Glass in interior architecture
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
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Window Glass was not produced in significant quantities in this country until :-
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1226 BROAD SHEET was first made in Sussex, but of poor quality, and fairly opaque.
Manufacture slowly decreased and ceased by the early 16th Century.
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1330 French glassmakers produced CROWN GLASS for the first time at Rouen. Some French
Crown and Broad Sheet was imported into the UK.
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1620 BLOWN PLATE was produced in London by grinding and polishing Broad Sheet, and was
used for mirrors and Coach Plates.
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1678 CROWN GLASS was first produced in London. Because of its finer quality, this process
predominated until the mid nineteenth century.
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1688 The French produced POLISHED PLATE in larger sizes by casting and hand polishing.
1773 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.
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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.
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1847 James Hartley introduced a ROLLED PLATE glass with obscured ribbed finish, which is
often found glazed in the roofs of railway termini.
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1888 Chance Bros introduced MACHINE ROLLED patterned glass.
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1898 Pilkingtons introduced Hexagonal Rolled WIRED CAST.
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1903 MACHINE DRAWN CYLINDER Glass invented in the USA, was manufactured in the UK by
Pilkingtons from 1910 to 1933.
1913 Belgium produced the first machine FLAT DRAWN SHEET glass. It was first drawn in the
UK in 1919 in Kent .
1923 First UK production of continuous POLISHED PLATE glass, using single grinding system.
1938 Pilkingtons developed the twin ground POLISHED PLATE system.
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1959 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
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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.
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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
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Treated glass that is strengthened by reheating it to just below the melting
point and then suddenly cooling it.
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When shattered, it breaks into small pieces.
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Approximately five times stronger than standard annealed glass; is required
as safety glazing in patio doors, entrance doors, side lights, and other
hazardous locations.
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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 macfarlane’s 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.
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Glass is not naturally colorless. Beach sand invariably contains black
particles of iron oxides scattered through it.
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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.
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glass stairways
laminated glass applications
details within glass stair construction
float glass
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Most of the world’s flat glass is now made by the float process developed by
Pilkington in the early 1960’s.
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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
• http://www.glasswebsite.com/video/default.asp
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
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Having developed a number of temporary architectures and several virtual
architectural concepts, the Leonardo Glass Cube is the first permanent building
implemented by 3deluxe.
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As an atmospheric brandworld, the Leonardo Glass Cube conveys to guests and the
staff alike the company’s philosophy and visions in an inspiring manner.
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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.
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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.
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‘The Glass House’, 1949
designed by
Phillip Johnson
located in New Canaan, Connecticut
‘Farnsworth House’, 1946-1950
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 Chihuly’s individually made, blown glass objects