Editorial

Structural Glass is defined as an application of the material glass in a main bearing structure of for example a building or a bridge. Involvement started for the author in 1986, with designing and building of the Sonsbeek pavilion and continues, up to present, with the completion of the Taipei Performing Arts Centre expected in 2019. This editorial is divided in four chapters; the first one concentrates on bridges, the second on facades, the third on cast glass and the last chapter is on future developments. Ongoing research is discussed at the end of each chapter.
One could say that the Roman, bronzed framed, glass panels, known from excavations in Pompeii, were the first application of glass as “structure”: they had to withstand wind load and the influences of the outside climate. However, this is a secondary structure, what we are now looking for is the use of glass in primary structures and, very important, because glass is a delicate material, these primary glass structures have to be robust, according to the demands of the Eurocodes.