Container glass is omnipresent and reuse can be observed all around the world. It can even be reused for the construction of structural components for buildings of which several examples exist around the world. However, research on the reuse of glass for structural components seems lacking. Therefore, this paper investigates the potential of reusing glass bottles for the construction of structural columns. Firstly, the compression strength of artificially abraded glass bottles was investigated in compression tests, revealing a compression strength between 10 and 20 kN. Secondly, alternative assemblies of multiple glass bottles were tested in compression, to determine their suitability for constructing a column. Finally, an exemplary column prototype constructed of glass bottles is presented. From the findings it is concluded that it is feasible to reuse glass bottles for the construction of structural columns that could carry small scale structures.@en

The classical image of glass is that of a rigid, transparent brittle material characterized by a non-crystalline microstructure. This 19th and 20th century image however is mostly based on the contrast between soda lime glass and metals. It does not really make sense in the 21th century where more modern testing methods have increased our understanding of the physiochemistry of glass. Based on recent results and the development of computational molecular dynamic software modelling a new approach to the physiochemistry of glass is outlined. The consequences this view has on glass properties and processing are explained.@en