The Influence of Glass Structures Technology inRedefinition of New Architectural Spaces

In the beginning of the 20th century and at the time of emergence of modernism movement, using the transparent materials in buildings started to grow. In recent years, the idea of transparency has gained its most popularity. Today transparent materials gathering a big range from common float glass till composite glass (like laminated glass) and plastics (ETFE, PVC …). And these materials make possible different architectural space qualities taking as extremes sheer transparency to opacity. Glass can be used as a structural and decorative elements or mere cladding.When selecting the type and use of glass in a project, one looks for an optimal balance between aesthetics and function. Understanding the basic properties and terminology used in the vast glass industry will allow a designer a useful palette from which to design and make the design process exciting and challenging. Therefore the aim of presenting this paper is to recognition and surveying the different systems of glass structures (in different parts of buildings), and the influence of using these systems on the redefinition of new architectural spaces. The main topic that isdiscussed in this article is categorizing different structural support systems, recognizing the specification of each one and inquiring case studies with structural details in relation with each of them.

Keywords:

Glass Structures , Support Structures , Technology , Architecture , Transparent Spaces