KOersief - Engineered Transparency

"Glass, a material with the unique property to let light inside an area, is normally used in building practice as just an enclosure. Its use in facades is also due to its chemically inert properties; it can be cleaned easily and lasts for many years. However, when applied correctly, there is so much more possible with glass!"

"Mechanically, glass has the capacity to withstand high compression forces and also high tension forces if heat- or chemically-treated. As knowledge and production methods progress, larger glass units can be produced as well as designed. In the last decades, glass has been used more and more in major structural elements, by applying it as glass fins. It can be bonded to steel to create special composite structures. So-called hot or cold bent glass is also possible in order to create single or double curved elements. Combining these possibilities of glass one can reach one of the ideal concepts of architects and engineers, almost invisible transparent load-bearing elements in every shape: engineered transparency!"

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bron: KOersief 97 - September 2015