Glass has been used to enclose space for nearly two millennium and is one of the oldest man-made building materials. At the same time continual improvements to the manufacturing and refining processes make glass one of the most modern building materials today, one that shapes the appearance of contemporary architecture unlike any other. Almost any task associated with a modern building skin could be fulfilled with the help of this material.


This made it possible to overcome the contradiction between the fundamental need for shelter from the elements and the simultaneous desire for openness to light, paving the way for building structures that provide shelter.