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| Glass by Function |
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Glass usage in the country has been growing dramatically over the past decade.
We all like our houses and buildings to open up to the environment and be flooded with natural light. Architects and decorators are innovatively using glass for a variety of applications from skylights to partitions, balustrades to staircases, and many-many more that make our surroundings look more spacious and beautiful.
In this past, this has led to a tradeoff with safety, security, energy efficiency, and noise insulation. Recent advances in glass technology show how one can achieve the following: |
- Safety
- Enhance lifestyle
- Improve natural lighting, thermal and acoustic performance of buildings both in residential and commercially application through innovative usage of glass.
Glass by Function
. Solar & Heat Control
. Sound Control
. Safety & Security
. Strength
. Colors & Aesthetic
Solar & Heat Control
| "Is glass is a good insulator?" The clear answer is No! But it could be.
There are various choices available to the informed buyer to save on energy costs and get all aesthetic and psychological benefits of glass.
Coated and tinted glass products and insulating glazing units can be used to control the flow of energy into and out of a building.
In a hot environment like India, solar control glasses can be used to dramatically reduce the effect of the sun's heat, minimizing the need for air-conditioning. Solar control glass, usually either body tinted(absorbing) or coated(reflecting), is used to reduce unwanted solar radiant light and heat energy transmitting through glass.
Similarly, in colder environments, low emissivity( low-e) glass can be used which reflects heat back into building, thereby minimizing the need for heating
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Sound Control
| In humans, hearing takes place whenever vibrations of frequencies from 15 hertz to about 20,000 hertz reach the inner ear.
The need to restrict sound arriving from the external environment means that glass should be able to shield and insulate while satisfying more sophisticated design standards. The most common type of glass used in noise control are laminated glass and insulating glass(double glazed). Laminated glass incorporates a special PVB interlayer, which absorbs some of the sound energy, reducing its passage. The acoustic PVB interlayer can be utilized to reduce the noise level experienced. |
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Safety & Security
A commonly perceived notion is that glass compromises safety and security. However, continuous research and technology advances have made glass safer and secure that it ever was.
Solutions like laminated glass in its various types are being widely used for the purpose of accidental protection. Commonly used in car windscreens , laminated glass ensure glass does not shatter when hit by a baseball bat or even during natural calamities like earthquakes.
Glass can now protect your home and office from threat from burglars.
A panel of multi-layered glasses or special made thick glass can offer even higher levels of protection from bullets to blast to burglary
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Strength
While glass offers superior aesthetic looks and flexibility in its use and application, there is the most perceived drawback of glass is strength. The same has resulted in forcing both architects and consumer to use glass restrictively in exterior and interior application.
However, with recent advances and better technology the same concerned has very much reduced through effective application of tempered glass. Tempered glass, 4-5 times stronger than ordinary glass, is used traditionally in place of other glass products in applications requiring increased strength and reduced likelihood of injury in the event of breakage.
The building industry, motor vehicle industry and certain manufacturing industries find tempered glass is effective and economical in a wide range of applications.
Apart from facade , tempered glass is the ideal choice for interior both in residential and commercial application like partitions, table tops, shower enclosures, doors etc.
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Colors & Aesthetic
Glass for Beauty and Privacy- best of both worlds!
Glass is more than functional-it is architectural. It gives the illusion of more space, increases natural lighting, and lends character to interior spaces. Architectural glass goes beyond architecture to become art, using textures, patterns, colors, and technique to define and highlight individual tastes.
Glass can incorporate rice paper for a softer look, be mouth-blown for a more authentic, vintage feel, or be rolled for a three-dimensional look. It can be practical, like sleek, contemporary frosted glass that leaves no fingerprints behind. Glass can be patterned, laminated, frosted or acid-etched, offering varying degrees of translucency for privacy and design.
Glass can transform space with color, light, and pattern. Used in doors as insets or panels, art glass allows light to penetrate interior spaces while capturing the eye with colors, patterns, and laminates that make an architectural statement.
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Art glass is always decorative and sometimes hand-crafted. Stained glass is among the most popular forms of art glass. Sometimes referred to as leaded glass, stained glass is typically sold in large, colored sheets. While the designs made from stained glass are artfully crafted by hand, the production of the glass itself can occur in a studio using the mouth-blown technique or in a factory setting on an assembly line.
Whether hand-made or machine-made, glass that is colored is typically made in smaller batches. Colors are created by mixing various metal oxides-like gold or cobalt-into the raw materials prior to melting.
Firing alters the color, so gold will yield a bubblegum pink color when cooled. Iron oxide is used to give reproduction glass its characteristic light green hue reminiscent of older glass.
Reproduction glass, with its bubbles and blemishes, is the preferred choice for glass replacement in an antique china cabinet or vintage cupboard. It also lends itself beautifully to more expansive historic renovations. Because it is mouth-blown, reproduction glass has a waviness that is not found in modern glass. Hand-made glass is not homogeneous, so it can't be tempered. It can, however, be made safe through lamination.
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