CONTEMPORARY

ARCHITECTURE

USE OF STEEL & GLASS

BEFORE 1900 AD

SUBMITTED BY
RAHUL
AR10519
DEPT. OF ARCH

NIT-TRICHY
 USE OF GLASS
Glass evolution - use of glass in architecture
In architecture's historic quest for transparency, the relationship between glass and buildings
has evolved through the conquest of technical limitations, presenting the current generation of
architects with enriched formal and material possibilities.

The invention of glass took place, it seems, almost by accident, around 4000 years ago in the
eastern Mediterranean. Beneath an ancient pottery kiln, the fused silica of pots combined with
the alkaline ash of the hearth below. By 1500 BC, moulded and pressed glass vessels were
commonplace in Egypt and the skills to make them had spread to Europe. The northward
expansion of the Roman Empire lead to the establishment of a thriving glass industry in the
provinces of Saone and Rhine, employing craftsmen from Syria and Alexandria. The Latin term
glesum (from a Germanic word meaning transparent or lustrous) was used to describe the
versatile substance.

Two thousand years passed between the initial serendipitous discovery and the appearance
of blown glass, which led to the production of thin transparent sheets strong enough for
windows. This marked the beginning of a symbiosis between glass and buildings. As Michael
Wigginton notes: 'With this development, new conceptual languages in architecture became
possible, which are still being developed and explored; from the simple provision of light and
view without a loss of warmth, to the creation of conceptual and technical masterpieces which
derived their essential quality from this wonderful material.

Historically, the relationship between glass and architecture is at its most sophisticated
when transcending technical limitations, notably those imposed by load-bearing masonry
construction which restricted the width of window openings. The first break with convention was
the Gothic exoskeleton; the stone frames and flying buttresses of medieval cathedrals made
possible unprecedentedly tall, arched windows composed of myriad fragments of jewel-like
glass. Notions of illumination were spiritual as well as literal; the sumptuous, stained glass
panels efficiently disseminated Biblical narratives to a largely illiterate populace. The
architectural quest for transparency, weightlessness and luminosity began, in effect, with the
radiant membranes of coloured light in cavernous Gothic cathedrals.
 The next quantum leap occurred in the nineteenth century, with the introduction of the
skeletal structural frame, initially fabricated from cast and wrought iron, and latterly steel and
reinforced concrete. Such materials were the product of engineering and manufacturing
invention associated with the burgeoning industrial revolution, invention that also found
expression in the manufacture of glass. During the 1830s, an improved version of the traditional
cylinder process(2) began to be used more widely, providing glass of uniform thickness in sizes
up to 1m x 1.3m. Until then, manufacturing techniques restricted pane size, as manifest by the
intricate divisions of mullions and transoms in windows of the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries.

Victorian iron and glass technology generated a new architectural language and new typologies
- conservatories, arcades, heroic glazed rail sheds and exhibition buildings, notably Paxton's
seminal Crystal Palace of 1851 which used over 300,000 sheets of glass. As an iconic
expression of materials and structure, its influence on contemporary architects is still evident.
Von Gerkan and Marg's vast, barrel-vaulted Exhibition Hall in Leipzig, designed in collaboration
with Ian Ritchie (AR March 1996), is clearly a late twentieth-century reinterpretation of the
Crystal Palace, using contemporary structural and material technologies of trussed steel arches
and silicone jointed glass sheets held in place by cast steel finger fixings.

This century, the notion of transparency has exerted a particularly seductive and tenacious hold
on the architectural imagination. Corb's canonical description of architecture as 'the masterly,
correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light' affirmed a new set of values for
modern buildings - transparency and dematerialization, achieved through material lightness and
spatial interpenetration. The symbolism of glass and metal gradually found new expression in
the form of a glass skin, as opposed to glazed openings in a skeletal structure. Gropius' Fagus
Factory of 1911 was one of the first examples of a glass facade supported by a thin steel
framework; Bruno Taut's polygonal Glashaus Pavilion for the 1914 Werkbund Exhibition in
Cologne was made entirely from glass, celebrating its ephemeral, crystalline properties.

