A lot of architects love glass. A lot of architects love curves too. The two can be combined, but in most cases this is a highly bespoke and expensive process, with individual sheets of glass being heated in a kiln over a mold created especially to fit the desired curve. Cheaper options are available though, and one common approach is to use smaller sections of flat glass - often a U-shaped channel section - angled to approximate a curve.
But this strategy also leads to a problem: as the desired curve gets tighter, the gaps between the glass segments get more and more apparent and less efficient as enclosure. To address this problem, German designer Holger Jahns has created "c--c," an update to standard U-shaped channel glass which can be fixed together at any angle and create any curve without gaps appearing between the panels.
Presented at DETAIL research lab in Munich earlier this year as well as at Glasstec 2014 in Düsseldorf, Jahns' prototype for c--c (so named because the shape of the word approximates the design's cross-section) offers an option for curved glass walls that is not only cheaper than other solutions, but can be adjusted at any point in the design process, meaning architects are free to alter the radius of their curve even if materials have already been purchased.
Jahns also plans to develop versions of c--c that enable conical and twisted sections of wall, meaning that c--c could allow all manner of warped glass walls to flourish. The design is also compatible with certain types of insulation - both transparent and opaque - with non-glass finishes also planned.
Find out more about c--c here.
