{"id":672354,"date":"2026-03-21T21:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T21:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/672354\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T21:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T21:52:22","slug":"seven-buildings-draped-with-undulating-glass-facades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/672354\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven buildings draped with undulating glass facades"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this roundup<\/a>, we spotlight seven buildings with undulating glass<\/a> facades that resemble flowing fabric, giving new meaning to the idea of curtain walling.<\/p>\n

From a rippling theatre in Brisbane to a pearlescent flagship store in Tokyo, the featured projects each use curtain-like elevations to create a distinct character.<\/p>\n

They demonstrate how architects are challenging the ubiquitous trend of rectilinear glazed buildings, proving that all-glass facades don’t have to be visually homogeneous.<\/p>\n

Read on for seven buildings draped with fabric-like facades:<\/p>\n

\"Undulating<\/a>Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones<\/p>\n

Glasshouse Theatre, Australia, by Blight Rayner Architecture and Sn\u00f8hetta<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Spanning two street frontages, this rippling glass facade wraps the cantilevered<\/a> first floor of Glasshouse Theatre in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

Its design was intended to minimise the theatre<\/a>‘s visual mass while transforming its first-floor foyer into “a kind of public theatre” observable by passersby.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Glasshouse Theatre \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"La<\/a>Photo courtesy of La Samaritaine<\/p>\n

La Samaritaine, France, by SANAA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Japanese studio SANAA<\/a> updated the La Samaritaine department store<\/a> in Paris<\/a> with an undulating glass facade that marks an entrance on the Rue de Rivoli.<\/p>\n

According to the studio, the glass pays homage to the rhythm of windows on nearby Haussmann-style buildings while helping to soften the look of the store.<\/p>\n

Find out more about X \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Undulating<\/a>Photo courtesy of Taisei Corporation<\/p>\n

Tiffany & Co, Japan, by Jun Aoki & Associates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Jun Aoki & Associates said it designed this blue-hued facade to feel lightweight, emulating “a wisteria trellis swaying in the soft wind”.<\/p>\n

Its curved glass panels, which are finished in Tiffany & Co<\/a>‘s signature blue colour, bulge at the corners and curve up around its ground-floor entrance like draped fabric.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Tiffany & Co \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Expo<\/a>Photo by CreatAR<\/p>\n

Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse, China, by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A trio of glass-walled greenhouses<\/a> forms part of this cultural park, set on the site of a disused steelworks in Shanghai<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The curved structures offer a deliberate contrast with the old industrial building, appearing to “grow organically in between and around the strict existing grid”, the studio said.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Undulating<\/a>Photo by Albert Vecerka<\/p>\n

Yale University Center for Innovative Thinking, USA, by Weiss\/Manfredi<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Weiss\/Manfred designed this glass pavilion<\/a> to juxtapose the brutalist and Gothic-style buildings of Yale University<\/a>, where it is located.<\/p>\n

It has a gentle, wavy shape, formed from 6.7-metre-tall glazed panels lined internally with an automated pleated curtain that enhances its ripple effect when viewed from the outside.<\/p>\n

“The glass skin’s reflective and transparent quality allows the pavilion to act as a chameleon, mirroring the surroundings and campus activity by day and creating a destination imbued with luminosity at night,” said Weiss\/Manfredi.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Yale University Center for Innovative Thinking \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Louis<\/a>Photo by Daici Ano<\/p>\n

Louis Vuitton, Japan, by Jun Aoki & Associates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Jun Aoki & Associates also used undulating glass panels at the Louis Vuitton<\/a> flagship store it designed in Tokyo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The facade has a distinctive pearlescent finish, achieved by covering the glass panels with a colour-shifting film. It is intended to resemble water, nodding to its proximity to Tokyo Bay.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Louis Vuitton \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Nordstrom<\/a>Photo by Connie Zhou<\/p>\n

Nordstrom, USA, by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This curvy elevation marks the Nordstrom department store, which sits at the base of the Central Park Tower by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill<\/a> in New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The five-storey facade is illuminated by LED lights and lined internally with chainmail, helping to minimise solar gain.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Nordstrom \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this roundup, we spotlight seven buildings with undulating glass facades that resemble flowing fabric, giving new meaning…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":672355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,1033,171,18518,15401,92915,92916,133307,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-672354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-glass","tag-roundups","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-theatres","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116269386994508718","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}