When you look at the SeaPod, one of the striking features that you’ll notice is the huge panoramic windows that seem to wrap around the home. While these windows look stunning and provide wonderful views from the inside, they were quite a challenge to engineer.
The original plan was to have one large window that would reach from the bottom of the first-floor living room all the way to the top of the second-floor master bedroom. While this can still be done, it is quite a challenge so at least for now, we will start with two separate windows and the band that you see between them in the renderings, unless otherwise requested.
One of the most challenging things was simply doing the research and sourcing the right materials. We have spent nearly two and a half years researching the best materials, suppliers, methods, and everything else that went into this project. Originally we wanted to use glass for all of the windows but due to the size, cost, fragility, and manufacturing limitations, we found glass to not be a viable option.
Glass is incredibly difficult to work with when making curves, and there is currently no glass option available that would be able to be made big enough for the large windows, it would risk failing and that is not a risk that we want to take. So we have arrived at using resin to make the curved windows, which is still incredibly difficult to work with in this manner, but slightly less so than glass.
We are using molds to shape the resin which will provide the strength and hardness required for windows. To make the molds, we use computer designs and an automatic router cuts out the shape from foam blocks. Using this method gives us a perfect cutout which we can then continue to smooth and refine and eventually use to create the mold that will make the windows.
When the resin windows are completed, they will have a blue UV tint applied. From the outside, the windows will have a mirror-like finish that will provide privacy as well as protection from direct sunlight as well as sunlight that reflects off of the water. This helps to keep the interior of the SeaPod cooler which means you will need less energy to cool the home. It will also keep the brightness under control which is important due to all of the white which will reflect sunlight.
Designing and building these windows has been an extremely complex and difficult undertaking but the result will be totally worth it when the SeaPod can offer million-dollar views almost everywhere that you look. Being so unique has brought us many design and engineering challenges, but it’s the little things….or in this case, the big windows…..that make us special.
