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A Photographer’s Glass Cube Studio on Stony Lake

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There are so many, many, ways to build a green home. This one, a clear glass cube, is a studio for a photographer. Designed by Toronto-based firm GH3, it sits atop his boathouse on a Canadian lake.

It is a live/work studio (the translucent part upstairs is the “live”).

Inside, light is baffled by a series of seamless white lacquered panels whose reflective qualities diffuse light.

These screens can be slid back or forth to hide or reveal the live/work spaces inside, while minutely controlling the light for the photographer.

The clarity of this simple, open spaces in the minimalist landscape is delicious. The double height space floods the live/work studio with diffused Northern light.

The effect of the clear transparent cube on the matte black facade of the granite plinth is almost lantern-like. But this is not just for good looks.

If exposed to the sun, the gigantic expanse of black granite can act as a huge thermal mass that soaks up the suns warmth during the day, and breathes it back out at night.

You might worry that solar gain could make this ice-maiden live/studio into a hothouse on a sunny day. But floor-to-ceiling sliding panes allow it to be completely open to natural ventilation. The roof outside is painted white with a special cool roof paint. This prevents excessive heat gain.

Because of the site – on a lake – a deep-water exchange is utilized to alternatively heat or cool the building year–round through radiant slabs in the floor.

Just one more way to build green.

Via: Contemporist