An Architecture for Art: The new M HKA

Antwerp has a very important port history and the existing lock underneath the new location for the M HKA is a reminder of that. In my design for the new M HKA, the underground lock will be transformed into exhibition and forum spaces, while a new building will be built above ground. <br/>Public stairs are positioned in the centre of the...

Product development of Hybrid Glass Blocks: Rethinking shape, manufacturing process and assembly system

Glass has been widely used in the construction industry since the early nineteenth century. It was most commonly used in the form of a window, which is a flat glass panel. Glass has natural optical properties and is resistant to weather, making it ideal for use as a facade material. Glass’s novel applications in the built environment have led us...

Adhesive solutions for cast glass assemblies: Ground rules emerging from built case studies on adhesive selection and experimental validation

Cast glass is a promising, three-dimensional expression of the material for architectural and structural applications, particularly for the creation of all-transparent, self-supporting structures and envelopes. Typically applied in the form of solid blocks, cast glass components can be used as repetitive units to comprise fully-transparent, cast...

Hybrid Glass Block: Load bearing and thermally sound glass block

The wide application of glass in buildings is due to its innate transparency and durability. This quality has led to the development of hollow glass blocks during the industrial revolution. These blocks are durable, fire-resistant, exhibit heat resistance, and sound deadening properties. In recent years, new explorations have begun to uncover...

Structural Glass in High-Rise Buildings

Great developments in glass technology have promoted glass from a building skin material to a structural element οf single-storey buildings. The subject of this project is the integration of a glass structure into the main load bearing system of a high-rise building with the following configuration: • a concrete structure, 60 meters high • a...

A completely transparent, adhesively bonded soda-lime glass block masonry system

A pioneering, all transparent, self-supporting glass block facade is presented in this paper. Previously realized examples utilize embedded metal components in order to obtain the desired structural performance despite the fact that these elements greatly affect the facade’s overall transparency level. Undeniably, the oxymoron ‘transparency and...