Journal · Glazing

Facade glazing guides

Glass does more than fill an opening. These guides cover how facade glass is chosen, built up and held in place, from coatings to structural and point-fixed glazing.

14 articles

Frosted glass panels softly blurring the light behind

Glazing

Privacy glass on facades: frosted, fritted, tinted and switchable

Privacy glass is not one product. Etched, printed, laminated, tinted and switchable glass each hide the view differently, and some stop working after dark.

7 min read

Glazed shopfront with a tall frameless pane and timber interior

Glazing

Shopfront and storefront glazing: what to plan

A good shopfront shows the store, welcomes people in and stays secure after hours. Planning the glass, entrance, signage and edges together gets all three right.

7 min read

Frameless glass corner framing a pale sky

Glazing

Corner windows and frameless glass corners

Removing the post at a building corner changes how glass, frames and joints share the work. A clean corner is possible, but it has to be designed rather than assumed.

7 min read

Pale tower corner with birds flying above it

Glazing

Bird-friendly glass on facades: what designers can do

Birds treat clear glass as open sky and reflective glass as a landscape. Designers can reduce strikes by making the glass visible to a bird from the outside.

7 min read

Arched glass roofline against deep blue sky

Glazing

Curved and cold-bent glass facades: what changes

A curved facade is not a flat one with a bend in it. The glass, the frame, the tolerances and the supply chain all behave differently.

7 min read

Stacked glass sheets showing their pale green edges

Glazing

How facade glass thickness is chosen

Thickness is the result of a calculation that weighs load, size, support and glass type. Knowing the inputs helps you read a quote and spot a number that has been assumed.

7 min read

Balconies with glass railings in warm late light

Glazing

Laminated or toughened glass for facades: how to decide

Both are safety glass, but they fail in different ways. The right choice depends on what happens when a pane breaks and who or what is underneath it.

7 min read

Slim-framed window grid with soft cloud beyond

Glazing

Insulated glass units: what is inside the sealed pane

A double-glazed unit looks simple from outside, but several parts work together to keep it clear and efficient for years. Knowing them helps you ask better questions.

7 min read

Residential building glowing in warm evening light beside a road

Glazing

Acoustic glazing for buildings beside busy roads

A thicker pane alone will not make a quiet room. Start with the noise source, then design the glass, frame, seals and ventilation as one envelope.

6 min read

Sunlit white shading panels against blue sky

Glazing

Solar-control glass and shading: choosing both together

A low solar-heat-gain glass and an external louver solve different parts of the same problem. The best mix depends on orientation, room use and daylight.

6 min read

Cracked glass pane with warm light behind it

Glazing

Replacing damaged facade glass without changing the design

A replacement pane must match more than its visible colour. Identify its structural, safety and thermal duties before ordering or removing glass.

6 min read

Glass pavilion glowing warm at dusk behind a nearly frameless glass wall

Glazing

Structural glazing: how glass is held without a visible frame

From the street, structural glazing looks like an unbroken sheet of glass. Here is how it is held, what the two main types are, and what to check before you specify it.

7 min read

Point-fixed glass panes held by slim steel spider fittings

Glazing

Spider glazing and glass fins: how point-fixed glass works

Spider glazing makes a glass wall look almost frameless. It works because the glass is held at points rather than along its edges. Here is how that is done well.

7 min read