ETFE futures

Abstract

Ever since plate glass was invented in the late 18th century, humanity has been attempting to build ever lighter and more transparent spaces. These probably reached their zenith in buildings such as Paxton’s Crystal Palace in England in 1851. The advent of patent glazing in the late 19th century made overhead glazing generally available. However it was not until the post war production of aluminium extrusions and the development of double glazing in the 1960s that glass could be used to cover and insulate the permanent building envelope. This gradually evolved into the building types that we know so well today, such as the lightwell as atrium or the street as shopping mall, where “public” external space has been incorporated into the “private” building envelope.