The increasing sophistication of glass and lightweight transparent plastics has presented
architects with new and enriched possibilities. In the last twenty years, the art and science of
transparency has been pushed to new boundaries, by architects eager to exploit new cladding
materials and fixing technologies with the same pioneering zeal as their predecessors did in the
1920s and 30s. The seamless, reflecting skin of Norman Foster's iconic 1975 Willis Corroon
building (formerly Willis, Faber & Dumas), for example, has a clear historical antecedent in Mies
van der Rohe's project for a glass tower of 1922. Mies' monumental, meandering glass wall was
intended to exploit the possibilities of inter-reflection and the changing angles of light; over half a
century later, it became a reality. With its specially developed curtain walling system consisting
of large glass panels hung from the top of the building and the entire assembly stiffened by
glass fins, Willis Corroon marked a defining moment in the obsessive architectural pursuit of the
uninterrupted, transparent surface.

SOME BUILDING , WHERE GLASS IS USED

GLASS HOUSE
In 1832, Paxton developed an interest in glasshouses at Chatsworth
where he designed a series of buildings with "forcing frames" for espalier trees. Generally
considered a landscape gardener, Paxton's superiority in conservatory design earned him
recognition as an innovative architect. His position in the House of Commons as MP for the
Coventry allowed Paxton to dedicate his later years to urban planning projects.

At the time the principles of using glass houses was in its infancy and those at Chatsworth were
dilapidated. After some experimentation, he designed a ridge and furrow roof which would be at
right angles to the morning and evening sun, with an ingenious frame design which would admit
maximum light - the forerunner of the modern greenhouse.

In 1837, Paxton started the Great Conservatory or Stove, a huge cast-iron heated glasshouse.
At the time, the Conservatory was the largest glass building in the world. The largest sheet
glass available at that time, that by Robert Chance was three feet long. Chance managed to
produce four foot sheets for Paxton's benefit. It was heated by eight boilers using seven miles of
iron pipe and cost over £30,000. There was a central carriageway and when the Queen was
driven through, it was lit with twelve thousand lamps.

However, it was prohibitively expensive to maintain, and it was destroyed in 1923. It took five
attempts to blow it up.
Annie Paxton standing on a Victoria amazonica leaf in the lily house; Paxton's design for the
Crystal Palace took its cue from the organic structure of this plant.

The next great building at Chatsworth came about from the first seeds of the Victoria Regia lily
which had been sent to Kew from the Amazon in 1836. Although these had grown, they had not
flowered and in 1849 one seed was given to Paxton to try out at Chatsworth. Within two months
the leaves were four and a half feet in diameter, and a month later it flowered. It continued
growing and it became necessary to build a much larger house, the Victoria Regia House, the
design of which was inspired by the lily itself.

CRYSTAL PALACE
The Great Conservatory was the test-bed for the prefabricated glass and iron structural
techniques which Paxton pioneered and would employ for his masterpiece: The Crystal Palace
of the Great Exhibition of 1851. These techniques were made physically possible by recent
technological advances in the manufacture of both glass and cast iron, and financially possible
by the droppThe Crystal Palace was a wrought iron and glass building[1] originally erected in
Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000
exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's 990,000 square feet of exhibition
space[1] to display examples of the latest technology developed in the Industrial Revolution.
Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,850 feet (564 m) long and
110 feet (34 m) tall, with an interior height of 408 feet
The Vladimir Palace this short flight, immitates the summit of the spiral stairs at the Villa
Farnese (below)
Mentmore Towers Contrasting styles: The first flight of an imperial staircase rises from a glass
roofed courtyard. The lower Baroque arch mirrors that of the Vladimir Palace (right). While the
coloured marble balustrading and upper arches and arcades are Italian renaissance.The plate
glass window visible in the background, manufactured 1855 was the largest single pane
produced

True Renaissance: The Villa Farnese, the curved staircase, tall segmented windows and marble
balustrading.

