Maison de Verre

Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin, France

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Built between 1928 and 1932 in the Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin district of Paris, the Maison de Verre exemplifies early modernism through its pioneering use of glass, steel, and glass block. Designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet, the house boldly juxtaposes industrial materials—bare steel beams, perforated metal sheeting, rubberized floor tiles, and mechanical fixtures—with traditional domestic furnishings, creating a studied dialogue between the utilitarian and the refined. The design's three core principles—honesty of materials, variable transparency of forms, and this productive tension between industrial and domestic vocabularies—established it as a landmark of architectural innovation. Now classified as a historical monument, the house remains a seminal work of Art Deco modernism.