So in the glass industry the race is on to find innovative new products that allow us to continue living in the transparent way we love. Experiments with honeycombing, in this case with Kevlar, creates panels tough enough for floors and walls, as well as providing much improved insulation.
Even more impressive is a substance called Aerogel. This is the lightest solid in the world, as well as being the world's best insulator. It's made by NASA and they use it to collect space dust. Aerogel is an architect's dream because it's very lightweight at 99.8 per cent air. Perhaps most interesting of all, the bluish hue is created by the way this material scatters light – it is blue for all the same reasons that the sky is blue.
Aerogel's not on the market yet and it's not going to be cheap, but it does show that all is not lost for the future of glass in our buildings.
In these times of uncertain climate, we're all going to have to change the way we use glass. But we don't have to go cold turkey - we just have to be a bit more creative. Scientific advances in new super glass mean we can all pretty much continue to live the transparent lives we all love. There is no glass ceiling with glass.
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