L. Barou
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11 records found
1
Fill-In-Glass Restoration
Exploring Issues Of Compatibility For The Case Of Schaesberg Castle
The applicability of glass in structures is continuously ascending, as the transparency and high compressive strength of the material render it the optimum choice for realizing diaphanous structural components that allow for light transmittance and space continuity. The fabrication boundaries of the material are constantly stretching: visible metal connections are minimized and glass surfaces are maximized, resulting to pure all-glass structures. Still, due to the prevalence of the float glass industry, all-glass structures are currently confined to the limited forms and shapes that can be generated by planar, 2D glass elements. Moreover, despite the fact that glass is fully recyclable, most of the glass currently employed in buildings is neither reused nor recycled due to its perplexed disassembly and its contamination from coatings and adhesives. Cast glass can be the answer to the above restraints, as it can escape the design limitations generated from the 2-dimensional nature of float glass. By pouring molten glass into moulds, solid 3-dimensional glass components can be attained of considerably larger cross-sections and of virtually any shape. These monolithic glass objects can form repetitive units for large all glass-structures that do not buckle due to slender proportions and thus can take full advantage of the stated compressive strength of glass. Such components can be accordingly shaped to interlock towards easily assembled structures that do not require the use of adhesives for further bonding. In addition, cast glass units–due to their increased cross section– can tolerate a higher degree of impurities and thus can be produced by using waste glass as a raw source.
Dry interlayers out of cast polyurethane rubber for interlocking cast glass structures
Experimental exploration and validation
Structural glass
A new remedial tool for the consolidation of historic structures
Structural glass
A new remedial tool for the consolidation of historic structures
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 cast glass ever made is presented, from giant telescope mirrors and nuclear glass blocks to massive artifacts. Weighing several tons each, these cast glass pieces are assessed with comparative charts of technical data collected from literature, industry and field research, regarding their geometry, materialization, manufacturing method and annealing process. The data highlight not only the potential but also the practical implications involved due to the meticulous and time-consuming casting and annealing process of three-dimensional glass elements. Learning from the extreme, proposals are made for optimizing the size, shape and casting process of cast glass components suitable for architectural applications. Subsequently, the state-of-the-art architectural examples employing cast glass are analyzed and evaluated in terms of manufacturing, structural system, level of transparency, ease of assembly and disassembly. Based on the findings the authors suggest new design concepts for cast glass components that can take full advantage of the glass’ properties and can result in novel, transparent, yet load-bearing architectural applications.
Dematerialization of the Ruins
Glass as a Promising Restorative Material for the Consolidation of Historic Structures
Restorative Glass
Reversible, discreet restoration using structural glass components