STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

Translucency in a material is not
necessarily obvious. A creamy white
translucent glass may appear white and
quite opaque when viewed from a
reflecting surface with the light source on
the same side as the viewer. But when
the same glass is viewed with the
Figure 1.15 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas
City, Steven Holl Architects, completed 2007 (Ryan
2007).
external light source extinguished and an
internal light source in its place, the
material appears to glow. Holl used this
property of glass to dramatic affect in his recently completed Bloch Building for the Nelson-
Atkins Museum in Kansas City. Five translucent glass blocks, which Holl calls lenses, are
built from 6,000 panels of sandblasted glass, and illuminated from the inside by florescent
lamps such that the structures glow through the Missouri night. (Christy 2008)
As with the transparency discussion above, the control and adaptability of these properties in
glass materials is the direction of the future. Electrochromic and Photochromic glass
materials are capable of changing their property of transparency or translucency in response
to changing light levels or the flip of a switch. These so-called “smart” materials hold the
future promise of significantly improved thermal performance as components of the building
skin.
It was not until the later half of the 20 th century that the pursuit for transparency emerged in
the form of long-span façade designs fully integrated into building architecture.
1.3.4 High Profile Applications
The evolution of structural glass façade technology can be viewed in a series of high-profile
applications. A few of the most significant of these follow.
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