A pane in the glass: Reflections on glass in our urban environment.

I tend to walk a lot through towns and cities, and love to just wander and wonder (dérive). One of the things that I notice is the relevance of glass in our built environment. These are a few of the glass ideas that have crossed my daydreaming mind.

I’m fascinated by the fragile beauty of glass. It is produced in an almost alchemical manner – the idea of making glass from sand is magical to a non-scientist like me!

A product that can withstand extremes of weather and protect us from the elements can still be reduced to fragments when broken. We take glass for granted but it literally influences our view of the world.

The breaking of glass is often exciting and an indicator that a demonstration is threatening to become riot … though there is a sinister element from the damage broken glass can inflict to images from 9/11 and events like Kristallnacht. 

When drifting through streets I tend to judge how safe or pleasant a place is from the amount of broken glass about (along with other factors of course). A place with broken glass feels dangerous, dilapidated or distressed.

The historical development of glass from a resource just for the rich through to issues like window taxes (leading to many being bricked up, which you can still see) and the proliferation of glass in modern construction is fascinating to me.

I am interested in the democratisation of natural light, which in architecture is largely related to glass in windows. I toy with the concept of glass in unitary urbanism – both theory and praxis – and how that can be integrated into a Situationist approach to the City. 

In the stately homes of the rich, and even the middle class at times, the wealthy enjoy the benefits of glass windows while the staff would be found in the dingy basements, so light and glass are integral in class division.

Being English and aware of the vagaries of the weather, I much prefer locally sourced stone or brick buildings, rather than the steel, concrete and huge sheets of glass that proliferate in new buildings, which dwarf architecturally more enduring edifices.

The development of office blocks made primarily from steel and glass is often grim, but I am more intrigued by the fact that most of the glass only allows the person inside to see out; to the outside world it is just a blue or silver washed screen. I often consider how this divides us and contributes to a world that is largely led indoors, with outsiders being that in so many ways. 

Everyone shall live in their own cathedral. The Hacienda must be built. Destroy the mystique of the high priests of architecture. 

Each home should be unique for the inhabitants – individuality within a mutually supportive community of individuals. Every community building will have a practical beauty for those who use it. Playful, practical and perpetually evolving.