Structural glass solutions have long been viewed as an excellent choice for many high-rise flats or office blocks. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls offer excellent natural lighting, insulation, and other properties that make them desirable for construction workers and building managers.
This article will discuss the many properties of structural glazing and why it is such a popular choice for builders.
Hardness
One of the best properties of structural glazing is the hardness of the material. Due to this, structural glazing has excellent impact resistance against an applied load. This factor makes it a great choice for large weight-bearing windows or doors.
Before the invention of structural glazing, businesses were unable to use glass in a load-bearing capacity, which made buildings much more limited in what designs they could implement.
Weather Resistance
Structural glazing is also extremely weather resistant and can withstand torrential rain, long periods of sun, and blustery wind. This type of property is essential for any structural material that gets used on tall buildings, as they are often more exposed to the elements. That is another reason why structural glazing is such a popular choice for high-rise properties.
Structural glazing is also capable of absorbing, reflecting, and refracting light, which is excellent for manipulating natural light, to help regulate our physical and mental health.
Insulation
Structural glazing is a fantastic insulator against electricity, electromagnetic radiation, and heat. This insulating ability is as it responds excellently to visible light transmission.
Certain types of glass have fantastic resistance against x-ray, infrared, and ultraviolet transition., and it also offers brilliant resistance against sound transmission due to the thickness of the glass.
Double glazing, for example, absorbs heat effectively, which will make a building much warmer and help save on energy bills.
Chemical Resistance
Structural glazing is capable of withstanding the impacts of a chemical reaction or acidic effects in certain conditions.
This property makes structural glazing an excellent choice for any situation where it may be in contact with lots of inorganic alkalis or acids like sulfuric and ammonia acids.
Structural glazing is a useful option for any scientific lab where chemicals are frequently used in a situation that needs to be observed from another room.
Colour and Shape Varieties
One excellent property that structural glazing contains is the fact that it can be shaped and moulded into any shape, colour or variety to help meet your particular needs. You can either purchase one of the wide varieties that have already been created or request custom-made shapes and colours.
This range of options makes structural glazing a fantastic option to meet unique dimensional requirements or safety requirements, as they can fit spaces that other materials may struggle to.
Transparency
Another property of structural glazing which is a huge benefit is the transparency it offers. Structural glazing allows you to create a visual connection to the outside world, which offers many health benefits, such as access to natural light.
Using windows rather than walls is also an excellent way to make a room seem larger, as the extra visuals deceive the eyes to make the room seem more spacious.
Technology also allows you to turn clear glass into slightly different shades, making it opaque. It is an ideal option for any room where you want to look out without anyone else being able to look in.
Fire Resistant Glazing
One property not many people are aware of is that structural glazing is an excellent choice for additional fire resistance. Modern glazing can offer fire protection for as long as 120 minutes. This property makes it a much more appealing option for office blocks, as it helps construction companies meet health and safety requirements and ensure that workers are safe in the building.
Property Modification
One of the best aspects of structural glazing is that some of the properties can be altered to meet different needs and requirements.
For example, you can alter how much heat your glazing retains depending on how naturally warm you would like your building to be. If you live in a particularly warm area, you might opt for a type of glazing that retains less heat to ensure the building does not overheat.
Or, if you live in a particularly cold area, you might opt for a glazing type that retains plenty of heat to help reduce your energy bills.
Final Thoughts
Now you have a grasp on all of the properties of structural glazing and how it can get used effectively in many different scenarios. You have the knowledge to select the right type of glazing for your next project and ensure you benefit from the many properties on offer.
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