A-Z of Self Build Guides Glass Building Technologies

Date Published:

02/06/2008

A minimalist home isn't quite right without the comprehensive use of glass. Glass technology is advancing in leaps and bounds and is really changing the way we live. Here's the 4Homes guide to the futuristic world of glass...

The end of the 20th century saw the era of the invisible glass box as advanced technology made glass stronger and less drafty so that it could be used as walls, floors or even retractable roofs. This apartment has used glass in floors and ceilings to give a clear view from the ground floor right through the roof.

Glass is an architect's best friend and our cities have become increasingly transparent, but the glass industry is going through a challenging time. Glass is a controversial material, loved by some for its architectural qualities, but loathed by many for its terrible environment impact.

Yet tons of research is going into new glass technology that is literally going to change how our buildings look and function.

The heat gain and the heat loss through a window is terrible. It's about five times worse than that of solid walls. So we're going to have to reduce the amount of glass we use to an absolutely minimum: to areas where you get the view out and to areas where the sun is coming in where you actually want it.

Unless the glass industry comes up with something absolutely fantastic and brilliant to make glass work in bigger areas we're inevitably going to end up with much smaller windows.