Karin Backer
Building Technology Graduation Studio
The use of thin glass in heritage window glazing; testing different design concepts
Project description: to reduce the heat loss in heritage buildings, the single glazing will need to be replaced. This graduation research project aims to explore what alternative solutions arise when thin glass (0.7 mm) is used to design this better-insulating glass. To do so, six different designs are proposed. Two designs are a thin glass IGU, and a third design is made with a hollow, twin-wall sheet of PC laminated to thin glass. The fourth and fifth proposals are laser-cut PMMA connecting to thin glass and making various cavity shapes and sizes. The last proposal uses glass balls in the cavity of the IGU.
In the end, a table is created that compares the designs based on thermal performance (unguarded hot box), structural performance (load test), ageing and aesthetics. This concludes that an IGU with laminated thin glass is the best alternative solution to replace single glazing in heritage buildings.