Glass is transparent and that differentiates it from most other building materials. As a result it has played a significant role in the development of architecture, given that its use is not only driven by its functionality as a protective layer, but by its ability to transmit light and hence define spaces. The use of glass has typically brought designers, engineers and builders to the limits of their abilities, whether this was driven by the processing and handling of the material, or the limitation in the understanding of its design capacity. The transparency of the material is of incredible value but it also poses challenges when working with glass; The way it is connected is always visible. As a result, the connections and connectivity of glass are one of the most important considerations when designing with it, both technically and architecturally and in particular for structural applications. In the past century, glass has increasingly been used as a structural component. However its inherent brittleness typically still requires opaque metal connections to transfer load. These connections define contemporary glass architecture – firstly, because they are immediately apparent in a transparent structure and, secondly, as they are part of the engineering design language. However, designers and architects are still aiming to increase the transparency of glass enclosures and structures, leading to a demand to further reduce the visibility of structural connections within the glass. This research aims to address the connectivity of glass through experimental testing of heat bonded glass-glass connections that form a fully transparent atomic bond. Applications for transparent connections are addressed through case studies that explore various novel transparent bonding techniques. @en

A focus on embodied emissions in building materials has been notorious in the last years, mostly due to high improvements in optimisation of operational energy in buildings. The environmental impact of building materials reflected in embodied energy and potential (re) life options that stimulate circular flows has become the focus of discussion. During the design process, designers and engineers are confronted with different decisions that might impact the embodied emissions (EE) of a façade system. This paper focuses on the EE of different curtain wall configurations whilst applying the Kit-of-Parts approach in a case study in California. The study was carried out under the LCA methodology applied from the A1 to A4 stages and limited to five main parameters: façade typology, span and grid size, different LCA phases, material choice, and supply chain. The results are compared against each other to understand the relevance of each parameter and level of impact of each parameter.@en

Connecting glass with heat bonds is a way to create all-transparent glass structures. Two methods have been researched in theory and practice, glass welding, through local heating, and glass fusion through global heating. Both methods have been applied to produce 10 mm thick T-sections of soda lime glass while preventing thermal shock failure and minimizing residual stress. These specimen, and specimen with an adhesive joint, have been tested destructively. It is concluded that it is possible to connect 10 mm thick soda lime glass by welding, if the glass is preheated and the surrounding temperature remains elevated during the welding process. Additionally, glass fusion of a similar product through global heating is possible for the applied temperature schedule. The mould has a paramount influence on the quality of the product. For both production methods, the annealing schedule was adequate to reduce residual stress. The average strength of the fused specimen was 44% larger. The standard deviation of the welded specimen was smaller: the standard deviation relative to the mean value was 9% for the welded specimen and 60% for the fused specimen. However, the amount of tested specimen is little. This research is a proof of concept for heat bonding soda lime glass of a structurally relevant thickness. @en