Glass Beams Used in Steel-glass Roofs for the Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings

Abstract

This article concerns the use of structural glass in the adaptive reuse of historic facilities using glass beams as structural elements in steel-glass roofs. More and more often, glass is increasingly being used as a structural material. This fact provides new design possibilities in the adaptation of historic buildings due to the neutral perception of glass and, at the same time, offers the possibility of distinguishing modern structural elements in the historic fabric. The use of structural glass is, however, associated with limited spans of structural elements. For larger spans, solutions of mixed materials are proposed, which are exemplified by steel-glass roofings. Based on selected examples, steel-glass systems with the use of glass beams are characterised. The strength of glass as a structural material is discussed. The main approaches in the design of glass beams with the lateral-torsional buckling phenomenon are indicated.