Structural Glass

---

The term ‘structural glass’ is a wide-reaching product term used to describe a frameless glass assembly where the glass is taking an element of the structural load. The structural load that the glass is designed to take will depend on the location and purpose of the glass element. A structural glass floor for instance will be designed to withstand a walk on load across its surface whereas a frameless glass balustrade installation will be designed to withstand the required line loading in a perpendicular direction. Whatever the use or purpose of a frameless glazing element correct structural engineering, glass specification and fixing details are essential in ensuring the installation is safe and secure.

Specification of Structural Glass Cladding.

1. The beauty of frameless glazing is that there is no frame. As the glass used is thicker and stronger you do not need framing systems to help support the installation. Instead, the glass is fixed to the building structure using bespoke fixing details to suit the building makeup. These fixing elements are most often hidden channels and steel angles that hold and fix the glass into the building. The fixing elements can then be hidden by the building finishes creating a completely clear glass installation.
2. As you are not governed by any maximum sizes of framing systems, nor dictated by maximum glass weights for façade systems, you can create enormous installations of glass using architectural glazing.
3. Whether you are looking at creating a glass box structure or a frameless glass façade the largest piece of glass you can use will be governed by access to the site and the budget of your project. This allows architects and designers a much greater scope when it comes to designing striking and innovative building designs.