The Maison de Verre (literally ‘House of Glass’) is a modernist masterpiece that almost nobody has ever seen. Here, for the first time, is its inside story.

In 1927 Annie and Jean Dalsace acquired an 18th-century town house in the centre of Paris and commissioned their friend, the architect and designer Pierre Chareau, to turn it into a modern dwelling – a very modern dwelling.

What he did was unprecedented. He replaced the walls with translucent glass bricks, installed remotely controlled windows, divided the interior by perforated metal screens that rotate or slide on curved rails, built balconies and open-topped staircases to help display the unique collection of furniture designed by the architect, some covered with tapestry by the artist Jean Lurçat, and works of art collected by the modern-spirited Annie Dalsace.

The text is by Dominique Vellay, granddaughter of the original clients, who has known the house since her childhood, and makes us experience it as if at first hand. The house is recorded by the internationally renowned photographer François Halard. The combination of personal reminiscence and spectacular images makes this a truly rare publishing event.