being repurposed as a modernist refuge for artists and creatives
By Emma O'Kelly • Published
-
Members’ club 1 Warwick is a new home away from home in Soho, London
Members’ club 1 Warwick by Fettle Design opens its doors in central London, sharing round-the-clock offerings
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Azabudai Hills to bring a slice of wildness to Tokyo’s megacity
Heatherwick Studio’s design for Azabudai Hills aims to bring some soulfulness and a slice of wildness to the megacity
By Danielle Demetriou • Published