There is no question as to how glass has been protecting us from the ill effects of harsh weather while still allowing natural light to come into the building. What further makes glass the sought after building material today is its amazing architectural uses. Though it is not very clear when and where exactly architectural glass has been invented for this use, it is believed that glassmaking started in Mesopotamia four millennia ago. The sad news is that there are not enough records that can help us figure out how our ancestors have discovered glass.
Despite this, we can be sure of one aspect - glassmaking has been around for over a long period of time. When it comes to manufacturing architectural glass, there are two types of naturally occurring glass that can be used for this purpose. The first one is the obsidian glass that is abundantly found around volcanoes and the fulgurite glass that is formed when lightning strikes sand. As for the manufactured glass, it is essentially made from a mixture of 70% silica or sand, 18% sodium oxide or soda ash, and 12% calcium carbonate or lime.
The purpose of adding soda ash is to refine the sand and reduce its melting point whereas the lime serves as the stabilizer for the entire mixture. In order to remove impurities from the glass, manganese dioxide is added to the mixture. Other additives can also be introduced into the mixture to achieve the desired properties from the finished product.
For example, when creating eyeglasses, elements such as barium, lead oxide, and lanthanum oxide are added to enhance its refractive ability. For making other special glass like the architectural glass, new processes and compounds have been developed to further enhance the properties of the glass. Ever since the large-scale construction of The Crystal Palace in 1850, plenty of modern skyscrapers have been built and created using architectural glass. Ultimately, architects and glaziers alike continue to push the limits of using this glass as evidenced in the glass balconies of Willis Tower and the very intricate facade of Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.
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