This is the fifth post of seven, each a response to Kate Shrewsday’s request for an itinerary of MTM’s Seven Architectural Wonders. Each text post has a corollary visual post; the text and image posts will alternate between the blogs of Kate Shrewsday and the Andra Watkins. Since I (MTM) am no longer a paid pedant, I will try to make these as entertaining and enlightening as possible in 600 words or less. One ground rule: I cannot include a work of architecture I have not experienced directly and personally, just as one’s list of Great Books should not include a book one hasn’t yet read.
To read the text on the Maison de Verre for this fifth post please click here!
Maison de Verre lit up like a paper lantern
A glass volume inserted into an old Paris flat
The entry is another glass box inserted
The main stair descends like a drawbridge protecting the privacy of above
A room of light, books and elegance
Another stair literally descends to gain access to the boudoir
Walls of built-ins that slide, rotate and transform
Under construction…the tenant above refused to move, so they built underneath
Kate Shrewsday 
Just amazing. The curved metal doors of the “built ins” remind me of the sliding metal room dividers that were a feature of a Joe Colombo apartment that I photographed in the 70’s in Milan, for Nova Magazine.
It is quite the intricate little jewel…photos can never do it justice. Not sure if it is still open, but you used to be able to book tours.
A bespoke life jacket: A tailored piece of couture to fit two lives perfectly and exactly, and with Parisian taste and grace. You have told the story of the two people who lived here, woven together bricks, glass and mortar with sinew and bone so that I am not sure where some end and others begin, today. Such a piece of writing,such people, and such a building.
As mechanical as it is, it truly becomes an extension of the inhabitants’ lives. What more could one ask for in a house?
This is a place that I would really enjoy experiencing first hand, the photos can’t tell the story of the dynamics of the place.
Field trip!
For sure, going on my “to do” list.
It is fascinating, makes me wish for lots more glass walls, circulating cupboards and delightful suprises
So many little tricks it has….the secret stair to the boudoir is a favorite.
i found that a bit scary, i don’t trust steps they trip me up or let me down (yet i live with them daily)
SO cool — I have to confess that I love the inside better than the outside.
The outside is better in person, I believe…the windows to the garden allow views, while the courtyard is more private, given that other apartments also face into the courtyard.
I shouldn’t throw stones at people who live in glass houses, but to me the exterior reminds me of a container park.
Fair enough.
That’s quite a library! One could get dizzy looking up at such height. 🙂
Following yesterday, I was certain the wall of books would resonate with the readers.
I’ve always had these crazy ideas for my ideal home, and they involve a lot of glass, usually on a hill top so as to give the impression of vast open space, but I also worried about privacy, especially in this age of telephoto lenses, camera in everything and upcoming drones.
This one attempts a ‘best of both worlds’ approach…views where you want them, privacy but light where you don’t.
Ok, for sure the MTM Guided Tour of Paris could be a Thing.
Except that it also includes stops in every boulangerie one walks by…
What a beautiful place in which to live. I can’t begin to imagine the cost of such a project. Also, could you imagine the cost of having all that glass cleaned on a regular basis?!
Good pick, MTM
We just watched Extreme Homes (Alaska, France, California, Canada, etc.). Several of the featured homes were “glass houses” . . . beautiful views out (but I’d be nervous about peeping Toms looking in). 😉
How I’d adore to be in that room of light, books and elegance. Excellent photos.
I run out of adjectives! “Unique” almost falls flat in this case. The stairway to the boudoir is simply incredible! The library is a beauty! Debra
Far, far, far too cold. A place where evil would live.
Love the inside and the outside. Perfect form and function.