glass 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.

until the 1750’s 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 CR O WN GLASS was first produced in London. Because of its finer quality, this process predominated until the mid nineteenth century The F r ench produced POLISHED PLATE in larger sizes by casting and hand polishing English POLIS HED 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 Ch a nce 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 intr o duced a ROLLED PLATE glass with obscured ribbed finish, which is often found glazed in the roofs of railway termini Chance Bros introduce d MACHINE ROLLED patterned glass Pilkingtons introduced H e xagonal Rolled WIRED CAST MACHINE DRAWN CYLINDER Glas s invented in the USA, was manufactured in the UK by Pilkingtons from 1910 to Belgium produced the first mac h ine 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 groun d POLISHED PLATE system FLOAT GLASS was launched on the UK Mark e t, invented by Sir Alistair Pilkington.tair Pilkington.

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.

glass subway canopy, Tokyo, Japan

laminated glass cantilevered beams

tim macfarlane’s design sketches

glass stairways

laminated glass applications

details within glass stair construction

float glass Most of the world’s flat glass is now made by the float process developed by Pilkington in the early 1960’s. 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

the ‘float’ glass process

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

galleria, toronto, canada designed by santiago calatrava

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.

a steel connector & a drawing of the same

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.

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.

a ‘spider’ metal connector piece

‘obscure’ glass is the term used for any glass that distorts the view.

bullet resistant glass

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.

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

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.