Ann Arbor Shoe Repair

The History Of Glass In Architecture

Glass was discovered, seemingly by accident, nearly 4000 years ago and has since evolved into one of our most used and most revered materials. It was only 2000 years ago that the manufacturing of glass progressed to being able to create sheets strong enough to be used as windows and architectural features. Today glass is used in everything from revolving doors to skywalks and interior partitions and is one of our most striking architectural materials with a fascinating history.

The Beginnings of Glass in Architecture

When glass was first used in architecture and construction, the limitations of masonry and weaker building materials meant that its prominence was restricted to small windows. With developments in construction, this began to change and by the Medieval Era glass started to be used as more of a decorative feature than simply a way to let light in. The trend for tall, stone Gothic churches facilitated the use of elaborate glass windows made up from fragments of coloured glass and depicting striking biblical scenes. These windows related the stories of the bible to an illiterate populace and spurned the architectural trend of searching for transparency, luminosity and weightlessness through glass.

The Next Big Step in Glass

It wasn’t until the 19th century that glass in architecture took its next significant step forward. Before this time, the manufacturing process itself restricted the use of glass to only small sheets, which is illustrated in the prominent use of cottage pane glass and intricately divided windows in 18th century architecture.

The introduction of iron and other materials during this time meant that glass could take on a whole new role in architecture. Thanks to the materials now existing to hold it in place, coupled with the new ability to mass produce large sheets, the possibilities for the use of glass in construction became nearly limitless. Architects began to experiment with things like conservatories and entire walls of glass that were held together by high trussed steel arches and finger fixings. The Crystal Palace constructed in 1851 represents the most ambitious glass architectural projects of its time – a construction made up of 300 000 sheets of glass.

Glass in Architecture in the 20th Century

Architects use of
1000
glass continued to evolve throughout the 20th century although most of the larger, ambitious projects were confined to large office buildings with massive budgets. The idea of transparency and dematerialisation was dominant during this time and architects the world over tried to use glass to create ‘honest’ buildings that focussed on a sense of light and space. One of the biggest changes during these years was the move away from seeing glass as only the material for the openings within a structure, but rather as the material for the structure itself. Glass skins became the challenge to tackle whereby a thin steel structure literally supported skyscrapers of full glass walls.
The Fagus Factory in Germany was one of the first buildings to employ this technique. This urban shoe factory was designed by Walter Gropius in 1911 and used a thin steel structure to hold up a full glass façade to meet the client’s brief of an attractive outlook.
One of the greatest feats in glass architecture in this century is the new Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan which is set to open its doors to the public in early 2009. The steel sphere of the planetarium is an 87-foot structure which can accommodate 585 people. What’s so breathtaking is that is seems to float in the centre of a breathtaking glass cube.

Using glass in architecture has certainly come a long way from its start. As structures like the Hayden Planetarium are constructed, limitations fall away and glass architecture takes on a life of its own.

Glass in Architecture Today

Constant innovations in glass and building materials continue to increase the possibilities for the use of glass in architecture and today have resulted in some of the most spectacular buildings imaginable. Lightweight, strong plastics, new cladding materials and fixing technologies have allowed for even more experimentation with glass and has enabled architects to translate many of these styles to work in the domestic environment and not only in corporate skyscrapers. Other innovations in glass have also enabled it to become less of a building material and more of a design feature in homes across the globe. Glass is now stronger and safer than ever, allowing it to be used anywhere from roofs to staircases and interior walls – glass is no longer just for windows and the occasional sliding door.

Other innovations in glass have made it possible to fully utilise glass as a building material and prominent feature in domestic homes. Before, architects shied away from a fully-fronted glass home as the heating and cooling bills were astronomical and were only practical in an office environment. With new innovations in double-glazed glass, thermal insulating glass and solar control glass, this problem becomes less of an issue as the glass itself helps to regulate the temperature inside.

