The house in question is called Mirage Gstaad and it sits majestically in a meadow right above Gstaad, Switzerland. It is quite different looking than an average house – it is covered in mirrors! The main reason for this is to capture and reflect the beautiful Switzerland seasons and scenery. This would definitely be a sight to see – and calendar and puzzle-worthy. The only issue with it is a pretty big one – it is quite a danger to birds.
The designer of the house, Doug Aitken, had a very artsy concept in mind, talking to Dezeen he says:
I saw Mirage as a human-scale lens that the viewer would enter into, and in the process, they would become the work.
Check out this visual of Mirage Gstaad in action below.
It is very breathtaking, considering it reflects the amazing nature of Switzerland.
Here’s what Aitken said when speaking about protecting the birds:
In building Mirage Gstaad installations teams worked with Vogelwarte Sempach (Swiss Bird Protection Society) and added horizontal black lines installed every three centimeters on the façade to counter the distraction from the reflective surfaces for migrating and breeding birds, and to make the building visible to them.
A lot of bird lovers do not think this is enough to protect them from running into the house. Some claim that this is not enough precaution because birds tend to fly into windows on our regular-looking houses! Others suggest creating a house that blends in with the landscape rather than one that basically looks invisible to birds.
What do you think? It does seem like a huge house made only of reflections would be confusing and dangerous to a bird. If you found this article interesting, check out this one on Norway to build the world’s first full-sized aquatic tunnel.
