5 stunning architectural projects that feature coloured glass

Coloured glass isn't just for churches – it can be used in many architectural settings. Discover 5 of the best.

In downtown Seattle, there's a church with a difference. Instead of traditional stained glass, there are multi-coloured metal and glass bands, out of which a warm natural light spills onto the street.

Designed by architectural firm Olson Kundig, the church is a mosaic of coloured glass panels. Jim Olson, one of the company founders, describes it as a "non-material weaving of light that moves across the room as Earth spins in space".

He continues, "This chapel brings a sense of spirituality to the urban core". We can't disagree with that!

2. Arc en Ciel, Bordeaux, France

"Arc en ciel" is French for "rainbow" – and this peculiar-shaped building in Bordeaux is a kind of rainbow. But where real-life rainbows are horizontally striped, this one is vertically coloured.

From a distance, it looks a bit like a multi-coloured cabasa. Up close, it resembles a shelving unit for brightly coloured books or DVDs.

It houses both apartments and offices. You can imagine what it must be like to look up from your desk on a sunny day in a room flooded with coloured light.

Built at an intersection near a shopping centre, the building is meant to stand out. This is a bold construction that uses coloured glass to make a statement. Its architect Bernard Bühler describes it like this:

"The translucent panels are interrupted only by concrete volumes that serve as extensions of terraces and are bookended with equally bright planes… The colourful cladding distinguishes [it] from the suburban surroundings and additionally catches chromatically altered bits of the landscape."

Colour, light and brightness: it's these qualities that make the Arc en Ciel shine even on a cloudy day.

3. Your Rainbow Panorama, Aarhus, Denmark

On the roof of the Aarhus Art Museum is an artwork by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Its 150-metre-long, three-metre-wide circular walkway gives you 360º views of the city.

It's made out of glass in all the colours of the rainbow – and with just the glass between you and the city below, it feels like stepping into a dream.

The rainbow panorama is straightforwardly beautiful – but like a lot of artists, Eliasson also has his mind on the conceptual. The museum is based on Dante's Commedia, moving from the underworld into this many-coloured heaven. It's truly an experience you won't forget.

4. Kaleidoscope Kindergarten, Tianshui, China

Tianshui is the second-largest city in northwest China's Gansu Province. As well as boasting remarkable caves and temples, it's home to a vividly coloured nursery: Kaleidoscope Kindergarten.

Designed by Japanese firm SAKO Architects, it's a white, rounded building decked out with 438 pieces of coloured glass. It's been compared to a birthday cake – but for our money, it looks like a life-size toy.

The 2,770-square-metre structure is a celebration of colour. The exterior is coloured with windows and doors, the inside with handrails in the corridors and on the stairs. These handrails are like upturned versions of the external windows, creating architectural consistency.

Part of the beauty of coloured glass is, of course, that natural light gets re-coloured as it spills into the building. It's what gives stained glass in churches its power. The Kaleidoscope Kindergarten has a similar effect.

When the sun is out, coloured lights and shadows flood the nursery. At night, the glowing windows create an impression of peace and mystery.

The structure also takes inspiration from the local caves in the form of its arched openings, with both windows and doors cave-like in construction.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this project is the way that it's truly kaleidoscopic. As the Earth changes position in relation to the Sun, the light and shadows in the atrium evolve, overlap and regenerate. It's like standing in a giant kaleidoscope.

"Our goal," said SAKO Architects, "is to inspire the infinite creativity of children through this impressive building as they grow up."

5. The Computer Science Building, Queen's University, Belfast

Built in the 1970s, the computer science building at Queen's University, Belfast was never much to look at. But in 2016, it was given an impressive makeover.

Now, the facade is decorated with coloured glass fins, letting pillars of coloured light fall into the building. As with other coloured glass installations, it's as striking at night as during the day – and as beautiful on the inside as the outside.

In the designer's words, "Natural light brightens the interior with the use of light tunnels, while brightly hued balustrades provide a pop of colour throughout the facility’s four floors".

It's a kaleidoscopic beacon of light on campus and a glorious place to study for the university's 1,000 computer scientists.

Final thoughts

Coloured glass is a versatile material. Whether it's used for a nursery, library or museum, it adds beauty to the inside and the outside. We hope these five examples have given you some ideas.

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