In the 21st century, Glass has become a cornerstone material for architecture. Once limited to apertures and openings, Glass now dominates entire facades, especially in high-rise buildings where transparent cladding material is preferred to maximize views. The technological advancements in Glass have been remarkable, transitioning from single-pane panels, such as those used in Bauhaus' iron window frames, to today's triple-pane systems with specialized gas infills, such as argon, designed to address Glass's long-standing thermal limitations.
In design theory, extensive use of Glass is often avoided on south-facing facades in the Northern Hemisphere (or north-facing facades in the Southern Hemisphere) due to the risk of heat gain caused by prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. Excessive heat gain significantly challenges maintaining thermal comfort, necessitating energy-intensive cooling systems to counteract the trapped heat.
However, recent advancements have redefined what is possible. Glass offers better control over solar heat gain through innovations like high-performance glazing, operable brise-soleil systems, and thermal insulation technologies. These improvements give architects and designers greater flexibility, allowing them to position Glass strategically on sun-exposed facades while employing tailored solutions to mitigate overheating.
Beyond addressing thermal challenges, Glass has opened doors to innovative applications in architecture. From complex geometries and material hybridization to visual layering in interiors and Glass acting as structural systems, contemporary designs leverage glass in previously unattainable ways. These advancements overcome past limitations and inspire new possibilities in how Glass can shape the built environment.
Interior Perspectives: Enhancing Spaces with Glass
In 2024, glass bricks continue to boom, particularly in the interior scene. They have moved beyond their traditional role as simple modular elements. By exploring variations in transparency, proportions, and form factors, designers have redefined Glass not as a mere planar surface but as a substantial, tactile material with mass and solidity. This approach challenges the typical perception of Glass as weightless, introducing a new layer of material depth and sensuality.
Glass's inherent transparency and clarity are now often paired with evocative finishes that portray delicate ambiances and atmospheric qualities. In JINS Holdings Tokyo Head Office, Glass is used in the unavoidable architectural element - guardrails and becomes a vertical art and experience connector. The guardrails integrate functionality, reflectivity, and artistry with a prismatic laminated sheet finish. This material strategy also aligns with JINS' branding and marketing direction as an eyewear brand, leveraging the interplay of light, reflectivity, and spectral colors to create striking, memorable interior aesthetics.
Moreover, Glass's versatility extends to privacy solutions through diverse finishes and operability. Lightweight single-pane panels, particularly in interior applications, begin to incorporate various mirror finishes or acid-etched textures, producing unique semi-opaque effects with moiré-like finishes. GO TODAY SHAiRE SALON executes these partitions articulately to the private privacy required in a hair salon while maintaining a sense of transparency and spatiality with the choice of opaque Glass. These advancements highlight the continued evolution of Glass, offering architects and designers a versatile material for balancing function, artistry, and innovation.
Kimyona Restaurant / AZAZ Architects
IDYLLL Restaurant and Bar / The Purple Ink Studio
JINS Holdings Tokyo Head Office / Fumiko Takahama Architects
GO TODAY SHAiRE SALON / CANOMA
Redefining Glass: Hybrid and Experimental Applications
Glass continues to evolve as an architectural material in ways that challenge its traditional definitions and applications in 2024. Designers are rethinking its material properties, structural capabilities, and role in shaping a building's identity through reflectivity and finishing techniques.
The newly finished One River North by MAD Architects exemplifies this innovative spirit by reimagining the conventional glass tower facade. The design integrates unique edge profiles and custom-curved glass panels that align with the building's organic void, pushing the limits of custom-fabricated panels and construction coordination to create a tranquil, evocative aesthetic. This approach redefines the geometry of glass panels and elevates the building's architectural expression by seamlessly blending the material with its sculptural massing.
Globally, architects are also exploring glass hybridization as a material, integrating it with eco-friendly and recycled materials to achieve desirable levels of transparency, reflectivity, and sustainability. The Rebirth Materials House by Housescape Design Lab demonstrates this ingenuity by incorporating glass into wall cavities and working with structural steel and recycled plastic. This innovative combination highlights Glass's adaptability, as it becomes a central element in the wall design while reinforcing its environmental and functional versatility.
One River North / MAD Architects
Rebirth Materials House / Housescape Design Lab
DJI Flagship Store / Various Associates
Apple Store The Exchange TRX / Foster + Partners
Glass Refined: Simplicity and Excellence Combined
Some projects advance the discourse on Glass not by challenging its material boundaries or reimagining its applications but by perfecting its typical use—celebrating its inherent qualities through masterful execution. Rather than focusing on material innovation, these designs pay homage to modernist ideals, achieving breathtaking results through meticulous detailing and rational panel divisions.
Brooks + Scarpa's Steeplechase House epitomizes the beauty of modern glass applications through its precise use of flat sheet glass panels and logical subdivisions. These elements transform a familiar material into the project's centerpiece, defining the house's main façade as a signature feature while reinforcing its volumetric expression. The project highlights the enduring elegance of simplicity achieved through well-coordinated craftsmanship and attentive detailing.
Atelier FCJZ's Nine-Square Pavilion pays homage to modernism by going beyond precise detailing, flatness, and rational subdivisions. It engages with architecture's enduring theoretical challenges—the nine-square grid problem conceived by John Hejduk in the mid-1950s. The project uses Glass as an operable boundary between the interior and exterior, reflecting the layering and varying degrees of transparency achieved through stacking glass partition walls. The pavilion explores spatial transitions between inside and outside by incorporating movable glass panels, transforming the nine-square grid into a dynamic and experiential glass project.
Beijing 751 Library / Do Union Architecture
Steeplechase House / Brooks + Scarpa
Nine-Square Pavilion / Atelier FCJZ
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Year in Review, presented by Gira.
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