Whilst Vitruvius was writing his 10 Books of Architecture "De Architectura", the Roman Empire was producing glass on an industrial scale in centralised locations where fuel and raw materials were readily available. Large slabs of raw glass were cast in-situ then broken up into smaller manageable pieces for transportation, to be re-melted and formed at the point of use. Innovations were slowly evolving. Now, fast-forward to the beginning of the 21st century where architects are asking what are the next innovations in glass? This article describes how Arup Glass Group partnered with the Austrian company Lisec in 2012 where discussions took place with equal purpose and interest, to further the use of thin glass technologies and how this type of glass can be brought into facades and structural design.
