Issue 41 Spring web - Flipbook - Page 42
Contemporary glass in
heritage environments
Modernising and restoring heritage buildings can pose significant challenges - especially with regard to
maintaining the original style and atmosphere whilst ensuring the restored building meets current
requirements and regulations.
Inspired use of structural glass provides an excellent
solution, fulfilling many contemporary needs with minimal physical or visual impact on the existing architecture.
However, whilst glass has many benefits as a building material, it has many technical restraints and it’s definitely
worth engaging a specialist company to ensure the glass
is fully functional, fully compliant and technically
designed to provide the best possible results in each
individual heritage setting.
We use specialist digital equipment to record very precise
measurements to ensure the glass fits around out of true
walls and corbels – no two walls, carvings or arches are
ever exactly the same!
When you’re working in sensitive environments, it’s
important the finished result meets structural requirements without the need for a damaging or visually
intrusive framework. Our service includes bespoke metalwork to enable us to fit the glass with minimal impact
on the original stonework, developing individual brackets
and concealed fixing systems where required.
Ion Glass (www.ionglass.co.uk ) has a well-deserved
reputation for working in heritage and ecclesiastical buildings and have developed a range of specialist skills and
techniques to ensure their wholly bespoke glass works
perfectly in many different environments.
We also use the glass itself to create structural fins and
beams and have developed a system of ingenious and
robust joints manufactured in glass for wholly frameless
results.’
‘Working in heritage buildings is always exciting as each
project is so unique,’ say Ion Glass MD Peter Hazeldean,
‘It’s not just about creating a result that looks amazing,
the glass has to work in the space.
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The scope of Ion’s work is impressive.
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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