Challenging glass, raising the limits

F.A.Veer, A. Toguc, P.M.J. van Swieten, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology & T.Romein, van Noordenne groep

In the last couple of years students at the faculty of Architecture of Delft University of technology have worked on a project to build a tower using glass as structural material. Earlier work was published at the GPD in Finland in 2007. The more recent developments are discussed in this paper. A new structural method for building with glass has been developed. Using a prefabricated system of laminated glass panels with bonded metal connectors segments can be made which can be joined to form a large glass tower. The structural design has been validated with finite element calculations and experiments on critical segments. The general principles of the design are discussed and the consequences of the safety philosophy are assessed.

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