Glass facade

High-rise buildings with glass facades in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong

Entrance facade of Berlin Central Station made of wire ropes and glass

Transparency with nocturnal interior lighting ( Nouvel Tower Vienna)

A glass facade is mainly composed of glass existing outer wall of a building . Since the material cannot bear the load of the building, glass facades are often designed as curtain walls that are separate from the structure of the building . Occasionally, glass blocks or concrete glass are also used as decorative elements without a static function.

Glass facades are used primarily in modern architecture as a stylistic device to represent the openness of the building or the institution in it. The industrial production of flat glass made the increasing use of the material in house construction possible.

properties

The choice of material allows the interior to be illuminated with natural light. In addition, the corresponding architecture can appear airier and lighter. The solar radiation can heat up the interior - which can be uncomfortable at the right temperatures. On the other hand, with poorly insulating glass, the room heat can be diverted to the outside. By choosing different types of glass, for example multi-pane insulating glass or solar control glass , light and heating of the interior can be regulated. The facade of the New York Times Tower offers another solution . It is criss-crossed with thousands of small, transparent ceramic tubes that are supposed to ensure effective temperature compensation. Mirroring the outer glass allows privacy and other design options. When choosing the material for a glass facade, the necessary stability must also be taken into account, which is determined, among other things, by the choice of glass brackets . Hail and wind pressure can lead to glass breakage, especially with skyscrapers the loads on glass panes at great heights are enormous.

Glass fronts pose a danger to birds . You either cannot see the glass because of the transparency or you perceive a landscape in the interior in reflections. Indoor light sources can also attract birds.

Examples of problems of use

Glass facade of the Freiburg University Library with awning

In 2013, the glazing of the 20 Fenchurch Street skyscraper in London had an undesirable effect: the glass front of the building focused the sun's rays like a concave mirror , causing damage to parked cars in the area. You could even fry fried eggs in the bundled radiation.

The glass facade on the south-east corner of the new Freiburg University Library dazzled road users in the spring of 2014 to such an extent that it has been covered with a sun sail in spring and autumn when the sun is low.