This book attempts to redress this issue by providing an overview of the recent developments in this field thereby providing a basis for the understanding of the structural performance and design of glass in buildings. Each chapter draws on the latest developments in practice and research and contains contributions from various international glass experts. The mix of general and specialist content ranging from rules of thumb to fracture mechanics and novel applications to post-breakage performance make this book useful to practitioners and researchers. Furthermore, the text is supplemented by tables of the major codes of practice and by an extensive list of references.

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES FOR ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, AND BUILDERS Once an experimental building form, structural glass facades have matured into a fully robust technology. Structural Glass Facades and Enclosures documents, defines, and categorizes the current state of the art in long-span glass facade design and construction, with a focus on structural systems, glass cladding options, and implementation strategies for innovative design. A comparative analysis of these various systems is included, along with designs and design practices for enhancing transparency; engineering issues; material, process, and fabrication considerations; installation means and methods; and project delivery strategies for implementing innovative building technology in today's construction marketplace. The reader will find information here that is not available together in any single resource, including: Structural system types and design options, with integrated glass system options and their application on each of the structural types An in-depth discussion of design, fabrication, and installation issues relative to each system type, accompanied by illustrations and photographs A discussion of the challenges of implementing innovative design and technology in the construction industry, and operational practices to improve the probability of success A series of in-depth case studies documenting representative samples of stunning built works that employ the technology and design principles identified in the book Structural Glass Facades and Enclosures provides expert content for putting cutting-edge technology into real-life practice, creating new potential for fresh applications embracing both aesthetic and performance solutions, and for the adoption of the technology by architects, builders, and facade practitioners.

Flat glass opens up more possibilities for the planner than virtually any other material. Because of the technological complexity of using it, however, no specific structural forms have been developed for glass supporting frameworks as they have been for wood, concrete, and steel. This book is thus the first to present a coherent guide to the planning and design of glass supporting frameworks. The focus is on the pressure-resistant, flat supporting element as a basic building block for broad supporting structures. The spatial and constructive forms of multifunctional, self-supporting glass envelopes are vividly illustrated and systematically explained. The constructions presented exhibit new aesthetic qualities, based not on the dictum of "dematerialization" but on the poetry of gleaming and transparent planes. They ring in a new chapter in the history of glass architecture.

There are two things everybody knows about glass: it is transparent, and it breaks! These are also the properties that constitute the challenge of glass as an architectural and structural material. This book presents papers from the third Challenging Glass Conference (CGC3), held at the Technical University (TU) Delft, the Netherlands, in June 2012. The conference brings together glass engineering, research and design specialists. Papers are grouped under seven topic headings: project and case studies; joints, fixings and adhesives; strength, stability and safety (a category which includes a quarter of all the papers presented at the conference); laminates and composite design; curved and bended glass; architectural design and lighting and finally, glass in facades. Glass remains one of the most exciting materials available to designers and architects today. This book will be of interest to all those involved in working with glass in an architectural and structural context.

A comprehensive and up-to-date encyclopedia to the fabrication, nature, properties, uses, and history of glass The Encyclopedia of Glass Science, Technology, History, and Culture has been designed to satisfy the needs and curiosity of a broad audience interested in the most varied aspects of material that is as old as the universe. As described in over 100 chapters and illustrated with 1100 figures, the practical importance of glass has increased over the ages since it was first man-made four millennia ago. The old-age glass vessels and window and stained glass now coexist with new high-tech products that include for example optical fibers, thin films, metallic, bioactive and hybrid organic-inorganic glasses, amorphous ices or all-solid-state batteries. In the form of scholarly introductions, the Encyclopedia chapters have been written by 151 noted experts working in 23 countries. They present at a consistent level and in a self-consistent manner these industrial, technological, scientific, historical and cultural aspects. Addressing the most recent fundamental advances in glass science and technology, as well as rapidly developing topics such as extra-terrestrial or biogenic glasses, this important guide: Begins with industrial glassmaking Turns to glass structure and to physical, transport and chemical properties Deals with interactions with light, inorganic glass families and organically related glasses Considers a variety of environmental and energy issues And concludes with a long section on the history of glass as a material from Prehistory to modern glass science The Encyclopedia of Glass Science, Technology, History, and Culture has been written not only for glass scientists and engineers in academia and industry, but also for material scientists as well as for art and industry historians. It represents a must-have, comprehensive guide to the myriad aspects this truly outstanding state of matter.