As mentioned above, the Neo-Renaissance style was in reality an eclectic blending of past
styles, which the architect selected on the whims of his patrons. In the true Renaissance era
there was a division of labour between the architect who designed the exterior highly visible
shell, and others - the artisans - who then came and decorated and arranged the interior [15]
The original Italian mannerist house was a place for relaxation and entertaining, convenience
and comfort of the interior were a priority, in the later Baroque designs, comfort and interior
design were secondary to outward appearance, this was followed by the Neoclassical period
which gave importance to proportions and dignity of interiors, but still the comfort and internal
convenience of the mannerist period was lost. It was during the Neo-Renaissance period of the
19th century that the mannerist comforts were re-discovered and taken a step further. The
improved building techniques of the 1850s, allowed not only for the glazing of formerly open
loggias, and arches with, the newly invented, sheets of plate glass, providing the first "picture
windows" but also the blending of architectural styles allowed for interiors and exteriors to be
treated differently, it was at this time the concept of "furnishing styles" manifested itself, allowing
distinctions to be made between interior rooms and external appearance, and indeed between
various rooms themselves [16]. Thus the modern concept of treating rooms individually, and
differently to its setting and neighbours came into its infancy. Classic examples of this are great
Rothschild house of Buckinghamshire hybrids of various Renaissance chateaux, and 16th
century English country house, all with interiors ranging from "Versailles" to "Medici" and in the
case of Mentmore Towers a huge central hall, resembling the arcaded courtyard of
Renaissance villa, conveniently glazed over, furnished in Venetian style and heated by a
fireplace designed by Rubens for his house in Antwerp.

d is supported on columns sloped

toWalter Gropius and the
Development of the Curtain Wall

"The achievement [of transparency] brought poetry to the industrial

process and seemed even to celebrate the efficiency of the machine." 1

The intention of this brief paper is to explore the significance of Walter

Gropius' use of the glass curtain wall. Historically, it was the
development of modern technology (e.g. steel frame construction and glass)
that fostered the idea that the existence of the glass curtain wall was
possible. Gropius then took full advantage of these new products to create
what he viewed as an industrial kind of beauty.

Walter Gropius was associated with the Bauhaus movement of

 1919-1933. Edwin Hoag described the Bauhaus as  " more than a school- it
(was) a bridge between art and technology."2  It was here that Gropius
perfected and taught the fundamentals required for modern architecture, as
he knew them.  A former student of Gropius' once stated "Gropius was the
first man who interpreted the industrial revolution to us in terms of
architecture, in terms of designhe constantly investigated the great
potential of industrial society and showed us how to assimilate them to
our ever-changing needs"3   Walter Gropius' use of glass curtain walls in
his structures conveyed a new quality of weightlessness and transparency
that would influence the way modern architects designed for generation to
come.

Gropius believed that the technological advances of the time, such as

Bessemers steel process and Monier's reinforced concrete, allowed the
architect to design structures that appeared less rigid.  The use of a
steel frame allowed him to pull back the actual support wall and
incorporate the glass curtain wall as an exterior non-load-bearing wall.
This not only revealed the intrinsic beauty of modern materials by letting
them be seen through the curtain wall but also allowed for the
introduction of a new indoor-outdoor relation. According to Gropius, "4 The
role of the walls becomes restricted to that of mere screens stretched
between the upright columns of the framework to keep out rain, cold, and
noise."
 
Gropius first used the glass curtain wall in 1911 when he designed
the Fagus Shoe-Last Factory in Alfeld, Germany (figure 1). By using
cantilevered steel-frame construction the outer wall becomes but a screen
of glass. The traditional corner supports were altogether removed, thus
allowing for a fully unobstructed view into the structure. The Fagus
factory stood as proof that the traditional corner support piers, as those
used by Behrens on the AEG Factory (figure 2), were no longer necessary.
This use of advanced technology led James Fitch to state, " By giving
architecture expression to the trend toward transparency and
weightlessness the duality between architecture and construction
techniques that had persisted throughout the nineteenth century was
resolved for the first time."5

Gropius also incorporated the same construction techniques when he

designed the Werkbund Exhibition Model Factory (circa 1914) in Cologne,
Germany (figure 3) and The Bauhaus Building (circa 1925) in Dessau,
Germany (figure 4). In both instances the windows wrap around the
structure at the most critical structural points, the corners.  This
placement of glass, where previously there had been masonry piers, led one
critic to state that, "The 'dematerialization' of the corners indicates
that the structure itself should be sought within"6    In all of the above
stated structures the introduction of transparency through the use of
glass forced the visual focus of these structures to be the horizontal
line as opposed to the vertical plane that a solid wall would have
conveyed.

