Glass in interior architecture

Until the 1750s glass was only made in small sizes due to the difficulty of manufacturing larger pieces. this spun glass disc would be cut into usable panes of relatively clear glass.

The history of glass making in England Window Glass was not produced in significant quantities in this country until : BROAD SHEET was first made in Sussex, but of poor quality, and fairly opaque. Manufacture slowly decreased and ceased by the early 16th Century French glassmakers produced CROWN GLASS for the first time at Rouen. Some French Crown and Broad Sheet was imported into the UK BLOWN PLATE was produced in London by grinding and polishing Broad Sheet, and was used for mirrors and Coach Plates CROWN GLASS was first produced in London. Because of its finer quality, this process predominated until the mid nineteenth century The French produced POLISHED PLATE in larger sizes by casting and hand polishing English POLISHED PLATE by the French process was produced at Ravenshead. By 1800 a steam engine was used to carry out the grinding and polishing of the cast glass.

1834 Robert Lucas Chance introduced IMPROVED CYLINDER SHEET, using a German process to produce finer quality and larger panes. This glass was used to glaze The Crystal Palace. The process was used extensively until early in the 20th Century to make window glass. From this period onwards machines were developed to automate the production of obscured Glass and later, window glass James Hartley introduced a ROLLED PLATE glass with obscured ribbed finish, which is often found glazed in the roofs of railway termini Chance Bros introduced MACHINE ROLLED patterned glass Pilkingtons introduced Hexagonal Rolled WIRED CAST MACHINE DRAWN CYLINDER Glass invented in the USA, was manufactured in the UK by Pilkingtons from 1910 to Belgium produced the first machine FLAT DRAWN SHEET glass. It was first drawn in the UK in 1919 in Kent First UK production of continuous POLISHED PLATE glass, using single grinding system Pilkingtons developed the twin ground POLISHED PLATE system FLOAT GLASS was launched on the UK Market, invented by Sir Alistair Pilkington.tair Pilkington.

The float glass making process

The 'float' glass process

Molten glass, at approximately 1000ºC, is poured continuously from a furnace onto a shallow bath of molten tin. It floats on the tin, spreads out and forms a level surface. Thickness is controlled by the speed at which solidifying glass ribbon is drawn off from the bath. After annealing (controlled cooling) the glass emerges as a 'fire' polished product with virtually parallel surfaces.

While floating through the molten tin, the glass under the force of gravity and surface tension becomes smooth and flat at both sides

Types of Glass Tempered Glass Laminated Glass Insulated Glass Reflective Glass Pattern Glass Wired Glass Fireproof Glass

Tempered Glass The process of creating tempered glass is to heat the original glass to a very high temperature and cool it down rapidly to form surface compression on the glass. Tempered glass is 3-4 times as strong as common glass. Broken by an external force, it will become bean-sized pieces, preventing injury to people.

Laminated Glass: Laminated glass is a combination of two or more glass sheets with one or more interlayers of plastic (PVB) or resin. In case of breakage, the interlayer holds the fragments together and continues to provide resistance to the passage of persons or objects. This glass is particularly suitable where it is important to ensure the resistance of the whole sheet after breakage such as: shop-fronts, balconies, stair-railings, roof glazing.

Laminated glass Laminated Glass is manufactured by permanently bonding two or more lites of glass with layers of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer, under heat and pressure, to create a single construction. Laminated glass is used where safety is a priority, such as in automobile windshields, and overhead skylights.

Insulated Glass Insulated glass is a prefabricated unit made of two or more glass sheets with an aluminum frame which are edge-sealed together with a sealing compound.

Tempered glass Treated glass that is strengthened by reheating it to just below the melting point and then suddenly cooling it. When shattered, it breaks into small pieces. Approximately five times stronger than standard annealed glass; is required as safety glazing in patio doors, entrance doors, side lights, and other hazardous locations. It cannot be recut after tempering.

Reflective Glass Reflective glass refers to coating the surface of the glass with one or many layers of metal, alloy, or metal compound film to effectively control the transmission of visible lights and low infrared. In light of the different performance, the reflective glass can be classified into the following: heat-reflecting glass, low-emissivity glass (low-E), electro pane, etc.

Pattern Glass Pattern glass is produced by coating and rolling clear or body-tinted, translucent clear, flat glass. The glass is heated to its softening point and passed between two rollers, which emboss the pattern into the glass. It not only provides function of visual screen but also creates aesthetic senses of changing lights and shades.

Obscure glass is the term used for any glass that distorts the view.

