The Prairie Glass House is inspired by some of the great modernist glass houses of the twentieth century—but it is also unique in many ways. In fact, it is a very twenty-first century building.
All its exterior walls are gentle curves. It has no windows; instead, it has 94 doors opening out onto a magnificent prairie forest. In summer, open all the doors and it is a breezy pavilion. In winter, it is a warm oasis sitting gently in the winter forest.
The house is situated in 17 acres of forest on the edge of Champaign IL, a remnant of the original Big Grove, including some of the largest oaks in the region, up to 350 years old. The main house consists of 4/6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 1 commercial style kitchen and 1 kitchenette, a heated indoor pool and sauna. The coach house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen.
70 people can be seated for a meal inside the house, 250 standing and sitting inside and outside, with space to set up a tent with further capacity abutting the house, up to 300 people seated. We have chairs, tables, table settings, table linens for 200. More can be hired.
The grounds include: the multi-award winning Victor meditation hut by Jeffery Poss, architect; a picturesque pond with jetty and pedal boat; and the pyramid, a homage to the Mississippian culture and the people who for thousands of years lived in the forest on this very site.
We are located on northern outskirts of Champaign-Urbana, approximately 1 mile from I-57 and I-74. The property has a large, shaded parking with a short distance from the house, as well as passenger drop-off and disabled parking at the house itself.