![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Exterior Photography, Windows, Table, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/064d/b357/658c/1f00/0018/medium_jpg/_MG_0735.jpg?1593640489)
-
Architects: Sibling Architecture
- Area: 100 m²
- Year: 2019
-
Photographs:Katherine Lu
-
Manufacturers: Cemintel, Lysaght, Mutina, Obeco Glass Blocks, Okalux, Oliveri, Rimex, Roca, Whirlpool
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Interior Photography, Windows, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/0676/b357/6540/5400/0006/medium_jpg/1_MG_0827.jpg?1593640531)
Text description provided by the architects. What does it mean to be at home? The home, for the client of the Glassbook House, is a place to retreat from the outside world. This hideaway, to the rear of a Federation-style house in Tempe, Sydney, explores the home as a sanctuary that revolves around a serious collection of books.
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Interior Photography, Kitchen, Windows, Beam](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/061e/b357/658c/1f00/0017/medium_jpg/_MG_0569.jpg?1593640444)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/06a9/b357/6540/5400/0008/newsletter/177_Plan_-__Houses.jpg?1593640612)
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Interior Photography, Stairs, Wood, Windows, Handrail](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/073d/b357/6540/5400/000c/medium_jpg/6_MG_0590.jpg?1593640730)
The individual act of reading structures the two-storey addition to this home. Communal activities - eating, cooking and entertaining - are flanked by a two-storey bookcase. You can pull out a book anywhere and anytime.
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Interior Photography, Shelving](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/06cb/b357/6540/5400/0009/newsletter/4_MG_0339.jpg?1593640623)
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Interior Photography, Closet, Shelving, Windows, Beam, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/07ae/b357/658c/1f00/001c/medium_jpg/8_MG_0638.jpg?1593640837)
Daylight filters through the southern glassblock facade deep into the interior. In Tempe, it also provides acoustic solace from the nearby Princes Highway, and planes passing overhead. A feature window, which frames a reading nook, punctures through the glass block facade to provide views of neighbouring rooftops and gardens. The backyard below has a permeable boundary that connects to the adjacent property. The home is not only a place for intimacy alone but also with neighbours.
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Exterior Photography, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/0713/b357/6540/5400/000b/medium_jpg/5_MG_1065.jpg?1593640685)
The details of the existing house, including decorative moldings, are amplified with careful and minimal intervention. This is carried through to a new bathroom converted from a second bedroom where partitions and joinery respect original decorative elements. The glass block edition at the rear adds continuity to the celebration of detail being read throughout the home.
![Glassbook House / Sibling Architecture - Exterior Photography, Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5efd/0694/b357/658c/1f00/0019/newsletter/2_MG_0486.jpg?1593640569)