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An apartment in Kiev, Ukraine, has been one of the hottest projects on architecture-and-design websites this week. It's the work of Martin Architects, who seem to have a penchant for creating bedrooms with glass walls, particularly in those apartments they label 'bachelor pads'.
Transparent bedrooms (or 'sleeping pods' as they're sometimes called) aren't exactly new. They've been seen in the show apartments of luxury high-rise developments in Singapore and Hong Kong for nearly a decade.
A few years ago, Joann Ang of Designed Design Associates had a 40 square metre space in which to accommodate a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom in a luxury apartment in the Hillion Residences in central Singapore.
The limited floor area ruled out space for a separate bedroom, so she got creative.
"Due to the space created by a double-height ceiling, we decided to add a mezzanine bedroom space," Ang says.
"But a solid box would would block out light. So to make the unit look spacious, and to keep the light from the balcony streaming in to all parts of the property, we added glass wall panels to box in the cantilevered bedroom, and installed a mirrored ceiling."
The trend seems to be spreading, however.
Just last year a 215 square-metre apartment in Manhattan's Tribeca neighbourhood came on the market for $6.75 million. Advertised as a two-bedroom unit, prospective buyers were probably surprised to see that the two bedrooms in question were both entirely on view.
A similar situation was happening in Brooklyn, where a sleeping pod was inserted into a loft apartment in a converted 100-year-old warehouse.
And in Stockholm, a multi-paned steel-and-glass box enables natural light to flood both the bedroom and the surrounding spaces.
This Tribeca condo has two glass-walled bedrooms. Photo: 6SQFT
In this Stockholm apartment, the bedroom is somewhat private. The view over the kitchen sink, however, is less than special. Photo: Husman Hagberg