The headline
suggested that one was going to discover something intriguing about
this new project:
Revealed: How
architects made this $48m beach complex with only two units -
realestate.com.au
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/revealed-how-architects-made-this-48m-beach-complex-with-only-two-units/.
The puzzle was that even after reading the article, (see below), one
was still left confused about what in particular the headline was referring
to. Such are headlines: see - https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2026/01/robot-house.html.
Glasshouse.
The project had been
seen just recently when passing by, with one assuming that it might be more than two
apartments; that was a surprise. The fluted glass down the eastern
and western sides had left one wondering why the ‘glasshouse’
concept had been developed for what the text describes as a
challenging, tight site - a unique project on a smaller block . . . The block’s size meant the architects needed to engineer creative solutions for maximising available space - and why the glass had been
curved, or fluted. The planning possibilities that, using precedent, involve the repetition of this project as a theoretical exercise to assess the potential impacts on this development of the neighbours
doing likewise, seemed to be something that no one had considered:
see - https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-new-queensland-house.html. The property to the east was a traditional beach
house, and was named as this. This looked like a potential
development site. Had this future been contemplated?
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Beach House neighbour.
There were two
statements that stood out in the text:
Each floor is
bordered by curved and fluted glass, allowing the owner-occupiers a
wide open view of the beach while refracting light to keep their
privacy from the outside.
and
“We’re trying
to create a modern version of the Queenslander,” he said, “with
your veranda and your sunroom at the front.”
Glasshouse in context.
Queenslander.
Sometimes one
wonders why architects try to explain their work. The fluted glass
explanation left one curious about the physics, the refracting, because the fluted sides of
the project had both been fully curtained off, to, so it appeared,
maintain privacy; or might the eastern and western sun have been
enhanced by the fluting acting like a lens as in a lighthouse? Might the fluting give the fat lady/skinny lady images of curved mirrors? The
neighbouring western development was a tower block of some eight
floors, presenting a brick wall with a few openings in it as the
prospect. Perhaps the fluted glass might reflect light differently to
create something of a baffling, distracting effect during the day, although the curtains could
be clearly seen - but at night? One wondered: was the ‘glasshouse’ decision a
concept that ignored the context in favour of a preferred styling?
The fluted glass wall is on the left.
The site.
Street View.
The east wall - fluted glass, curtains, and no openings.
The west wall - fluted glass, curtains, and no openings.
1914 Queenslander.
The article
continues to detail the architectural intent: to create a modern
version of the Queenslander. This raises a complex set of issues,
because the Queenslander was a pre-cut house available for the
masses, not an multi-million dollar, bespoke development. These homes
did have a verandah, but there is more to these structures than this
particular element. As for the sunroom: one is left fumbling through
one’s memory trying to locate the vision of the traditional sunroom
at the front. Sometimes the verandah was enclosed to
become a 'sunny' space with the correct orientation, but the traditional plans were modest and
functional, providing for the basic necessities of dwelling: living
room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms; and later, a bathroom and WC.
Originally the bathroom was below the home or the tank stand, with
the WC being a separate ‘ThunderBox’ or ‘dunny’ at the back
of the block. One has to be careful with references that pick and
choose preferred elements. One wondered what was particularly
‘Queensland’ in this Glasshouse project other than the verandah. The
Queenslander was generally careful to protect all openings from the
harsh tropical/subtropical sun: see –
https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-new-queensland-house.html.
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Typical traditional hood over window.
Traditional dunny.
Philip Johnson's Glass House.
The title of the
project, Glasshouse, brings to mind Philip Johnson’s home in
New Canaan, Connecticut, a glass box residence located near a grove
of trees surrounded by open lawns: see -
https://theglasshouse.org/explore/the-glass-house/
and
https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-need-for-street-view-in-architecture.html.
It seems that the ‘glass house’ idea for the Burleigh site has been chosen for the
views from this site - a wide open view of the beach.
One
wonders how distorted views through fluted glass are useful, even
when
most glimpses through the
curved glazing are
of the adjacent properties.
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Jørn
Utzon’s observations come to mind: how, in Japan, he
discovered/realised that a view/vista can be more intriguing by being
seen partially rather than with full and complete exposure. He cited
the experience of seeing blossoms falling across the view of the
garden fully framed by the traditional Japanese house with its
enclosure of amado shutters, shoji screens, and fusuma panels. Just
because there might be a stunning view does not mean a full glass
wall is the best response for the greatest impact. One wonders if
here, at Burleigh, this glass notion has become a problem. Perhaps it
is a fashion? One can look at the new apartment buildings along the
Gold Coast and see floor to floor glass on all sides, yes, some
curved too, irrespective of orientation and proximity, usually with
all sides being curtained off to offer some degree of flexibility
with enclosure/disclosure.
Meis Van Der Rohe 'Glass Skyscraper' model - 1922.
