Glass

Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline) solid material. It’s a hard material normally fragile; it’s composed mainly of sand (silicates, SiO2) and an alkali. __ History of Glass: __ · Prehistory: Origins of glass. · 3500 BC: The beginning of glassware. · AD 100: The Roman Empire. · 11th century: Sheet Glass. · 12th century: Venice. · 15th century: Late Middle Age. · 17th century: Other advances. · 19th century: From craft to industry. · 20th century: More and more glass. __ Glass Properties: __
 * Solid and hard material.
 * Disordered and amorphous structure.
 * Fragile and easily breakable into sharp pieces.
 * Transparent or translucent to visible light.
 * Inert and biologically inactive material.
 * Glass is 100% recyclable and one of the safest packaging materials due to its composition and properties.

__ Types of Glass: __
 * Float glass
 * Body-tinted glass
 * Reflective glass
 * Low-e glass
 * Mirror
 * Insulating Glass
 * Photovoltaic glass
 * Liquid crystal glazing
 * Acid-etched glass
 * Tempered glass
 * Laminated glass
 * Anti-reflective glass

__ Glass Advantages in Architecture ____ : __ __ Glass Disadvantages in Architecture ____ : __
 * Visual contact with the outside.
 * Allows the passage of natural light during day.
 * Easy to maintain as it requires no painting
 * Used to divide internal spaces
 * Can be combined with other materials
 * There are many different kinds of glass
 * Glass can be molded, so that it can take many shapes.
 * Glass can be recycled unlimited times.
 * Not protect the outside temperature.
 * During summer and winter are needed air conditioning and heating, respectively.
 * It’s a very expensive material.

Glass Paragraph

Actually, the most used materials are steel and glass, the use of this materials is obviously influenced by the first World countries, such as North American and European countries, and Japan. in Venezuela almost all new buildings are composed by these materials too, the problem is that tropical countries don’t have the weather of Europe or north America, so these materials give us problems like temperatures problems inside the building and also outside, for example the Cubo Negro spends a lot of energy in Air conditioning system because its huge black courting walls absorb the hot from sun; another example is Parque Cristal, this building reflects with so much intensity the sunbeams, because that the grass of Parque Miranda ( also know as Parque del Este) is dying. Tropical countries need to create their own architectural style, an excellent example is the Villanueva’s architecture like the brilliant Universidad Central de Venezuela or the building from Coorporacion Venezolana de Guayana by Jesús Tenreiro.