As our industry continues to evolve, harnessing and embracing new technologies and materials, our buildings morph and adapt, and our role as façade designers also changes. In the beginning it was simple; a wall that supported the roof or floor with a hole to let in the air and light. There might be a door or a shutter to keep the rain out but very simple.
Glass is a naturally occurring substance. It is disputed whether the Egyptians or the Mesopotamians developed techniques for making glass, but it was not until the Romans started to develop new ways of making glass that glass started to be used to create windows.
The technology for the manufacturing of glass continued to evolve over the centuries. Over this time the crown glass technique became more prolific. As the industrial revolution matured into the Victorian age methods for producing window, glass continued to develop with glass sheets cut from large blown cylinders becoming the new mass production technique.
This technique supplied the hectares of glass used in the construction of the revolutionary Crystal Palace at the original Expo, the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851.
Aluminium had become increasingly common in the first half of the 20th century. It was not until various alloys were developed that it became the strong and ductile material that has become common in construction. A key advantage was that aluminium could be extruded into fine and precise shapes and then tempered to give it a higher strength, making it ideal for forming window sections.
As a result, this rapidly supplanted bronze that had previously been used for high end glazing. Given the challenge of high rise construction, American manufacturers developed stick curtain wall systems. These used the third new component — widely available gaskets and seals to form complete curtain wall systems.
And of course, we now have living façades, with green walls and vertical greenery — very dramatic and ecologically beneficial to our cities when used appropriately.
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