Reflection on the Glass Stone, Primary School in Ruopigen
I became truly aware of glass blocks when I happened to live next to Le Corbusier's Clarte House in Geneva. I was 18 years old and working as an intern for an architect. Translucent walls, unlike transparent grids, but also different from frosted or cathedral glass—I somehow felt a kinship with wired glass, but its solidity fascinated me. Like carelessly used concrete in basements or military buildings, I see carelessly used glass blocks everywhere. Wherever a trick is needed to bring a little more light into a basement, a few glass blocks have been embedded in the masonry. Since careless construction is usually also thoughtless, it's not surprising that glass blocks often contain pre-planned structural defects.
