As the building industry searches for better, reliable and more efficient construction techniques, innovators have embraced new building materials and technologies. Most recently, replacing cement, brick, and granite building exteriors with construction glass is a trend to watch. Architectural glass is both beautiful and ideal for bringing a wide range of benefits to building owners and occupants. It is safe, secure, environmentally friendly and naturally insulating. Glass helps architects and builders create passive or low energy structures that qualify for the “green” designation. One reason for this is the evolution of glass technology itself. New coatings have made glass an extremely versatile building material. For example, there is now something called a suntuitive window interlayer that makes glass get darker in response to direct sunlight. Other coatings control heat loss and gain and are extensively used in tropical or desert climate construction projects. In colder climates, the smart placement of glass walls or windows can reduce the need for heating by providing passive solar warmth to a space during the daylight hours. Glass is also wholly recyclable, which adds to its appeal as a green building material, and allows natural light to enter a space, which can cut down on the energy required to illuminate it artificially.
