BRE BR482 PDF

Introduction

Highly glazed buildings are defined as buildings containing large amounts of glazing in the form of glass. The glazing can be at considerable height above ground level, can be structural and can be vertical, horizontal, sloping or overhanging in aspect[1,2]. Highly glazed buildings have become common throughout the world. Among the many well known examples of highly glazed buildings are London's City Hall (Figure 1) and the Swiss Re Tower in the City of London (see Figure 6). Such iconic buildings use glass to provide a dramatic appearance and to meet building performance requirements. Large amounts of glazing are increasingly used in a range of buildings such as offices, factories, shopping centres, hotels and housing.

Highly glazed buildings may contain a range of glazing types, both in the external envelope and internally, as follows:

● Curtain walling

● Structural silicone glazing

● Glass roofs

● Glass atria

● Overhead glazing

● Glazed screens and walls

● Glazed doors and shop fronts