Architectural Glass
Glass has always been one of the most popular and widely used building products for its ability to emit light into buildings whilst providing protection against the elements. Over the past few years however, our obsession with glass has taken a new turn and its use in architecture is evolving. Architectural glass is becoming a 'must have' in modern building and when architects set out to start developing new structures to create a dazzling city skyline, it seems as though most want to implement this style into their design.
If you look at the vast majority of new buildings that are taking up prominent positions in the London skyline, such as St Pancras station, the Gherkin, the Shard and the Pinnacle, they all feature architectural glass to some extent - whether internally, externally or both. Outside of London, it's favoured by major blue chip companies such as electronics companies O2 and Sony, numerous high street banks, universities, colleges and hospitals as well as leading financial and legal organisations and institutions.
Glass is so popular because it displays a professional ambience around the workplace, and it is very impressive when liaising with current or potential clients. It also creates visual impact from a distance whilst providing many user benefits such as weather protection, internal separation and acoustic properties.
Around the UK, particularly in some of the larger cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and Newcastle you will find the style applied in many different ways. Every trend in the industry suggests that the popularity of this type of glass in architecture is likely to continue. Reasons for its popularity are that modern glass engineering techniques enable us to do more and more with it. From using it as a structural element of a building to printing graphics or images, the use and possible applications is virtually limitless.
