Transmaterial » glass

KiloLux

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:00:07 +0000

KiloLux is a monolithic glass block with the appearance of a laminate produced by thermally bonding glass at low temperatures. Wales-based Innovative Glass Products Ltd. developed the material for inclusion in building facades as a light-emitting decorative element. Because no adhesive is used to manufacture the product, it has good resistance to moisture and freeze-thaw cycles.

KiloLux was first employed as an external component and weather seal on a public building in the UK, and had to be rigorously tested to ensure compliance with building specifications. Since then, it has been used in a variety of interior or exterior applications and the product shape and color offerings have been diversified.

KiloLux can be manufactured with a variety of different glass types, most commonly with soda lime float glass and low iron glass. It can be secondarily processed by chemical, abrasive etching, and water jet abrasive techniques, and can also be thermally bent as well as cut and shaped by a diamond saw.

Contact: Innovative Glass Products Ltd., Swansea, Wales.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Northern Lights

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:00:14 +0000

Northern Lights is a glass product that can change its appearance due to a change in temperature. Human touch, a change in the ambient air temperature, hot or cold water, or any relatively warm or cool source will trigger a thermochromic response. Northern Lights material may be designed in any size or thickness of glass, colors, as well as multiple activation temperatures. Moreover, the material’s base color may be matched to custom colors.

Contact: Moving Color, Rocklin, CA, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

24K Blown Glass

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:00:38 +0000

Suzan Etkin Enterprises combines refined metals with glass to create exotic material hybrids. Gold is fused to the glass in its molten state, allowed to cool, and then re covered with another layer of glass so that the gold is embedded in the material—creating objects with an internal glow.

24K Blown Glass vessels can be internally coated with clear, flexible, and adhesive antishatter resin, and glass elements can become structural when reinforced with steel embedded in clear resin. Each project is engineered and tested for safety.

Suzan Etkin Enterprises specializes in unique collaborative ventures with architects and interior designers. The design process requires exploration, engineering, and testing to coax the inherently organic material into precise and safely designed structures while maintaining the inherent character of blown glass.

Contact: Suzan Etkin Enterprises, New York, NY, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Luna

Blaine Brownell — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:00:59 +0000

Luna is a unique cast glass building material that contains a phosphorescent chemical, absorbing light during the day and glowing for hours at night. Luna is manufactured using glass recycled from car windshields and is ideal for bar fronts, tops, feature walls, flooring applications, or any interior or exterior area.

Contact: Architectural Systems, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
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HoloPro

Blaine Brownell — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:13 +0000

Originally developed at the Institute for Light and Building Technology, HoloPro is a transparent rear projection surface that is almost completely unaffected by surrounding ambient light, and may even be used in daylit environments.

HoloPro consists of Holographic Optical Elements (HOE), which are exposed on a high resolution film through the use of a laser. The angle-based selectivity of the HOEs ensures that only the light emitted by a projector is directed toward the observer. Consequently, the ambient light coming from other directions passes directly through the screen and does not interfere with the projected images. The exposed and developed film is embedded between two pieces of transparent material for protection, and the assembly is UV stable for exterior use.

Contact: G+B Pronova GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.
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Bubble Glass

Blaine Brownell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:00:43 +0000

Developed by Penny Herscovitch and Dan Gottlieb, Bubble Glass contains perfect grids of tiny bubbles and a variety of bubble patterns. Bubble Glass originated during PadLAb’s 2004 architectural glass commission for a residence on the coast of Brazil. While attempting to create a colorful mesh pattern in glass, the team discovered the Bubble Glass technique, which involves fusing multiple layers of glass in a kiln.

Fascinated by the magic of designing with air trapped inside glass, PadLAb looked to traditional styles of Swedish glass blowing for further inspiration. Based on this research, they developed a process of controlling bubbles to form images and even text within flat glass. Although the manufacturer controls the patterns of trapped air, each piece of Bubble Glass is unique.

Contact: PadLAb, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Kapilux

Blaine Brownell — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:00:57 +0000

Kapilux is an insulating glass with an integrated capillary slab consisting of a large number of honeycomb-structured thin-walled transparent or white capillaries. This capillary slab can be integrated into different kinds of insulating glass, and it diffuses light effectively. Energy transmission, light transmission, and light diffusion can be adapted to the facade orientation and the room behind the facade.

Contact: Okalux GmbH, Marktheidenfeld, Germany.
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Stones

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:29 +0000

Tempered transparent glass is used in the construction industry for windows and other applications. Construction glass is often over-ordered to account for breakage during shipping and installation. Unused tempered glass from construction and renovation sites that cannot be processed any further often ends up in landfills.

Where the acquisition of tempered glass from construction sites and other postindustrial sources is possible, Joel Berman Glass Studios utilizes this glass in the manufacture of Stones. Approximately 80 percent of a typical sheet of the glass is made from recycled material. Although Stones is primarily a waste product, it appears much more luxurious than the tempered transparent glass from which it came.

Contact: Joel Berman Glass Studios Ltd., Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Find more information in Transmaterial 2.

Deco Wired Glass

Blaine Brownell — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:47:48 +0000

Designed by Simone de Waart, Deco Wired Glass is safety glass reinforced with stainless steel wires knitted into decorative configurations. Because the wires are integrated with figured glass featuring a low-relief surface pattern, the three dimensional qualities of the material are intensified. The wire reinforcement is polished to keep it as inconspicuous as possible.

Contact: Loods 5 Ontwerpers, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
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UltraGlasFlooring

Blaine Brownell — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:28:31 +0000

UltraGlas Inc. offers an embossed low-iron glass for flooring and other surface applications. UltraGlasFlooring may be laminated for suspended applications. It is available in seventeen standard surface textures that satisfy coefficient of friction requirements for dry environments; the application of a non-slip coating is recommended for wet environments.

UltraGlasFlooring is available in opaque or translucent versions as well as dozens of colors and patterns. Custom colors may also be specified. UltraGlas leadfree monolithic colors are “high-fired,” fusing the color pigments into the body of the glass itself for a permanent bond; color will therefore not peel, separate, bubble, or react to chemicals. UltraGlas products are nonabsorbent and nonabrasive, and their impact resistance is comparable to or greater than that of ceramic tiles. Maintenance is comparable to any glass surface.

Contact: UltraGlas Inc., Chatsworth, CA, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial.