Glass plays an extremely important role in modern architecture. As a matter of fact, new uses for it in this field are continuously being discovered. Often, those uses are the product of avant-garde thinking among architects and similar practitioners aiming to push the boundaries of architecture and creativity. Architects have seen many possibilities with the improvement of glass and the introduction of laminated, toughened, and reinforced glass.

1. Amazing Glass:
The Versatility of
One of the Best
Materials in
Architecture
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2. Glass plays an extremely important role in modern architecture. As a
matter of fact, new uses for it in this field are continuously being
discovered. Often, those uses are the product of avant-garde
thinking among architects and similar practitioners aiming to push
the boundaries of architecture and creativity. Architects have seen
many possibilities with the improvement of glass and the introduction
of laminated, toughened, and reinforced glass.
Glass Blocks in Construction
Individual blocks of glass were used as early as the 1800s to allow
light to enter cellars and ships. Some accounts, however, place glass
in the window panes of the luxury homes in Pompeii in a much
earlier period.
The first pieces of glass used for such purposes were conventional
and simple. Prism-shaped pressed glass followed; it allowed light
dispersal for better coverage. Eventually, hollow glass blocks were
introduced. They offered better thermal and noise isolation. From
there, more sophisticated ways of producing and using glass have
been introduced.

3. Uses of Glass in Construction
Glass is typically used to lend aesthetics to buildings. The design
possibilities grow tremendously when glass is added to the
equation. From full glass walls such as those on the Farnsworth
House by Miles van der Rohe and the La Estancia Glass Chapel by
Bunker Arquitectura, to the titanium and glass construction of the
National Grand Theater of China by Paul Andreu, the things that can
be done with glass are almost without limit.
Aside from the beauty that glass provides, it is also useful when light
is a concern. As a matter of fact, its ability to let light pass through
is one of its earliest uses. Light does not only let light in; it can be
used to give the structure a transparent view. The X House by
Arquitectura X and the Glass Houseboat by X-Architects are good
examples. The Selgas Cano Architecture Office is a glass capsule
located in a Spanish forest. In this structure, the architects within
are afforded the silence and natural beauty of the forest for more
creativity, without letting in the wind, dust, or rain.

4. Glass is a poor conductor of heat, and constructions like double-
glazed glass are perfect for insulation. This is another use of glass:
the conservation of energy required for heating and cooling, and it
also lets the occupants of the building to enjoy a more noise-
resistant environment.
These are only a few examples of how glass makes architecture
more capable, interesting, creative, and beautiful. Glass is also
becoming stronger and more resilient, so that a 590-foot-high,
984-foot-long glass bridge in China, though terrifying to cross, is
attracting attention from around the world. Only time will tell
where else the versatility of glass will take this amazing material.
Sources:
http://www.boredpanda.com/worlds-longest-glass-bridge-
shiniuzhai-geopark-china/
http://www.understandconstruction.com/glass.html
http://suburbanglass.net/shower-doors-enclosures/
http://www.architecture-student.com/architecture/importance-of-
glass-in-architecture/
http://www.thecoolist.com/glass-buildings-15-creative-uses-of-
glass-in-architecture/