HISTORY OF GLASS

Glass is one of the oldest man made material used without interruption from its invention
to this date.
The oldest found date is 7000 B.C. in the Neolithic period. It was first used in Egypt for
decorative objects before 3000 B.C.
Mainly as colored glaze on stone, pottery and beads but its use in windows appears to have
been initiated by Romans.
17 th century- used for glazing for window
18 th century- started using in architecture for construction purpose
1851, glass was considered to be a luxury good
The conception which was gradually diminished during the industrial revolution due to
increased availability of glass
Gradually iron and steel developments running parallel to glass made advancements in
metal framing technology with the possibility of large glass expanses, thus making it an
inseparable part of modern architecture.
TYPES OF GLASS USED IN ARCHITECTURAL FIELD

Sheet glass Fiber glass

Plate glass Foam glass
Wired glass Toughened glass
Laminated glass Heat strengthened glass
Fint glass Insulating glass
Ground glass Coated glass

WHY GLASS IS USED

Beauty and versatility
Visibility and light transmission
Energy conservation
Noise resistant
Bullet resistant
Load bearing
 EVOLUTION OF GLASS AS AN ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT
Glass came to be used as load bearing component, which started with the
suspended glass wall in 1960s. The glass panes were fixed at the upper edge
by means of clamps attached to a horizontal beam.
This technique was rapidly adopted throughout the world. Eg:- airport Charles
de Gaulle.

In 1970, Suspended glazing with bolted corner plate fixing points, called
patch fittings was developed.
The uppermost panes are connected to the roof structure along the top edge.
The result is a facade with a height of 15 m which is suspended from the roof.
Lateral support against wind loads is achieved by means of glass fins inside.
 The patch fitting method was further developed during the
1980th with bolted fixing systems. Several different types of
such systems were developed for different projects. For the
most common system a hole was drilled at each corner of the
window pane.
To minimize the influence of bending and torsional stresses
around the holes, spherical bearings in plane with the glass had
to be developed.

For horizontal stabilization cable systems were introduced as

trusses.
In these trusses only members in compression had to be
designed for buckling. All other members were high strength
cables to maximize the visibility.
 GLASS FINS AND COLUMNS

Glass, which was mainly used for facade and decoration,

began to be considered as a kind of structural material to
explore the possibility to design buildings with maximum
transparency, and different glass structural elements
began to appear.

Glass fins are the oldest and most widely used

glass structures, which were first designed in
the 1950s, and mainly designed to resist
lateral wind load.
Foster and Partners designed and built the
linear-shaped Sainsbury Center for Visual Art
in Norwich (England) between 1974 and 1978.
The success in use of glass fins to resist wind
load prompted the idea of glass columns and
beams.
 Benthem crouwel architects completed the
house in Almere in 1984 using story-high
glazing in the living room consisting of thick
toughened glass designed to resist wind load
with thick fins of toughened glass.
The glass fins also serve as a bearing point for
the lightweight roof.

Glass columns designed with three layers of

toughened glass to support the load of a glass roof.
They are approved for a loading of six tonnes, but
have been calculated to support 50.
At end of the 1980s, glass beams, as well as all glass
structures, began to be used widely.
 GLASS ROOF WITH GLASS BEAM
GLASS BRIDGE AT ROTTERDAM,NETHERLANDS
The floor consists of laminated
safety glass supported by two
beams.

Glass beams are shaped

according to the trend of the
bending moment.

Based on redundancy.

WORKSHOP AT MUSEE DE LOUVRE,PARIS

The glass construction covers a three-story

light well that is 16m long and 4m wide with
laminated skylight panes composed of four
layers of 15mm thick toughened glass.
The panes are supported by 60cm high
laminated glass beams of four 15 mm thick
strips of toughened glass.
 GREAT WESTERN DOCK,BRITAIN

The beams are laminated from three layers of 10mm heat

strengthened glass.
The glass beams runs fore and aft ,parallel to the axis of
the ship and their ends were supported on fabricated steel
beams of trapezoidal cross section , pin pointed to plates
bolted to the dock wall and by propped by steel struts from
pads on the dock floor.

GLASS REFLECTORY AT THE TU DRESDEN

The glass ceiling of this heritage building consists
of elements measuring 1.43 x 1.43 metres,
arranged horizontally.
Cross beams and main beams at intervals of 1.45
metres form ladders, which are bonded to one
another using joints made of stainless steel.
As a result, the modules cannot tilt or buckle,
which also prevents damage to one element
affecting the adjacent fields
CANTILEVERED GLASS CANOPY, TOKYO

In 1996 a glass canopy at the entrance to the

Yurakucho underground railway station was finished.
The cantilever glass structure is 4.8 m high at the
apex.
The supporting structure comprises cantilevered
beams each made up of 4 component beams pinned
at their middle and end points to form an arch.

These component beams are made up from both

laminated glass and acrylic blades that reduce in number
from 4 blades at the base of the cantilever beam to 1
blade at the tip.
The blades are connected by stainless steel pins to T-
shaped brackets which in turns support the glass panels
forming the canopy roof.
At the base of the canopy V-shaped stainless steel
brackets connect each cantilever to a horizontal beam
running the full width of the canopy.
MODULUS OF RUPTURE

The measure of the force necessary to break a given substa

nce across, as abeam, expressed by eighteen times the load
which is required to break a bar of one inch square, support
ed flatwise at two points one foot apart, and loaded in the
middle between the points of support.

HEAT STRENGTHENED GLASS

Heat-strengthened glass is a semi-tempered glass which

retains the normal properties of ordinary float glass. It is
similar to tempered glass except that the cooling is done
slower than toughened glass but faster than annealed
glass.
Heat strengthened glass was developed to avoid the risk of
spontaneous granulation because of uneven temperatures.
Such glass has been available for several decades but only
for special applications at high price levels.
APPLICATIONS OF HS GLASS:

Heat-strengthened glass is popular among design

professionals for vertical vision spandrel areas and
for laminated sloped glazing. It is valued for its
mechanical strength, which is twice of normal
annealed glass, though half of fully tempered glass.
Heat strengthened glass has a comparatively flatter
finish than fully tempered glass. Therefore, it has
lesser optical distortions and can be used in places
where high optical quality is required.

It can be used for general glazing where additional strength

or resistance is required for mechanical/thermal loads
caused by certain tinted or coated glass. The glass can also
be used in high wind load areas, but cannot be used in any
safety glazing applications, due to its breakage pattern
similar to annealed glass.
Heat-strengthened glass is widely used in laminated glass
for additional strength, such as in overhead and sloped
glazing