Glass
Brittle Planes and Junctions

The architectural glass industry is generally very conservative, probably due to the nature of the material, and is strongly rooted in craft traditions rather than engineering. Innovation has been slow, and because of the lack of published design data and guidance on detailing, engineers have often been reluctant to become involved with glass components.

However, careful study and experimentation has enabled us to develop ideas about glass structures. The potential lies in the material's structural properties, which are similar to aluminium, and in its obvious optical qualities. The fundamental problem for structural engineers attempting to design using glass has been brittleness. When a load is applied to a glass structure failure can occur suddenly, without warning.