Architectural glass is glass that is used as a building material. It is most typically used as transparent glazing material in the building envelope, including windows in the external walls. Glass is also used for internal partitions and as an architectural feature. When used in buildings, glass is often of a safety type, which include reinforced, toughened and laminated glasses.
Toughened Glass
TOUGHENED GLASS : Toughened (or tempered) glass is a type of safety glass that has increased strength and will usually shatter in small, square pieces when broken. It is used when strength, thermal resistance and safety are important considerations. Using toughened glass on automobile windshields would be a problem when a small stone hits the windshield at speed, as it would shatter into small squares endangering the driver and passengers. In commercial structures it is used in unframed assemblies such as frameless doors, structurally loaded applications and door lites and vision lites adjacent to doors. Toughened glass is typically four to six times the strength of annealed glass.
LAMINATED GLASS : Laminated glass is manufactured by bonding two or more layers of glass together with layers of PVB, under heat and pressure, to create a single sheet of glass. When broken, the PVB interlayer keeps the layers of glass bonded and prevents it from breaking apart. The interlayer can also give the glass a higher sound insulation rating.
INSULATED GLASS : Insulated glazing, or double glazing, consists of a window or glazing element of two or more layers of glazing separated by a spacer along the edge and sealed to create a dead air space between the layers. This type of glazing has functions of thermal insulation and noise reduction. When the space is filled with an inert gas it is part of energy conservation sustainable architecture design for low energy buildings.