The Glass Dome, a frameless glass shell which makes use only of adhesives to join glass, was designed by structural engineer Lucio Blandini as part of his doctorate. It was designed and built at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. It took three years of research to investigate the properties of joining technology able to enhance the immense expressive potential of glass. Blandini was assisted in the design by University Director, Professor Werner Sobek. Sponsors included 3M (adhesives).

All the materials in the prototype are reduced to a minimum. The 8.5 metre spanning shell is made of 10mm thick curved glass panes, which are a laminate of 8 mm float glass with 2 mm chemically tempered glass. This toughening process is already used in automotive and aerospace applications. In architecture, it allows a considerable reduction of dead weights, an essential advantage in the case of long span roofing. The glass panes were glued together with structural epoxy. A titanium ring provides a wire-like supporting system, giving the impression of a soap bubble just floating over the ground.

Blandini’s design has been acknowledged as the first adhesive bonded glass structure.

While the use of adhesives raises questions about the durability and maintenance of the structure, it won’t be long before we see a commercial project utilising a glued glass structure.

Source

Glass Age

Postscript

Lucio Blandini: ilkbland@ilek.uni-stuttgart.de