There are numerous structural glass systems offered by various suppliers that open up vast possibilities for architects, allowing them to create a complete glass envelope for buildings with frameless façades on any plane.

BS EN 17074: Glass in building — Environmental product declaration — Product category rules for flat glass products. BS EN 17416: Glass in building — Assessment of release of dangerous substances — Determination of emissions into indoor air from glass products

Pilkington Planar™ is used by architects to create expansive flush glass surfaces. The system utilises stainless steel fittings housed in countersunk holes to fix glass to its structure, making it more discreet while maximising visibility.

A quick guide to some of the Standards & Building Regulations used in construction that have implications for the choice of glass

The creation of a glass façade in a residential house allows glass to be used in large uninterrupted areas creating consistent attractive surface. Glass panes can be installed in a system based on aluminium or steel profiles or as a point fixed structural glazing system where conventional metal framing is eliminated and the glass is ...

Structural glass: glass used in a manner where it may be supporting other building components (e.g. glass mullions) or where it performs a semi-structural role (e.g. free standing glass protective barriers). The term may also be used for glass fixed using bolted connections (frameless glazing), even if it performs no structural function.

Pilkington OptiView™ is a range of glass with an anti-reflective coating(s) to reduce visible light reflectance and to allow more light to pass through. The range is suitable for monolithic, laminated, and toughened applications and can also be glazed as part of an insulated glass unit build-up where required.

Pilkington Anti-condensation Glass is suitable for a wide variety of commercial and domestic applications in combination with other energy-efficient glass products such as those from the Pilkington K Glass™ and Pilkington Optitherm™ Ranges.

Barrier: structures designed to either guide the direction of pedestrian traffic or to provide a guarding to the edges of drops. See also information in Technical Bulletins Glass and Safety and Glass and Building Regulations – Stair, Ramps and Barriers. ... Base glass: a term used to describe the glass, which is subsequently processed, e.g ...

Glassary - L Laminate: another term for laminated glass. Laminated glass: laminated glass is produced by combining layers of glass with plastic (PVB) or resin (CIP) interlayers to form sandwiches of material with specific design properties. Laminated toughened glass: laminated glass made with all the panes in toughened glass. This is often specified for overhead and structural glazing ...