"the Maintenance-Free House shouldn't need any significant maintenance for at least 50 years" unless a bird flies into it.

Maintenance free, is a lie, there is no such thing, even granite has a lifespan, and pitted against mother nature, look around at the landscape to see how it changes yearly.
Glass panels need sealing in the joints, even the best quality materials will eventually break down possible in as little as 20 years.
Not to mention one hailstorm and there goes a major expense.

And of course these houses won't be seen anywhere but the one shown here.

@Bob Flint,
"Not to mention one hailstorm and there goes a major expense."
Note that the article mentions "toughened recycled glass sheets." Tempered glass is actually quite resistant to hail, especially since they're tilted at a fairly steep angle on this roof.
As for the maintenance, the article says, "shouldn't need any significant maintenance for at least 50 years." It never said the house would be maintenance free forever.

I agree with Bob That is a huge amount of vertical butt-joints in the roof, and a single leak will warp most plywood

instead of 'maintanance free' which is a nonsense hook----designers should strive for simplicity of maintanance using minimal parts that are not only reasonable cost , but a design that allows for cheap easy and FAST maintanance on a routine basis.
that is a lot harder than you think. and there's no money in it as you're essentially building a house meant to kill the market for home depot products.
theres'a reason car companies don't want to sell electric cars even if they could-----low parts -----fewer profits to be made off servicing the vehicle.

seems like this would heat the plywood to about 250F in summer sun, and that would warp and unglue it..
also seems like the whole thing would get too hot in a southern climate, 'natural chimney effect' notwithstanding...
also wouldn;t metal siding or almost anything be cheaper than tempered glass?
wle

Cover it with photovoltaic cells to generate power as well as to prevent bird strikes.

@Gadgeteer. Only someone who hasn't been through a hailstorm would suggest the pitch of the roof would make a difference. Hail does not fall in a soft vertical shower, but often violently and almost sideways. In an area with no hail this house might stand a chance. But then there is the problem of all those joints and the propensity of such things to leak.

I don't see how anyone would assume a house made of glass and plywood, two of the most expensive building materials available, would be "around the same cost" of equivalently sized houses. Yikes.
If you're going to bother with the glass, then it seems like there should be some return on it (like extra light, or solar panels). If the point of the plywood is cheep, sturdy material, then use it for the floor and put lacquered OSB on the walls. If you are really serious about having the home last, then aluminum sheet can be purchased for around the cost of glass panels and can be powder coated for a reasonable price. You won't be able to use your cell phone, but it will still be there in 50 years, or until someone decides it's too ugly to keep!