Glass has become a much-used material in interior as well as exterior architecture. In earlier times, glass used to be fragile, and had very limited application. But this view has undergone a drastic change now. Glass is an excellent material available in toughened form and is a very important element in the arsenal of Architects and Interior Designers.
The cuteness of glass lies in its ability to provide a variety of innovative solutions for interior and exterior decoration. The strength of glass for structural purposes has improved tremendously in the past few years, giving Architects a free had in using glass in a very creative way. Interior designers have also made extensive application of this splendid material, which ca be seen on counter-tops, doors, walls, partitions, etc
A new genre of Glass Designers have sprung up, and the versatility of glass has made it possible to create anything, from transparent staircases, to coloured shelves in showrooms, designer ceilings and translucent floorings. And this glass isn’t fragile at all. It is strong and Beautiful.
Glass has made a HUGE impact on the designing industry. We can increasingly see use of sand-blasted glass panels, glass bricks and etched glass in World-Class projects. New varieties of glass like smoked glass, wire glass, frosted glass and Pyrex glass have been developed to aid designers, and are being used in a number of creative ways to enhance the aesthetic beauty of the space. Decorative etched coloured glass and crystals have been traditionally used in interiors.
The use of coloured glass can be traced back to Victorian architecture and Gothic Cathedrals. Today, glass is considered as an important element in the superfluity of available construction materials.
An up-and-coming construction material, Glass Blocks, have become increasingly popular for interior and exterior decoration purposes. They are an excellent material for acoustic & thermal insulation, water-proofing, energy conservation and abrasion resistance. Being a bad conductor of heat gives the use of glass a new practical application in the form of energy-conservation, which makes glass more dulcifying.
With their improved strength, pressure and impact resistance, heat and water-proof characteristics, glass blocks can be used either to construct the walls separately, or used freely for decorative purposes.
Glass blocks can be shifted and collocated freely with other shapes or colours to meet various demands of different applications. Transparent glass blocks can be used for interior divisions as they have an excellent lighting performance and seem to extend the available space.
This fascination with glass and mirrors began in the early 19th century when Architect Sir John Soane adored the mirrors, and the space-expanding effect they had in the interiors.
Today, glass is used all over the world. A designer’s pursuit for transparency, weightlessness and luminosity has been fulfilled by Glass. Most major projects around the world use glass in some way to add beauty to buildings and create astounding pieces of art. Glass is taking the world of architecture and interiors by storm.