Innovation In Glass

INNOVATION IN GLASS

According to popular opinion it was the ancient Romans who first used glass windows around 100 AD. During the early 17th century window glass was first manufactured in Britain and started to become more popular for homes in the Western World. Glass making in Australia began soon after European settlement, though flat glass manufacturing didn’t start until the 1930s. Float glass technology was introduced in 1974.

Nearly 50 years later, we have seen so much innovation and change in both the look and functionality of glass windows and doors. In this article, we asked some of our 2021 AGWA Design Award Winners for their thoughts on both the past and the future of glass. It will certainly be exciting to see what the future brings in glass innovation.

STEVE TOGHER, BENT AND CURVED GLASS

Q: The last 10 years would have seen lots of changes in glass. What has been the biggest change to impact you and your business? How have you and your business adapted to this change?

A: The biggest change impacting Bent and Curved Glass (BCG) is an ongoing one. Over the past 10 years, there has been a significant increase in interest, understanding and demand for architectural curved glass in a broad range of project applications and glass types. It is very gratifying to see the growth of knowledge within the architectural and building community regarding what can be achieved with curved glass. This has translated into increased demand for our products.

BCG has strived to react and respond to this by adding to and upgrading our manufacturing equipment and capabilities. This has included moving to a larger single site and commissioning a new larger bending toughening furnace to complement our existing specialised tight radius bending furnace. Our inhouse laminating, double glazing, glass processing and glass handling capabilities have all been expanded and improved over the last 10 years.

This is an ongoing process and as demand continues to grow, we keep looking to innovate to further improve our capacities and efficiency of production. We are excited by these challenges and opportunities going forward.

Q: Is there a job you have done that would not have been possible 10 years ago? Why?

A: The simple answer is that we now have a capacity to manufacture larger size individual glass elements compared to 10 years ago. There are many jobs we have completed in this category. The market is constantly pushing to ‘go bigger’. We have done our best to respond to this.

Q: Where do you see glass innovation taking you and the industry in the next 5-10 years?

A: There is an ongoing desire to provide better energy efficiency in our buildings. The glass industry needs to keep responding to this and continue to develop new improved products. To this end we are playing a bit of catchup and working towards providing soft coat curved glass products to complement those already available as flat glass.

I expect innovations in robotics and automation will continue to provide challenges and opportunities for the glass industry in the years to come.

Q: What is the job you have done over the last 5 years, that you are most proud of in relation to innovation?

A: One of the projects we are most proud of would be the multi award-winning Green Square Creative Centre, specifically the Roof

Canopy for the Esme Cahill Building, which is a key part of this project designed by Peter Stutchbury Architecture and built by Lahey Constructions.

The glass components we contributed to this project were quite unique, being complex tightly curved glass skylight gutters totalling 91 lineal metres in length. It was a key aesthetic and functional element in the design by providing the essential functioning of roof drainage and allowing natural light to wash down the featured timber batten interior lining and to the space below, while also continuing the elegant serpentine lines of the design.

The manufacture of the curved glass to achieve the design intent was only possible by combining the latest glass-bending technologies with the traditional glass craft techniques and skills of hand cutting and hand polishing.

BCG is very proud of our heritage and our beginnings in a time when hand working skills were an essential part of the trade. This still remains as an important part of the BCG skillset today.

BCG worked closely with the project team from the start of the concept designs, through detail design, structural analysis, prototype assessments and through to the installation design and logistics.

So, for us, it was a holistic involvement that required BCG to bring our unique abilities to the table, contributing our part to the success of the project. The project has won awards, not only for excellence in the use of glass, but also use of timber, heritage and adaptive reuse, sustainability, architectural professional excellence, and public architecture awards.

BENT AND CURVED GLASS

MICHAEL BROOKES, EVOLUTION WINDOWS

Q: The last 10 years would have seen lots of changes in glass. What has been the biggest change to impact you and your business? How have you and your business adapted to this change?

A: The continued development and embracing of Low E performance glass has been the major change to our business in the window and glass industry. 10 years ago, it was in its infancy, but today it is almost 90% of our sales, combined with its use into double-glazed units as well. It has meant that the sales team had to become educated on what these new products could offer our clients and the results they would bring to the end users’ comfort of living.

This has involved extensive in-house training, with glass suppliers also offering ongoing training, especially as new products were being developed from multiple suppliers. We continue to have to adapt as more Nathers reports are being provided on residential housing, compared to simple Basix reports.

Q: Is there a job you have done that would not have been possible 10 years ago? Why?

This is the most difficult question to answer. I would say no, but only because of personnel. The glass industry has been doing crazy things for over 100 years. Curved glass has always been around in the 20th century, but only since the development of more complexed CNC machinery in the 1990s, was the process and finish of shaped glass refined. For my business, it was all about the human factor. There are many great innovators in the glass industry, but it’s the skill level internally that has allowed us to start to venture into more complex glazing challenges. Without the support of a smart team, the projects that we take on are not possible.

Q: Where do you see glass innovation taking you and the industry in the next 5-10 years?

A: With climate change and energy consumption being on every consumer’s lips, the challenge is definitely being thrown down to the industry to continue developing and improving on where we are currently at. The glass industry has put pressure on systems’ manufacturers to keep up, by matching high-performance framing to complement high-performance glass. I see triple glazing being in the same infancy that double glazing was 10 years ago, but I believe triple glazing will gain traction more quickly, as energy consumption demands hit all-time highs across the country. This will again put pressure on systems’ providers to continue to redesign window suites to accommodate these high-performance glass products.

