'Glass in Architecture' provides the first comprehensive historical and technical overview of the art and science of glass for fifty years, demonstrating its past importance and its use in architectural practice today. As the only material available to provide light and protection from the elements, glass has been the basis for the most potent device in building: the window. On a humble level the window makes buildings habitable; raised to the highest levels of aspiration, the window has given us the glories of the Gothic cathedral and the Jacobean house, the Palm House at Kew and the Crystal Palace, and the heroic glass masterpieces of the 1920s and 1930s. More recently, with the skills of a new generation of designers, it has achieved new heights and offers enormous potential for the architecture of the twenty-first century.
'Glass in Architecture' explores how glass has made its unique contribution to architectural design. It reviews the history of the material from its beginnings to the present day, and goes on to describe what glass is and why it performs the way it does, how it is made, and its many variations. The central section of the book presents twenty international case studies of contemporary glass architecture, each building illustrated with full-colour photographs and detail drawings, to show the range of the application of glass in a variety of situations, large and small. The potential for the future is also explored, as new materials move from the abstract world of technical research into realisation. A detailed appendix provides a full review of the science of glass, with a section on design and performance.
Design today demands a high level of technical knowledge in areas such as materials science and environmental control, as well as the formative skills that have traditionally constituted architectural activity. 'Glass in Architecture' aims to provide architects with an insight into the world of glass, both as a historical phenomenon and as an inspiration for much architecture of the present day, more importantly, at a time when command of technology is central to the role of designers, it aims to give them the means to extend the vocabulary of architecture.
Includes colour and black-and-white illustrations.
