GPD exhibitors and participants network during the morning break.

Sessions taking place this week during Glass Performance Days (GPD) in Tampere, Finland, cover a number of new developments and innovations in many different areas of architectural glass. The program also includes a unique program focused on architectural designs and trends.

Daniel Vos with Heintges & Associates led a presentation today titled “Glass Imagined and Realized: Case Studies of the Aesthetic Qualities and Possibilities in Architectural Design.” He offered a look at some of the projects his firm has worked on and discussed how they incorporated details of transparency, reflection and the surface of glass into the designs.

He also offered some advice for how the glass industry can help architects achieve some of their design goals and intentions. In general, he said, make it big. Questions he posed included, when will 4.5- or even 6-meter float glass be available and who will be able to produce and fabricate it?

Also, he said, be competitive. The building industry, he explained, is built upon successful innovators being copied, creating competition. Likewise, he added, don’t be afraid to fail. Set up quick tests, he suggested to get to the best solution, and set up rigorous tests to confirm the best solution.

Speaking specifically about glass transparency and reflection, some things he said that would help architects include eliminating the unintentional effects of heat treatment. This could include limiting anisotropy and providing online qualification to improve quality, as well as limiting lensing through laminated glass. He also suggested reducing the cost of anti-reflective coatings, continuing to improve solar selectivity of low-E coatings, and reducing the variable visible light transmittance glass and auto calibrate so that it will vary with the desired interior light.

In terms of surface improvements, he suggested creating more ways that the glass surface can be modified, such as etching, frits and carving. He also said increasing comfort with number one surface treatments could help. Testing to demonstrate maintenance and durability would be needed. He also suggested creating a machine that can make hot bent, complex geometry with heat treatment.

Complex geometry was also the focus of several other presentations today. Architects and designers reviewed their work on recent geometric projects, such as the new Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles and the Banco Popular headquarters in Madrid.

GPD concludes today. Stay tuned to USGNN.com for more news and reports from the conference.