Another drawback of abundant use of glass in the home was the need to keep it clean. Glass roofs, conservatories and high walls were often avoided due to the time or cost involved in their cleaning. The advent of self-cleaning glass has helped to reduce this problem, encouraging and allowing for new innovations in the use of glass in domestic architecture. Self-cleaning glass utilises a special coating that reacts with sunlight to break down and loosen organic dirt that is then washed away by the rain. This same coating prevents the water from settling and streaking, rather encouraging run off, leaving the glass naturally cleaner and clearer. This allows architects the freedom to use glass for any exterior that their creativity can take them and has left us with some of the finest architectural uses of glass yet.

By: Kelly Wheeler

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

About the Author

Pilkington has been supplying architects with the finest quality glass for decades and is behind many of the glass innovations that have allowed for such freedom of design. From self-cleaning glass to solar control and thermal insulation glass, Pilkington is constantly coming up with new glass products to enable the use of glass in archit

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When settling into a new place after a move, there are several local shops, services and facilities you might want to locate. Here are a dozen of those locations for you to put on your post-move checklist

· Shopping center/ mall. This one is fairly obvious. You’ll want to find a place that allows you to combine several errands at once, saving time, money, stress and energy consumption.

· Hospital/ emergency care center: This is one that most of us would prefer not to think about. However, it’s also one that you don’t want to scramble for in a crisis. Note that in recent years a number of emergency care centers have opened. These centers aren’t usually part of a hospital, but can handle many emergency situations and send you to a hospital if the situation requires that.

· School: If you have school-age children and aren’t home schooling, make sure you know where the school is, where the closest bus stop is, and what type of safe routes exist between your new place and the school. Try to arrange a tour for your kids.

· Day care center: If your kids will be in day care, now is a good time to investigate local centers. Be sure to find out what the hours and late policies are, and determine what driving times will be like from both your home and work.

· Library: Take advantage of both central libraries and branches close by. Not only can you save on the cost of books and magazines, you may also be able to borrow movies and music, get free internet access, make photocopies, pick up local postings, find community groups to join and more.

· Post office: If you haven’t filed your change of address with the post office, now would be a good time for that. You may also want to choose to have a post office box for certain categories of mail. Check out their hours as well as finding your closest mailbox and its pick-up times.

· Grocery store: Unless you’re in a rural area, you may find you have several options for purchasing your local groceries. As you visit a few, sign up for any discount card programs they have. Also make a note of their prices, coupon policies (double coupons, for example), selection, specialties that may interest you (bakery, pharmacy, flower shop, coffee bar, etc.), how busy they are, and their days and hours of operation.

· Pharmacy: Finding your closest pharmacy is obviously important, but you may also want to check into factors such as where the closest 24 hour pharmacy (especially important if you have small children or chronic medical conditions), cheap programs for generics (such as the Wal-Mart $4 promotion), and pharmacies as part of other stores where you’ll be shopping regularly (like the grocery).

· Convenience store: For most people, the selection of a convenience store will be based on location alone. Whenever you run out of a staple, like milk, it’s good to know what’s nearby until you can make it until the grocery store next.

· Hardware store: Whether you’re moving into a studio apartment or a mansion on the hill, there always seems to be a need for a hardware store. Lowes and Home Depot are the two most common “big box” retailers of hardware (check online for coupons or stop by the customer service desk and ask for one), but you might want to check for neighborhood retailers. If that doesn’t work, keep in mind that many large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Sears carry most of the basics.

· Dry cleaner: You may or may not have regular dry cleaning needs; however, many local dry cleaners offer other valuable services such as alterations, shoe repair, and cleaning and storage of bulky items like comforters. Finding out what’s available is usually worth the trip.

· Car repair center: One thing you want to avoid at your new place is being stranded without a car if that’s your primary means of transportation. You’ll probably want to have locations for two different kinds of repair shops: one dealership for your make of vehicle to take care of the complex repairs, and a general repair shop for the day-to-day tasks. This combination should take care of the most likely car issues.

And there you have it: one dozen places to locate near your new home!

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One of the most popular articles there is the FREE Change of Address / Address Change Guide. It includes great tips on how to block junk mail and telemarketing calls at your new address, how to use the post office’s online services and others.

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