Traditionally, you would expect most buildings to be made out of bricks or wood. As architecture gets more adventurous however, glass buildings are becoming increasingly common.
Although the concept of a glass building may seem a bit scary, there are actually a lot of benefits of using this material in architecture. Below we have highlighted just a few of them.
Provides natural light
One of the most obvious benefits of glass is that it’s transparent and therefore lets in plenty of natural light. This is very important, especially in an office environment as lighting does in fact have a huge impact on productivity.
A nice bright office is a lot more inviting and appealing than one that is either dark and gloomy or overbearing with lots of artificial lighting. Because so much natural light comes into glass buildings, it means that you don’t have to have the lights on in the day which not only saves you a lot of money but also means that your company is doing its bit for the environment.
Long-lasting
Over time, materials such as wood can start to rot and fall apart. Even though brick is obviously incredibly durable, even that can start to look work in time. The great thing about glass is that it’s very strong, long-lasting and with proper glazing maintenance, it will continue to look great for the duration of its lifetime.
It’s easy to repair
If glass does get scratched, chipped or cracked, the good news is that it’s very easy to fix or replace. This is something that very difficult and sometimes even impossible with other building materials such as wood and brick.
Looks great
The external architectural view of glass buildings is absolutely stunning and is guaranteed to turn heads. This is perfect for companies who want to create an excellent first impression and attract both customers and high quality staff.
Energy efficient
Another great benefit of using glass in construction is that it’s very energy efficient. Natural sunlight coming through warms the building up just like central heating would, glass is an excellent material for thermal insulation and it’s also brilliant at keeping the warm air in the building and therefore conserving energy.
Glass is also much better for the environment because it’s 100% recyclable and can therefore be used again and again. As companies are becoming increasingly conscious about their carbon footprint, it’s highly likely that more and more will start incorporating glass into their architecture.
It makes the building seem bigger
Glass buildings often appear bigger than they actually are. Part of this comes down to the fact that it’s transparent but it’s also because you don’t have any chunky materials (such as thick brick walls) taking up valuable space.
Incorporating glass into interior design is another great way to make a room look bigger because it doesn’t break it up. If you have pillars in the room to support the ceiling for example, this can often make a room look smaller because you can’t see one big open space. If you have glass pillars however, it doesn’t break up the room and you get uninterrupted views.