Wire Glass Wired glass is a product in which a wire mesh has been inserted during production. A steel wire mesh is sandwiched between two separate ribbons of semi-molten glass, and then passed through a pair of metal rollers which squeeze the "sandwich of glass and wire" together. It has impact resistance similar to that of normal glass, but in case of breakage, the mesh retains the pieces of glass. This product is traditionally accepted as low-cost fire glass.

Bullet resistant glass

Tempered glass: shatters into harmless chunks rather than into dangerous knife shapes as non-tempered glass does.

Tim Macfarlane: Achieving the Impossible with laminated glass

Tim Macfarlane is an architectural engineer whose London-based practice, Dewhurst, Macfarlane and Partners, works with architects and clients worldwide. Tim's pioneering work with beams, columns and cantilever canopies of laminated glass has been honored four times (1995, twice in 1996 and 1997) in the DuPont Benedictus Awards for innovation in architectural laminated glass.

Tim Macfarlane: "Achieving the Impossible" with Laminated Glass

Glass subway canopy, Tokyo, Japan

Laminated glass cantilevered beams

tim macfarlanes design sketches

All-glass buildings blur the boundaries between outside and inside. Transparency satisfies our curiosity about the inner workings of things and assures us of the contents of a room.

Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY

A steel connector & a drawing of the same these are called spiders

A spider metal connector piece

Galleria, Toronto, designed by Santiago Calatrava

galleria, toronto, canada designed by santiago calatrava

Tabourettli Theater, Zurich, Switzerland, designed by Santiago Calatrava

Glass provides light, surface, and color in interior architecture

Naturally colored glass is composed of 72% silica, 15% soda, 10% lime, and 3% other impurities. silica is basically sand.

Glass is not naturally colorless. Beach sand invariably contains black particles of iron oxides scattered through it. When fired in a usual, oxygen-rich environment (i.e., with the furnace in an oxidizing state), these impurities give the glass a natural aquablue to light green tinge.

glass stairways

laminated glass applications

details within glass stair construction

float glass Most of the worlds flat glass is now made by the float process developed by Pilkington in the early 1960s. Molten glass, at approximately 1000ºC, is poured continuously from a furnace onto a shallow bath of molten tin. It floats on the tin, spreads out and forms a level surface. Thickness is controlled by the speed at which the solidifying glass ribbon is drawn off from the bath. After annealing (controlled cooling) the glass emerges as a 'fire' polished product with virtually parallel surfaces.

how glass is made

corning museum of glass, corning, n.y. sculpture by dale chihuly

Dale Chihuly, Glass Artist

connecting glass pieces to other glass pieces, or connecting glass pieces to other building parts requires careful, and often sophisticated, detailing.

here the steel column and beam structure of the building is separated from the glass enclosing planes by building an additional light structure just for the glazing.

the glass is virtually invisible, allowing the unusual, and dynamic, steel structure to be seen as a whole wall.

glass box house designed by ken yokogawa, located in kobe, japan the interior seems to be pulled to the outdoors because of the large expanses of clear glass

floor plan of glass box house

here the clear glass exterior walls of the house disappear. this sort of application only makes sense for a site that offers substantial privacy.

wood framing for the fixed glass panels, operable sash, and doors.

The design firm 3deluxe created this building for the brand Leonardo

Having developed a number of temporary architectures and several virtual architectural concepts, the Leonardo Glass Cube is the first permanent building implemented by 3deluxe. As an atmospheric brandworld, the Leonardo Glass Cube conveys to guests and the staff alike the companys philosophy and visions in an inspiring manner. The open floor plan layout of the clearly designed and multi-functional Leonardo building enables an integrative linkage of product presentation zones, seminar and meeting rooms, inspiring work areas and a lot more besides across a total area of 1,200 square meters. Founded in 1859, glass specialist brand, LEONARDO are changing the way the world see's glass. Bringing new meaning to the concept of a showroom, the recently completed Glass Cube, designed by 3deluxe architects, is part of a strategic development plan for the company, who believe glass is the way of the future.

The Glass House, 1949 designed by Phillip Johnson located in New Canaan, Connecticut

Farnsworth House, designed by Ludwig Mies Van de Rohe located in Plano, Illinois

Concrete infused with glass fibers light is transmitted through this solid material

Loft in New York City designed by David Serero A glass wall divides the space of this Soho loft to separate the living space from more intimate spaces and keep the light flowing through the apartment.

Glass stair by Scottish architects, McInnes Gardner and Partners. Each tread is supported only on one side, cantilevering out of the solid wall. The other side is made of two large sheets of glass, floor to ceiling

Dale Chihulys individually made, blown glass objects