University of Santo Tomas

College of Architecture

BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 1:
Glass in Buildings
By: Archt. Chris Luna

Introduction

Glazing is a transparent part of a wall, usually

made of glass or plastic (acrylic and
polycarbonate).

Glass

Common sense refers to a hard, brittle,

transparent solid, such as that used for Types of Glass
windows, many bottles, or eyewear
Sheet glass
In the technical sense, glass is an inorganic
product of fusion which has been cooled to a (Sometimes called window glass or drawn glass)
rigid condition without crystallizing. was made by dipping a leader into a vat of
molten glass then pulling that leader straight up
In the scientific sense the term glass is often while a film of glass hardened just out of the vat.
extended to all amorphous solids (and melts that
easily form amorphous solids), including
plastics, resins, or other silica-free amorphous
solids.

 Crystallization is the (natural or artificial)

process of formation of solid crystals
 Organic compounds are extracted from
living organism(plants,animals
and inorganic compounds are extracted
from non-living things(rocks , lab)
 amorphous solids-
noncrystalline solid in which the atoms
and molecules are not organized in a
definite lattice pattern.
Such solids include glass, plastic, and
gel.
Characteristics of Glass
etc)
Rolled plate glass
Any The glass is taken from the furnace in large iron
ladles, which are carried upon slings running on
overhead rails; from the ladle the glass is thrown
upon the cast-iron bed of a rolling-table; and is
rolled into sheet by an iron roller, the process
being similar to that employed in making plate-
glass, but on a smaller scale.

No definite melting point, if heated it soften, melt

and becomes a thick syrupy liquid making it
possible to be bent.

While in a molten state, it can be blown, drawn,

rolled, press and cast into a variety of shapes
and textures.

Glass is commonly used to glaze window, sash

and skylight openings in buildings.

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College of Architecture
Figure rolled glass
The elaborate patterns found on figure rolled
glass are produced in a similar fashion to the
rolled plate glass process except that the plate is
cast between two rollers, one of which carries a
pattern.
Float glass
It is a sheet of glass made by floating molten
glass on a bed of molten tin. This method gives
the sheet uniform thickness and very flat
surfaces.
The term "float" refers both to a type of glass
and to the process by which it is made.
Float glass is the basic glass from which almost
all the flat glass products are made. Modern
windows are made from float glass.
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Annealed glass
It is glass without internal stresses caused by
heat treatment (ie by rapid cooling, or by
toughening or heat strengthening). Glass
becomes annealed if it is heated above a
transition point then allowed to cool slowly,
without being quenched.
Annealed glass breaks into large, jagged shards
that can cause serious injury
A lehr is a temperature-controlled kiln for
annealing objects made of glass.
Laminated glass (safety glass)
It is a type of safety glass that holds together
when shattered. In the event of breakage, it is
held in place by an interlayer, typically of
polyvinyl butyral (PVB), between its two or more
layers of glass.
Laminated glass windows have a protective vinyl
layer of material inside of two pieces of glass.
LAMINATED GLASS: this glass is made of
plastic or vinyl inter-layer compressed between
2 glass layers. Therefore this type of glass adds
strength to a normal window.
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College of Architecture

Stained glass

The term stained glass refers either to the

material of colored glass or to the art and craft of
working with it.

As a material the term stained glass generally

refers to glass that has been colored by adding
metallic salts during its manufacture.

Toughened glass

(Tempered glass) is a type of safety glass that

has increased strength and will usually shatter in
small, square pieces when broken.

Toughened glass is typically four to six times the

strength of annealed glass.

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College of Architecture

Chemically strengthened glass During the following 'hydrophilic' stage rain

washes away the dirt - leaving almost no
It is a type of glass that has increased strength. streaks, because hydrophilic glass spreads the
The glass is chemically strengthened by water evenly over its surface.
submerging the glass in a bath containing a
potassium salt (typically potassium nitrate) at
450 °C. 6-8x the strength of annealed glass.

Also unlike toughened glass, chemically

strengthened glass may be cut after
strengthening

Low-emissivity glass

Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings are

microscopically thin, virtually invisible, metal or
metallic oxide layers deposited on a window or
skylight glazing surface primarily to reduce the
U-factor by suppressing radioactive heat flow.
Insulated glazing
Or double glazing is a piece of glazing
consisting of two or more layers of glazing
separated by a spacer along the edge and
sealed to create a dead air space between the
layers. This type of glazing has functions of
thermal insulation and noise reduction.

Self-cleaning glass

The first self-cleaning glass was based on thin

film titanium dioxide coating.

The glass cleans itself in two stages.

The 'photo catalytic' stage of the process breaks

down the organic dirt on the glass using
ultraviolet in sunlight (even on overcast days)
and makes the glass hydrophilic (normally glass
is hydrophobic).

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College of Architecture

Tempered glass

Ordinary glass is placed in an oven and

removed at near melting point then chilled
almost at once. This procedure causes a skin to
form on the glass making it 4 to 5 times tougher
than normal glass.

Glass brick

Also known as glass block, is often used as an

architectural element in underground parking
Wired glass garages, washrooms, municipal swimming
baths, and other areas where privacy or visual
Wire is put in between rather thick glass making obscuration is desired, while admitting light
it difficult for a burglar to break though as he or
she will have to deal with the thick glass then cut
the wire within.

Nothing Follows

Plastics:

 Plastic is in 2 types; polycarbonate or

acrylic.

 Acrylics are over 10 times stronger when

compared to glass with a similar thickness.

 There are referred to as plexiglass.

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