Glass brick
Encyclopedia
Glass brick, also known as glass block, is an architectural element made from glass
. Glass bricks provide visual obscuration while admitting light. The glass block was originally developed in the early 1900s to provide natural light in industrial factories
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Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
. Glass bricks provide visual obscuration while admitting light. The glass block was originally developed in the early 1900s to provide natural light in industrial factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
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Glass brick in architecture
- Crown FountainCrown FountainCrown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a...
in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, USA. - Maison de VerreMaison de VerreThe Maison de Verre was built from 1928 to 1932 in Paris, France. Constructed in the early modern style of architecture, the house's design emphasized three primary traits: honesty of materials, variable transparency of forms, and juxtaposition of "industrial" materials and fixtures with a more...
(French for House of Glass) in Paris, France - Michigan State CapitolMichigan State CapitolThe Michigan State Capitol is the building housing the legislative and executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the state capital of Lansing in Ingham County...
in Lansing, MichiganLansing, MichiganLansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan... - Hermes Store in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan by Renzo PianoRenzo PianoRenzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
- Streamline ModerneStreamline ModerneStreamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
External links
- Masonry Magazine: Architects are Rediscovering Glass Block