Architects face difficult tasks: on the one hand, there is a growing need for glass façades bringing light into the building and making it look more representative. The problem: in summer, buildings with a glass shell will quickly heat up so that innovative glass products must be used intelligently to avoid the need for energy-intensive air-conditioning. On the other hand, the know-how and creativity of architects are also and increasingly in demand when designing a building’s interior. Thanks to its versatility, high level of functionality and safety, glass plays a steadily increasing role and replaces more conventional materials such as metal or stone: Glass unites colours and structure, it creates special textures and surfaces and is used as a design material. “Interior applications are increasingly significant for the glass market. Our figures say that approximately half the total quantity of single-pane safety glass sold in Germany and almost a quarter of all laminated safety glass are used for interiors,” says Jochen Grönegräs, General Manager of Bundesverband Flachglas (Federal Association of Flat Glass Manufacturers).
