The history of glass – 2

This is the second part of the two part series brought to you by the Palace of Glass as part of its educational initiative. For the first part, click here.

…New methods of heating emerged in the later XIX century such as the central heating systems with radiators and the hot air systems – these were revolutionary. These methods were initially incorporated in commercial buildings and then spread on to completing the revolution that began with glass-paned windows and is still a work in process. Man was now able to construct a micro-environment anywhere like his home, workplace etc. where he could relish the weather outside, all the while having a temperature of his own choosing on the inside. It was after this development that architects started incorporating etched glass into their designs, and taking the art of glass making to a whole different level.

The Utopian poet and science fiction writer Paul Scheerbart published his vision of the future in Germany in 1914 which portrayed that facades of buildings would be made of colored glass which would not just let sunlight in but also allow the moon and stars to shine into the rooms (quoted in Frampton, 1992) – this brought out an amazing promise for the future of architecture in general and glass in particular. The manifesto portrayed the trend in architecture which would revolutionize architecture; a trend initiated by the availability of newer raw materials like steel, concrete and most notably, etched glass created new norms.

Complete etched glass facades of buildings only became a possibility with the development of heating and cooling systems as otherwise the buildings wouldn’t be live-able. Glass on its own cannot guard one against the atmosphere. It certainly helped a lot, but it needed other aids for its work.

However, with this recent development, the architects were free from any restrictions that the environment could pose on their buildings’ designs. They could now transfer the responsibility of maintaining the required environmental conditions to an entirely different group of people-the engineers, plumbers etc. they ensured tools that would help create a suitable internal environment, while the architect worried about the structure and design.

This culture was very foreign to the architects. It was difficult for them to accept an entirely different culture and they still continue to hold this paradigm under contempt. But having this culture became a necessity when it became obvious that architects ignored basic principles of physics during their process of designing – architects were more of artists and less of scientists.

The architects tend to concentrate more on the beatification and overall outlook of the building all the while creating problems relating to the comfort and energy requirements of the inhabitants. The architect saw the construction as he saw fit, not as how it would fit the end users who ultimately had to live there.
We hope these articles served the educational purposes with which they were written. Our writers and artists will continue to turn in material that will help you grow with the flow of this amazing art. For more on this topic and others, please visit our website.