Point fixed glazing systems: technological and morphological aspects

摘要

Significant technological advances have been achieved in the design and building construction of steel and glass in the last two decades. The metal glass support frame has been replaced by further sophisticated technological solutions, for example, the point fixed glazing systems. The minimisation of the visual mass has reached extensive possibilities through the evolution of technology in glass production and the better understanding of the structural potential of glass itself, the technological development of bolted fixings, the introduction of the glazing support attachments of the glass suspension systems and the use for structural stabilisation of cables that reduce to a minimum the amount of metal used. In these new systems, the geometrical configuration and the structural performance are important aspects in the architectural composition and follow a hierarchical process, which in many cases is described from the geometry of fractals. This paper examines the morphological and structural details of these structures, presents case studies and proposes a new design approach with self-similar geometrical process.