Long before college students started exposing themselves to celebrate sexual liberation and Will Ferrell made a name for himself streaking the silver screen, Herodotus was writing about exposure en masse to help spread the good word about a jubilant pilgrimage to The Festival of Bast, an annual event in ancient Egypt now famous for being home to the world’s largest orgy. In the words of the Father of History, “when in the course of their journey they reach a community — not the city of their destination, but somewhere else — they steer the bareis close to the bank. Some of the women carry on clapping and singing, but others dance or stand and pull up their clothes to expose themselves. Every riverside community receives this treatment.”
Because there’s nothing like starting a week off with a bawdy cultural phenomenon, we thought we’d apply the fun of mooning, flashing and streaking to architecture by posing the question: where would exhibitionists live? Beginning with the two glass houses that started it all, here’s our look at see-thru architecture that will have you frolicking naked in no time. From Philip Johnson’s iconic glass house to an Italian glass cube of a home complete with glass furniture to a glass barn, click through to check out our roundup of transparent homes that are sure to inspire a mooning or two. Let us know in the comments if you could live in such an exposed home!
The Glass House by Philip Johnson — New Canaan, Connecticut
Image credit: Robin Hill via The Philip Johnson Glass House Blog; PRIVATE
Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe — Plano, Illinois
Image credit: Farnsworth House; Net Interior
Glass House by Unit Arkitektur AB — Träslövsläge, Sweden
Image credit: Krister Engström via ArchDaily
Glass House by SANTAMBROGIOMILANO — Milan, Italy
Image credit: SANTAMBROGIOMILANO
Glass House by JM Architecture — Lake Lugano, Italy
Image credit: iDesignArch
House NA by Sou Fujimoto Architects — Tokyo, Japan
Image credit: My Modern Met
Villa Roces by Govaert & Vanhoutte — Bruges, Belgium
Image credit: Dezeen
Rieteiland House by Hans van Heeswijk — Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Image credit: Imre Csany via Dezeen
Jodlowa House by PCKO — Krakow, Poland
Image credit: Freshome
The Sebastopol Residence by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects — Sebastapol, California
Image credit: David Wakely via decoist