This method of construction and the technique of incorporating glass

curtain walls into structures had a strong influence on other architects
of the time. Bruno Taut is noted to have said, " Glass architecture which turns the humble
dwelling of men into cathedrals will exert the same beneficial influence
over them."7   Taut was not the only contemporary of Gropius' that
recreated the glass curtain wall in their own designs. Gerrit Thomas
Rietveld incorporated one into his plan for the Schroder House in 1923
(figure 5) as did Johannes Duiker in his Open-Air School of 1929 (figure
6). The utilization of the glass curtain wall was not only limited to
Gropius' peers however, but became a constant visual feature in
architecture for years to come. (figures 7,8,&9)
 
In summation, it is clear that Walter Gropius' innovative use of
steel frame construction to incorporate glass curtain walls into his
structures opened architecture to a new set of visual standards. He
himself said, " our endeavors were to find a new approach which would
promote a creative state of mind in those taking part and which would
finally lead to a new attitude toward life."8   This new approach evoked a
sense of transparency and weightlessness in Gropius' structures that has
been replicated with such success, that it can still be found in the
skyscrapers of today.

Hence.we can say that glass was very important materials for expose tha buildimg.

Every architect durin 19th centuary tried to use glass as different building material.

.Window

.Wall

.Stair

.Roof

.Front façade etc….

USE OF STEEL
To support the floors, around 1850 buildings used wood or cast iron beams. In the mid-1850s,
wrought iron beams were introduced. In 1885, steel beams were introduced. Steel was too
expensive for general architectural use until after 1890. (William H. Jordy, American Buildings
and Their Architects, 1972, Vol. 3, p. 21.) After 1890, steel was used for both vertical supports
and horizontal beams, and buildings therefore had steel skeletons. Bolton (1900) reported that
"Before the development of the method of steel skeleton construction, extreme height was
impractical, but after its success was demonstrated in 1889, in the Tower building of ten storeys,
a great impetus was given to increase of height."

The L.C. Smith Building, also known as the Smith Tower, was Seattle's first
skyscraper.  The photograph to the right shows this 42-story steel skeleton
building under construction in 1913.  The photograph to the left shows the
completed building.

Hogan (1971) reports that about 50 steel buildings were constructed in Chicago
between 1885 and 1895. Nash reported that in 1890 there were only 6 buildings
(including but not limited to office buildings) taller than 10 stories in New York City. (Eric P.
Nash, Manhattan Skyscrapers, 1999) Bolton (1900) reported that "In lower New York City there
are sixty-five buildings, each exceeding 200 feet in height, devoted exclusively to office
accommodation." The following table from Bolton provides a partial list of tall office buildings in
lower Manhattan in 1900. According to Bolton, there were between 1,000 and 4,000 workers in
each of these buildings. All of these buildings appear to have been constructed during the
1890s.  Nash reported that in 1908 there were 538 buildings (including but not limited to office
buildings) taller than 10 stories in New York City.

Passenger Elevators

Second, passenger elevators were developed, and they traveled at increasing speeds.
Nineteenth century newspapers contain many articles about falling elevators.  Elisha Otis (1811-
61) invented the first successful elevator safety brake in 1852 and installed a steam passenger
elevator with a safety brake in a five-story store in 1857.  Early elevators were powered by
steam. The three images below show the three components of an 1876 Otis steam passenger
elevator. The machine to the left was installed in the attic.  The machine to the right was
installed in the basement. 

                   
The New-York Life Insurance Co. completed a new office building in lower Manhattan in May
1870.  "The Company had scarcely occupied it three months when it was found necessary, in
order to rent the upper floors, to put in an elevator--a means of conveyance which had come
into fashion since the building was begun."  (James M. Hudnut, Semi-Centennial History of the
New-York Life Insurance Company 1845-1895, 1895, p. 146)

In 1872, C. W. Baldwin, who worked for the Otis company, invented the geared hydraulic
elevator.  Hydraulic elevators were powered by water pressure supplied directly by city water
pipes or by the weight of water pumped to a storage tank located on top of the building. Otis
began producing hydraulic elevators in 1874.  Once such elevators were installed in buildings,
companies were willing to pay substantially more for space in higher stories than had previously
been the case. Hogan reports that after 1875 "elevators became an essential part of office
building construction. This new means of vertical transportation brought about a complete
reversal of building operations and rental policies. The lower floors were no longer as desirable
as they were in nonelevator buildings because the demand now shifted to the upper stories
which were removed from the noise and dust of the street. The upper floors actually
commanded higher rents." (William T. Hogan, Economic History of the Iron and Steel Industry in
the United States, 1971, Vol. 1, p. 131.)

