Stacking glass elements, building a glass tower

F.A.Veer, W.Lia, G. Hobbelman, F.P. Bos, P.C.Louter and W.Kamerling, Delft University of Technology & T. Romein, Van Noordenne glas groep & J. Belis, Ghent University

Although the preliminary study had shown how the principles of stacking glass segments should work, it proved necessary to test the concept on a large scale.

Full scale segments of the glass tower would weigh about 1500 to 1800 kg. Stacking these together to build a 20 m high tower is a highly dangerous and costly experiment as there is no experience in doing this. To develop the technology for this it was decided to first build and test small three meter high towers and then to build segments weighing about 200 kg each. Experiments have been conducted stacking these to build a tower inside a large building where hoisting can be done without the disturbing effect of wind. The segments have been connected together to form a tower. The lessons learned from these experiments are discussed together with the potential possibilities of the evolved technologies. The consequences for building a full scale tower are analyzed.

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The Authors

Dr. Frederic Veer Dr. Delft University of Technology Frederic Veer has been involved in glass research since 1995, developing new combinations and structures which use glass as a structural material in innovative ways. Currently the author is head of a ... Read more