Typical Gold Coast, Queensland high-rise developments.
Are
we just slaves to fashion, left at the mercy of clichés?
Street View reveals the ordinary, everyday experience of place that
includes the context that is framed out by the architectural eye. The
Glasshouse overlooks one of the most popular car park lookouts
on the coast. Some time ago there was an application that sought to have this
public place closed off, but the reactions to this idea
were loud and clear. The site was left overlooking the parked cars
and the public enjoying this high promenade. Alas, true to Council’s
stubbornness that seems to ignore the public interest, the proposed
development plan for Burleigh Heads is still arguing for the car park
to be closed! – see: https://gchaveyoursay.com.au/burleigh-hill.
Will Council ever listen? - see:
https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-planners-lament.html.
Lake Shore Drive Apartments.
Has the matter of
conventional style something to do with expectations of developers
who interpret/anticipate the wishes of their potential clients? One
is again reminded of a Mies project, the Lake Shore Drive Apartments
in Chicago, 1949 - 1951. These two towers were innovative for their
time with a novel structural approach, fully prefabricated facade
elements, and clever open planning that one can see most clearly in
the Farnsworth House, 1949 - 1951. Here, in this classic Modernist
home, the core service spaces - the kitchen, the bathroom, the boiler
room, storage cupboards, and the fireplace - are all skilfully
accommodated in one off-centre block located within the glazed
rectangular plan of the house. This juxtaposition defined the other
living areas that were arranged around this core, with the kitchen on
one narrow side, the bedroom space at one end, the living area
located opposite the kitchen, while the dining and second bedroom
spaces were at the other entry end that was accessed from the deck.
It is a very clever plan, opening up a set of spaces that are
traditionally all walled off and connected through doors off a
passageway.
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Farnsworth House.
Farnsworth House interior.
Mies used this same
strategy for his apartment plans, freeing up small living spaces to
create an expansive intrigue of zones available for the occupants'
enjoyment, maintaining privacy with shrewd orientations of a few
functional elements. The concept did away with the pokey enclosures
of the usual clutter of separately defined, exclusive areas linked
with just one dim, narrow circulation route.
Lake Shore Drive Apartments Mies plan.
Alas, the developer
claimed that Mies's plans would never be accepted, and the apartments
were all altered by others to give the conventional walled rooms and
doorways that itemised the experience of the place and limited its
views.
Neighbours in the sky?
Have developers
demanded the floor to ceiling glass wall enclosure for local
high-rise developments, ironically inspired by Mies's 1922
Skyscraper? Is there some economy for developers with this
single-material approach? The full glass experience might be
impressive for the visitor, but could one anticipate that it would
eventually become an everyday nuisance/annoyance for the occupants?
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The car park view.
THE ARTICLE
Architects at
bureau^proberts have revealed a close-up look at their recently
completed ‘Glasshouse’ project: a Burleigh Heads development with
only two homes, which sold for $48 million combined.
Developer Spyre
Group’s luxury building broke Gold Coast records at the time of
sale, when each of its four-bedroom units sold for $24 million each.
The project’s five
levels are divided into three lower floors for the ‘beach house’
residence, and two upper floors and a rooftop retreat for the
penthouse.
Glasshouse is a
five-storey luxury building recently completed on the Gold Coast,
designed by bureau^proberts and developed by Spyre Group.
Only two units exist
in the Burleigh Heads home: a three-floor ‘beach house’ and a
two-floor penthouse. Each of these homes sold for a whopping $24
million.
Each floor is
bordered by curved and fluted glass, allowing the owner-occupiers a
wide open view of the beach while refracting light to keep their
privacy from the outside.
Bureau^proberts
partner and project design lead Dan Liddy said the award-winning
development was a unique project on a smaller block, which allowed
them to experiment with ideas on a more manageable scale.
“We’re trying to
create a modern version of the Queenslander,” he said, “with your
veranda and your sunroom at the front.”
The smaller size of
the building allowed its architects to attempt an ambitious design,
not easily achieved by larger-scaled projects.
The building is
surrounded by fluted glass, which offers a full view of the beach
while protecting the view inside.
The block’s size
meant the architects needed to engineer creative solutions for
maximising available space: including pushing some of the land up by
15 metres, with part of the first floor remaining underground.
8 FEB 2026
NOTE
Should one question
the report that claims there are only two units in this project?
Street View clearly reveals two wheelie bins outside the Glasshouse,
numbered 1 and 3. Should one presume that there might be a ‘number
2’ bin?
It is interesting to
observe that changes in fire regulations now apparently allow glass
boxes to be stacked to give Mies's image of full glass walls and thin
slab edges, with minimum fire separation; and for such transparency to be
placed side by side on small blocks. Is this progress? The other
question is: do people really want to stare at each other?
1922 'Skyscraper.'
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