One type of hydraulic elevator used an hydraulic motor consisting of a piston inside a cylinder.
The elevator cabin was suspended from wire ropes. The image to the left below shows an 1881
Otis elevator of this type. The operation of the hydraulic motor was controlled by pulling on the
rope that passed through the elevator cabin. A second type of hydraulic elevator rested on top
of a plunger rather than being suspended by wire ropes.  The shaft for the plunger was sunk in
the ground as deep as the building was high. In the late 19th century direct plunger elevators
were widely used for freight, and they were used in at least some passenger applications in
hotels.  In 1898, the Otis business was incorporated as the Otis Elevator Co. In 1902 Otis began
using direct plunger elevators for passengers in buildings up to 25 stories high. The image to
the right shows an Otis plunger freight elevator. 

             
Otis piston (left) and plunger (right) hydraulic elevators                  

Until 1904, hydraulic elevators were the dominant systems used in high-rise buildings. Still,
Bolton (1900) reported that "elevator service to the upper floors of the very high buildings has
proved insufficient, so that the present practice has settled down to the erection of buildings of
200 feet to 250 feet in height, containing fifteen to eighteen storeys." 

Electric geared elevators were introduced in the late 1880s and were installed in
a number of office buildings of moderate height by 1900.  The image to the right
shows an electric geared passenger elevator produced by Morse, Williams &
Co. c.1890.  Otis advertised a similar model in 1890-91.  However, electric
geared drum elevators could not compete with hydraulic elevators in taller
buildings, where high speed was required. The gearing was not suitable for high
speeds, and the drums did not hold sufficient cable for high buildings. Nevertheless, around the
turn of the century "arguments over the merits of different types of hydraulic elevators and the
various new developments in electric elevators flew fast and furiously in magazines,
newspapers and, as might be expected, in sales negotiations
SOME OF EXAMPLES WHERE
IRON IS USED
Until 1885, the weight of office buildings was transferred to the foundations by the stone or brick
walls. Beginning around 1850, some office buildings were constructed with cast iron facades
and cast iron interior vertical supports. However, these cast iron buildings also had brick load-
bearing walls. Donald A. MacKay writes that "Many office buildings of the late 1800's still had
masonry walls in addition to inner metal supports, for the skeleton frames of these earliest
forerunners of today's skyscrapers could not have stood without the support they received from
their masonry walls." (The Building of Manhattan,
1987, p.32.) Chicago's Home Insurance Building,
completed in 1885, had cast iron columns
embedded in the masonry walls to carry some of
the building's weight. New York City's Tower
Building, completed in 1889, was the first office
building to rely entirely on a metal skeleton to carry
its weight. 

To support the floors, around 1850 buildings used

wood or cast iron beams. In the mid-1850s,
wrought iron beams were introduced. In 1885,
steel beams were introduced. Steel was too
expensive for general architectural use until after
1890. (William H. Jordy, American Buildings and
Their Architects, 1972, Vol. 3, p. 21.) After 1890,
steel was used for both vertical supports and
horizontal beams, and buildings therefore had steel
skeletons. Bolton (1900) reported that "Before the
development of the method of steel skeleton
construction, extreme height was impractical, but
after its success was demonstrated in 1889, in the
Tower building of ten storeys, a great impetus was
given to increase of height."

The L.C. Smith Building, also

known as the Smith Tower, was
Seattle's first skyscraper.  The
photograph to the right shows this
42-story steel skeleton building under construction in 1913.  The photograph to
the left shows the completed building.

