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...

Rethinking the Cast Glass Mould: An Exploration on Novel Techniques for Generating Complex and Customized Geometries

This paper explores two alternative mould fabrication technologies that allow for the casting of (solid) glass components with a great degree of freedom in shape and size and/or of a customized design, in a cost-efficient way. In specific, the paper discusses the research, design and experimental work conducted at TU Delft on 3D-printed sand...

The potential of cast glass in structural applications: Lessons learned from large-scale castings and state-of-the art load-bearing cast glass in architecture

This paper investigates the potential of cast glass structural components in architectural applications. Initially, the commonly applied casting methods, glass types and mould types are discussed. To address both the possibilities and limitations in the size and form of cast glass components, an overview of the largest monolithic pieces of...

The construction of the Crystal Houses façade: challenges and innovations

A novel glass brick façade has been designed and engineered to reproduce the original brick façade of a former townhouse in Amsterdam. Based on the original design the resulting façade comprises more than 6500 solid glass bricks, reinterpreting the traditional brick pattern, and elaborated cast glass elements for the replication of the window...

Restorative Glass: Reversible, discreet restoration using structural glass components

The application of structural glass as the principal material in restoration and conservation practices is a distinguishable, yet discreet approach. The transparency of glass allows the simultaneous perception of the monument at both its original and present condition, preserving its historical and aesthetical integrity. Concurrently, the...

A study about the structural and thermal performance of large glass masonry façade

There are already lot of glass structures, using big size elements that prove that glass is a strong material that can compete the other more conventional building materials. However, the use of solid cast glass bricks glued with a transparent UV cured adhesive is not common and it is first utilized in the façade of the Crystal House in...

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...