CONTENTS Foreword by Graham Dodd 5 Preface and Acknowledgments 6 1 INTRODUCTION 2 SPANS OF GLASS 17 2.1 FROM LEAFY ARBOUR TO CLIMATE SKIN - THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE18 Early period and Christian sacred architecture 19 The modern era 21 2.2 THE GLASS ROOF: FORM, FUNCTION AND CONSTRUCTION25 3 FLAT GLASS AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL 33 3.1 PROPERTIES OF GLASS 34 Flat glass as a load-bearing material 36 Flat glass as a building skin material 39 3.2 BASIC GLASS - FLOAT GLASS, ROLLED GLASS AND DRAWN GLASS 45 Manufacturing processes 46 Implications for design and construction 48 Implications for building skins48 3.3 THE MECHANICAL PROCESSING OF GLASS - CUTTING, DRILLING AND GRINDING 49 3.4 THE THERMAL TREATMENT OF GLASS - TEMPERING, ENAMELLING, BENDING AND SURFACE TEXTURING54 Tempering 54 Enamelling and printing on glass 58 Thermal bending of glass 59 Texturing glass 62 3.5 LAYERING AND BONDING OF PANES: LAMINATED GLASS AND LAMINATED SAFETY GLASS 64 Manufacture and finishing 64 Implications for design and construction 66 Implications for the building skin 68 3.6 COATING THE PANES AND SEALING THE EDGES: INSULATING GLASS 72 Surface coatings 72 The build-up of insulating glass 75 Implications for design and construction 76 Implications for building skins 78 4 DESIGN AND CONNECTIONS 83 4.1 DESIGNING WITH GLASS84 Flat glass as a building skin and construction element 84 Connections 85 Design calculation procedures 89 4.2 THE USE OF GLASS PANES IN BUILDING SKINS94 Glazing types 95 Residual load-bearing capacity of panes 97 Connections 98 4.3 THE USE OF GLASS PLATES AND BEAMS IN STRUCTURES 104 Plates loaded in compression 104 Shear plates 105 Columns, glass fins and beams 108 Residual load-bearing capacity of glass 111 Connections 112 5 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS 119 5.1 OVERVIEW120 User demand profiles 125 5.2 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING SKIN GEOMETRIES 128 The glass courtyard - the flat or inclined roof 128 The glass band - the curved or folded roof130 The glass core - the double-curved roof 132 6 GLASS STRUCTURES 137 6.1 FORMS OF LOAD-BEARING STRUCTURES IN FLAT GLASS 138 6.2 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PARAMETERS 140 Grid geometry 141 Redundancy: safety in non-hierarchical structures 144 The safe design of glass structures loaded in compression 146 Modules and planes of connection 148 6.3 LOAD-BEARING GLASS STRUCTURES 150 Beams and trusses 152 Plate structures 154 Cellular structures 160 7 PROJECTS 165 7.1 BACKGROUND OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 166 7.2 THE GLASS COURTYARD - PLANAR LOAD-BEARING SYSTEMS 168 7.3 THE GLASS BAND - CURVED LOAD-BEARING SYSTEMS 210 7.4 THE GLASS CORE - DOUBLE-CURVED LOAD-BEARING SYSTEMS 226 8OUTLOOK 241 APPENDIX 249 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES 250 PICTURE CREDITS 253 PARTNERS 255