Hogan (1971) reports that about 50 steel buildings were constructed in Chicago between 1885
and 1895. Nash reported that in 1890 there were only 6 buildings (including but not limited to
office buildings) taller than 10 stories in New York City. (Eric P. Nash, Manhattan Skyscrapers,
1999) Bolton (1900) reported that "In lower New York City there are sixty-five buildings, each
exceeding 200 feet in height, devoted exclusively to office accommodation." The following table
from Bolton provides a partial list of tall office buildings in lower Manhattan in 1900. According to
Bolton, there were between 1,000 and 4,000 workers in each of these buildings. All of these
buildings appear to have been constructed during the 1890s.  Nash reported that in 1908 there
were 538 buildings (including but not limited to office buildings) taller than 10 stories in New
York City.

Equitable Life Assurance Building, NY, NY, 1870. The first office
building with passenger elevators. The hydraulic elevators were made
by Otis. Destroyed by fire in 1912.

Library of Congress,
P&P Div.

New York Tribune Building, NY, NY, 1875. Described at the time as "the highest
building on Manhattan Island," but the spire was shorter than that on Trinity Church
(285 feet). While metal columns and beams supported interior floors, the exterior
walls were masonry.

Image by Hermann
Claussen, 1873. Lib. of
Congress, P&P Div.

Tower Building, NY, NY, 1889. "The earliest example of skeleton construction in which
the entire weight of the walls and floors is borne and transmitted to the foundation by
a framework of metallic posts and beams." The building site was only 21.5 feet wide.
Demolished in 1914.

Museum of the City of

New York
 World Building, NY, NY, 1889 or 1890. Also known as the Pulitzer Building. Tallest
office building in the world. Steel columns. The weight of the building was supported
by masonry walls as thick as 9 feet. Ten Otis Brothers hydraulic elevators, one of
which traveled to the observation platform in the dome. Demolished 1955.

Monadnock Building, Chicago, 1891. The building was described on the 1904 postcard
to the left as the "largest office building in the world." It is the tallest building in the
world that is supported primarily by brick load bearing walls. The masonry walls are 6
feet thick at ground level and gradually narrow at higher levels. Cast and wrought iron
columns and beams support the interior.

Masonic Temple, Chicago, IL, 1892. Destroyed 1939. It was the "highest office building
in the world" in 1892-1896 and probably until 1898. (It may have been considered
higher than the World Building because the highest occupied floor was higher.) 
To the right is an 1894 photograph of Chicago with the Masonic
Temple at the far right. The tall building to the left of the Masonic
Temple is the Unity (16 stories). The next two are the Title & Trust
and the Schiller. The one at the far left is the Ashland Block (1892).

Park Row Building, NY, NY, 1899. Also known as the Syndicate Building. The Park Row
Building (on right in photograph) was the tallest building in the world until 1908. It
had electric elevators. When this photograph was taken, c. 1901, the St. Paul Building
(center in photograph) was the second tallest.
 Detroit Publishing Co.
Lib. of Congress, P&P
Div., LC-USZC4-5091.

St. Paul Building, NY, NY, 1898. Tallest building in the US when it was completed. The
early 1900s photograph to the left shows the Park Row Building (on left in
photograph) and the St. Paul Building.
Chicago School
In general terms, refers to the movement among architects and engineers, principally Daniel
Burnham, William Le Baron Jenney, John Root, and the firm of Dankmar Adler and Louis
Sullivan, during the late 19th century that ultimately led to the development of the skyscraper
and a distinct modern style of architectural design featuring steel and iron skeletons clad with
masonry, simple exterior decoration often in red brick or terracotta, the rejection of historical
forms, and the use of blocky geometric volumes. They were among the first to promote the new
technologies of steel-frame construction in commercial buildings, and developed a spatial
aesthetic which co-evolved with, and then came to influence, parallel developments in European
Modernism. Some of the distinguishing features of the Chicago School are the use of steel-
frame buildings with masonry cladding (usually terra cotta), allowing large window areas and the
use of limited amounts of exterior ornament. Elements of neoclassical architecture are reflected
in Chicago School skyscrapers, as many resemble a column. The first floor functions as a base,
the middle stories act as a vertical shaft, and the building is capped with a semi-traditional
cornice. The "Chicago window" originated in this school. It is a three-part window consisting of a
large fixed center panel flanked by two smaller double-hung sash windows

Hence we can say that steel became very

important building material to support the building