LOAD-BEARING GLASS STRUCTURES

Abstract

As engineers we are often comfortably and safely directed by ample research and codes of practice to tried and tested solutions. Designing glass structures has been an exciting adventure in uncovering research that is relevant and being forced to make assumptions based more often on good instinct than on scientific evidence. Nowadays there are many architects, clients and glass fabricant world-wide specifically relating to the structural design of glass assemblies ranging from facades to floor and from framed structures to glass sculptures. This rapid growth suggests that there are many challenges in the design of glass assemblies, which can benefit from the special expertise of the consultant engineer. This paper is focused on the load-bearing glass, which demonstrates the possibilities of creating freestanding structures, where all the principal loads are carried by glass elements.