Q: What is the job you have done over the last 5 years, that you are most proud of in relation to innovation?

A: The BMW car showroom at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. This was our largest job in both size and value, and it was our real first entry into structural glazing. 25 shipping containers of double-glazed glass units, average weight of 700 kg, a 20.0 m long x 4.0 m wide glass roof, two semi-trailer loads of glazed frames would leave the factory at a time, delivering over 240 of these large, glazed frames, all thermally broken frames from our systems partner, AWS, all craned into each opening and coupled together. The planning and logistical challenges were enormous. This building also contains some of the biggest auto doors in the southern hemisphere, with a glass thickness of 22 mm. The visual effect of the large expanse of glass surrounding this building is most impressive.

EVOLUTION WINDOWS

JOHN HYDE, JH GLASS INNOVATION

Q: The last 10 years would have seen lots of changes in glass. What has been the biggest change to impact you and your business? How have you and your business adapted to this change?

A: The biggest changes in industry that we’ve experienced are from the advancement of new product development. Our business specialises in bespoke projects, therefore we utilise a lot of special makeup laminates with mainly SGP structural interlayers. These innovations have benefited our clients, as we are now able to provide a product that far exceeds the capabilities of the regular PVB laminates.

We are also very fortunate to work with an engineer who enables us to innovate further in the glazing industry and do projects with glass that have not been done before. This is a thrilling challenge.

Q: Is there a job you have done that would not have been possible 10 years ago? Why?

A: In 2019, our business was engaged to produce a 3D glass shard wall concept, that would rise two floors within the hotel foyer of the newly constructed Emporium Hotel in Brisbane. This project would not have been possible without the partnerships that were engaged with the engineering and drafting teams, who have access to increased CAD functionality.

The enhanced technologies enabled them to transfer the dimensions and calculations from the architect drawings, to create shop drawings that could then be translated into the successful manufacture and installation of this Australian-first project.

Q: Where do you see glass innovation taking you and the industry in the next 5-10 years?

A: With further technology advances, new product development and the encouragement of innovative thinking within our industry, it will enable the creation of more bespoke projects with glass. For our business, in a world of glass, the choice is clear.

Q: What is the job you have done over the last 5 years, that you are most proud of in relation to innovation?

A: Innovation is something we are drawn to do within our business and our most innovative project to date has been the successful creation, manufacture, and installation of the Red Wall at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane. This Australian-first demonstrated the value of industry partnerships and the advancements of the products available to our industry to create one-off bespoke projects, that are not only unique, but beautiful.

JH GLASS INNOVATION

ANTHONY GUNTHER, VIRIDIAN GLASS

Q: The last 10 years would have seen lots of changes in glass. What has been the biggest change to impact you and your business? How have you and your business adapted to this change?

A: No other building material plays such a prominent role in modern day architecture like glass does. If you want access to more natural light and a feeling of spaciousness, you ultimately need bigger windows. But large areas using standard ordinary glass, leak too much heat and generally won’t comply with energy regulations. You can have ample glazed areas and a comfortable home just by selecting the right glass. New technologies such as spectrally selective Low-E soft coats, are clear in appearance like ordinary glass, but the products’ performance is comparable to a toned glass. So now you can have those big, beautiful windows without the need to have unsightly shades or blinds to combat solar heat gain issues. Viridian has been adapting the products on range to suit these trends, and we have a wide range of options available to accommodate these demands across various product lines.

Q: Is there a job you have done that would not have been possible 10 years ago? Why?

A: Recent developments in glass manufacturing have increased the design opportunities available to architects. The possibilities today, around performance coatings and end-product sizes, has seen an explosion in the demand for bigger and higher performing glass. Additionally, multiple benefits are being combined in an IGU to include further energy efficiency and acoustic benefits such as LightBridge next™.

Q: Where do you see glass innovation taking you and the industry in the next 5-10 years?

A: Daylight is special, and it makes us feel good. No LED or mood lighting can replicate the ‘play of light’ that natural light brings to a room and best of all—it’s free.

We don’t see this trend going away anytime soon. The evolving innovations in solar control technology, will see windows turn into multipurpose appliances. Imagine a window that acts as a window for a few hours of the day and by night, becomes a heater or a projector screen? Or an active solar control, through dialling up or down performance to suit the dynamic seasonal difference? Whatever it is, standard 4 mm clear glass in a sliding window is becoming a dinosaur!

Q: What is the job you have done over the last 5 years, that you are most proud of in relation to innovation?

A: Viridian is very proud of meeting the ever-increasing demands around appearance and performance. We are always innovating and being first to market with products that deliver value and support the local industry.

The $79 million GMHBA Stadium Stage 4 Brownlow Stand Redevelopment completed in 2019 is a great example of using glass in a way to connect players and fans in an innovative way. GMHBA Stadium is the home of the Geelong Cats AFL side and has been a significant regional community asset for the City of Greater Geelong for almost 75 years.

While the Stadium is best known for its AFL match day usage, the Stadium is a truly multi-purpose venue, with its diverse facilities being used for a range of elite and community level sports and events.

The fan portal which is a glass floor of 45 sq m overlooks the players’ warm up space. Being able to provide different options in glass allows clients to commercialise and monetise their buildings. This makes glass the ideal product that makes them successful.

VIRIDIAN GLASS

AGWA would like to thank all those who participated in this article. The future certainly looks bright for the glass and window industry.