Clear Vision

There is an increasing use of glass in the home, not only as shelves but also as room partitions, possibly substituting in part for walls. This is in addition to the trend for walk-in showers and wet rooms that are currently very popular. A whole industry has emerged to supply fittings and fixings for the 10mm or 12mm toughened safety glass that is used. These fittings, largely stainless steel, securely anchor the sheets of glass to floors, walls and ceilings. The whole effect is to open out what would have been confined spaces, to create a feeling of continuity yet to still define areas and borders. It provides the designer with the challenge of merging different “room” styles to create a seemless transition from one “room” to the next. This could be from kitchen to living area or from bedroom to bathroom, for example. But innovative use of glass in buildings is far from new. The Crystal Palace was built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, and there have been many stunning examples since. It’s just that now, technology has allowed more use of flowing curves rather than obligatory straight lines, and of exciting fixing methods, and surprising hardware. These are great times for glass, its’ versatility, its’ clarity, and its’ simplicity.