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Structural glazing for high-rise building architecture is a culmination of several factors:

• Aesthetics
• Signature designs
• Flexibility
• Robustness

Glass has a multitude of benefits for high-rise structures, the chief advantages being structural, utility, and maintenance. Also, glass is the preferred choice of material because of its superiority in terms of attributes like:

• Visual appeal
• Lightness
• Installation
• Customization

Glass provides several advantages in structural glazing:

1. Blending of interiors with exteriors

Conventionally used wall enclosures create a:

• Restricted vision or view
• Closed environment
• Sense of claustrophobia

Whereas, a glass façade provides an:

• Unrestricted relaxed view, unhindered by building shape
• Improved productivity levels of the occupants by 10-15%

Lighter building material

This is what a quick comparison of several building materials reveals:

Brick Wall

• Density: 2000Kg/m³
• Thickness: 220mm
• Weight/Square meter: 440 Kg/m²

Glass

• Density : 2.51 g/c³
• Thickness : 12mm
• Weight/Square meter : 440 Kg/m²

(Taking into account a double glazed unit 6mm outer glass - 12mm air gap - 6mm inner glass)

• Weight/Square meter : 30kg/m²

So, considering a typical high-rise building that is 50 stories high with 40,000m² glass area:

• Estimated weight reduction : 16,400 Tons

Glass is 8 times lighter than a brick wall façade!

2. Ease in Installation

When it comes to installation, following are the advantages of a glass façade over a concrete one:

• Quicker fabrication and installation
• A glass façade can cover 150 m²as compared with a brick wall that covers 70 m², in a single day’s installation
• Dry construction while using glass, which implies a cleaner project site

3. Flexible building material

• Customization: an architect's actor, glass can be processed into whatever shape the design demands
• Value-adding material: glass demonstrates a vast potential of value addition that is possible on the façade
• Seismic performance: predictable seismic behavior can be achieved by the use of glass in high-rise structures
• Lower envelope thickness: glass saves up to 8% of the construction area, and in turn increases carpet area, which is a key factor for high-rise buildings
• Aesthetics: modern day glass is available in extensive colors and diverse styles and textures

Glass, with its apparent advantages in structural glazing, scores in taking high-rise architecture to a greater level.