Glass

Start your search for glass objects and products. Take one hour out of one day and see how many things you can find that are made out of glass. Carry a digital camera or smart phone and capture your glass items and record their uses online. Take all of your captured glass and create a glass chart from smallest to largest, or from light color to dark or form transparent, translucent and opaque!

Have some glass magic!

Glass is found all around the world, in many cultures, in art, objects, buildings, and environments. Glass probably was first created by accident when fire melted basic ingredients together. Around 3500 BC people began mixing experimenting with ingredients to glaze clay pots. Glass making starts with mixing silica, or sand, and sodium carbonate, or salt, and other minerals into a ‘batch’. Various ingredients were added to produce a variety of objects from jewelry, dishware, windows, etc. through the centuries until mass production methods were invented in the 20th century. Since then, the glass composition has been changing to make glass stronger and smoother, clearer and more malleable, stronger and more vibrant, more mystical and magical. Take a journey through the history of glass and look at its structure, history, and craft in the world of glass objects, artifacts, and architectural constructs. Create a timeline of glass.

Stained glass is one of the oldest ways humans have used glass as art and storytelling. Instead of being invisible, glass becomes a colored filter for sunlight, turning a wall into a living image that changes throughout the day. Traditional stained glass is made from many small pieces of colored glass cut into shapes and joined with lead strips, creating the dark lines that hold the design together. In churches, palaces, and historic buildings, stained glass often carried symbols, narratives, and cultural identity. Today, designers use stained glass in new ways—abstract patterns, modern geometry, even large contemporary installations—because it can create mood, privacy, and beauty without blocking daylight. Create your own stained-glass composition: choose a theme (nature, city, memory, or abstract geometry), limit yourself to 3–5 colors, and sketch a square panel where the “lead lines” connect logically and support the whole design. If you can, trace your design cleanly and color it as if light is passing through it.

Glass begins as something ordinary—sand—then becomes extraordinary through heat. Glassmaking is a controlled transformation: silica (sand) is mixed with minerals, melted at very high temperatures, and then shaped before it cools into a solid. When glass is hot, it behaves like a thick liquid; when it cools, it becomes rigid and strong, but also sensitive to internal stress. That is why many glass products are carefully cooled (annealed) or strengthened through special processes like tempering and laminating. Modern glass sheets, such as the stacked panels you see in the image, are manufactured with precision so they can serve as windows, walls, roofs, floors, and protective barriers. Research how one architectural glass product is made (float glass, tempered glass, laminated glass, or insulated glass units). Write a short “process story” from raw material to final product, and include why the process matters (strength, safety, clarity, insulation, or durability).

Glass homes are an experiment in living with transparency. They offer openness, daylight, and strong connections to the landscape, making the outside world feel part of the interior. But a glass house also creates design challenges: privacy, glare, heat gain in summer, heat loss in winter, and the emotional feeling of being exposed. For this reason, glass homes are never “just glass”—they rely on orientation, shading, curtains, trees, coatings, and careful planning to balance comfort with visibility. Many famous glass houses became icons because they represent a modern dream: a home that feels light, minimal, and connected to nature.

Choose one glass home (famous or local) and describe how it solves three problems: privacy, climate comfort, and daylight control. Then imagine the same home in a different climate (very hot or very cold) and write what you would change to make it livable.

Glass stairs look impossible at first because they challenge a basic instinct: we expect stairs to be solid and opaque. But architectural glass stairs are engineered to be safe using thick, layered glass systems—often laminated and tempered—designed to carry weight, resist impact, and remain stable even if one layer cracks. The most important part of glass stairs is not only the glass itself, but the details: how the treads are supported, how edges are protected, how slipping is prevented, and how light and shadow interact through the steps. When designed well, glass stairs can turn circulation into an experience of light, reflection, and even a subtle sense of floating.

Find two examples of glass stairs and compare them: how are they supported, what surface treatment prevents slipping, and how does the stair change the feeling of space? Write a short paragraph describing which solution feels safer and why.

Glass buildings define the modern city skyline, but their real story is performance, not just appearance.

A glass façade is a building’s skin, controlling light, heat, sound, and weather while shaping how a building looks and feels. The reflections we see on glass buildings are never fixed: sky, clouds, trees, and people become part of the architecture. Behind the beauty, designers must solve major challenges: glare, overheating, heat loss, privacy, and bird safety. That is why contemporary glass buildings often use advanced glazing, coatings, double- or triple-layer glazing, shading systems, and carefully planned window-to-wall ratios. Glass can make buildings brighter and more open, but only when it is used intelligently.

Choose one glass building and analyze it like a façade detective: what parts seem fully transparent, what parts are opaque, and where do you think heat and glare would be strongest? Propose one improvement (shading, different glass type, or façade pattern) and explain how it would change comfort and energy use.

A glass roof lets light in from the sky. It can bring daylight deep into a building, train stations, galleries, and winter gardens, turning an ample space into a bright interior landscape. But glass roofs face stronger forces than vertical windows: direct sun, heat buildup, condensation, rain, snow loads, wind pressure, and cleaning. Because of this, glass roofs are usually highly engineered systems combining structure, drainage, layered glazing, and sometimes shading. The image here shows how repeated frames and curved structure can create a roof that feels light and open while still protecting a public space below. A glass roof is both shelter and atmosphere: it covers people while keeping them connected to weather, time, and daylight.

Study a glass-roof precedent (a station canopy or skylight system). Write a short explanation of how it likely manages three things: structure, water drainage, and sunlight control.

• What is the most abundant material used in making glass?
  • silica
  • soda ash
  • magnesium oxide
  • sodium carbonate
• 'Batches' of glass mixtures are melted where?
  • in an oven
  • in a kiln
  • in a furnace
  • in the fire
  • all of the above depending on the size of the glass object being created
• Silica is colorless.
  • true
  • false
• Sodium carbonate is another name for common table salt and is used in making glass.
  • true
  • false
• Minerals added to silica and sodium carbonate add color and reflectivity to glass.
  • true
  • false
• Glass can both reflect light and allow light to pass through it at the same time.
  • True
  • False
• Glassmaking began when people mixed silica (sand) with other minerals and applied heat.
  • True
  • False
• Traditional stained glass is made from a single sheet of colored glass painted with images.
  • True
  • False: Traditional stained glass is made from many small pieces of colored glass joined together with lead strips.
• Glass behaves like a thick liquid when it is hot and becomes rigid when it cools.
  • True
  • False
• Glass homes require design strategies like shading and orientation to control privacy and climate.
  • True
  • False
• Glass stairs are unsafe because they are made from a single thin layer of glass.
  • True
  • False:: Glass stairs use thick, laminated and tempered glass systems designed to be strong and safe.
• A glass façade only affects how a building looks and does not impact heat or comfort.
  • True
  • False:Glass façades control light, heat, glare, and comfort in addition to appearance.
• Glass roofs must manage sunlight, structure, and water drainage to function properly.
  • True
  • False