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Incorporating Glass Block + Structural Glass Outdoors

As summertime quickly approaches, home and building owners are beginning to tackle the outdoor projects that they have been planning throughout the colder winter months.  Finding the right outdoor design to elevate your living space can be a difficult task, especially when restrained by limited space.  There is no need to be hesitant about closing off natural light sources though when incorporating glass into your outdoor design.  Whether it's a small balcony or a large backyard, enhanced outdoor spaces encourage time spent outdoors can provide a number of personal and health benefits for occupants.

Bringing Beauty and Durability to Transportation Stations

A study from the American Public Transportation Association reports that public transportation ridership has increased by 30% in recent years. Whether on a train, bus or ferry, Americans took 2.5 billion trips on public transportation in the third quarter of 2018 alone.

The Advantages of Letting the Light Shine Through in Offices

As the demands of business change, so do office building designs. Decades ago, companies virtually “corralled” their office workers into cubicles and offices with opaque walls to deter interruption and distraction.  Many have started to move away from standard cubicle designs to allow for a more open concept work environment.  Natural light and open environments have proven to be more productive environments that promote productivity and creativity in the office.  With the adaptations of glass block over through the decades, offices can create "private" offices by utilizing a contemporary glass block wall design. 

Impact Resistant Glass Block Windows Vs. Regular Windows

Windows are an essential part of any structure where people live or work. Natural light gives occupants a view of the outside while protecting them from the wind, rain, and other undesirable elements.

Protect Yourself and Others with Quality Safety Storm Shelters

The severity of hurricanes and tornadoes in North America in recent years seems to have increased. Although storms vary in number, size, and intensity, continuing construction is occupying more land surface and raising the likelihood of a direct hit on a portion of the population.

Glass Block, The Ideal Windscreen and Rainscreen

As a building material, glass block is durable, sustainable, fireproof, and an excellent insulator. The material’s transparent nature offers superior energy efficiency while admitting light and muffling most of the sound from outside. By itself, as the primary cladding for new construction, glass block’s beauty and functionality have contributed to its growth as an essential building component throughout the world.

You may be asking yourself, can glass blocks be used outside? Because of its unique inherent qualities, glass block is also important in other, less traditional applications for construction.  One unique application has been the implementation of glass block is outdoor wind or rainscreens.  This glass block application has proven an effective solution for protecting buildings from driving rain and accumulated moisture.  Glass block is now offered in multiple different patterns, styles, and shapes, making it the perfect customizable glass component to add to any design. 

Impact-Proof Glass for Greater Safety and Security in Schools

As the debate over safety and security in schools continues and the search for solutions continues, school officials and construction engineers are looking for answers to reconfigure access, redesign interior floorplans, and introduce measures to protect students from armed intrusion. Since the Columbine attacks in Colorado in 1999, over 275 school shootings have been reported. While some of these incidents were accidental gun discharges, events such as Sandy Hook Elementary (CT), Parkland (FL), Red Lake (MN), and so many more have left 250 students and teachers dead and many more wounded.

It is no secret that vandals tend to attempt to break into homes and businesses through basement windows. Usually, these are less conspicuous locations on the building, and the windows are at “ground level,” which makes them far more accessible to break and enter. Furthermore, owners may not notice a broken basement window has been damaged as quickly as other windows in the building.

Glass Block is Perfect for Veterinarian Offices and Shelters

Glass block as a construction material has gained considerable interest from designers and architects in recent years. Used as an aesthetically pleasing cladding to create award-winning buildings around the world, architects and interior designers have found that glass block and glass brick offer many practical and functional advantages that other building materials do not. Light admission and diffusion, transparency, beauty, strength, durability, and sustainability are principal motivators for using modern glass block for interior and exterior structures.

How to Prepare a Home for Hurricanes

The time is near when homeowners in hurricane-prone areas should begin to think about protecting their families, homes, and property. Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 26 to June 1, is the perfect time to take action to safeguard everything around you to minimize the potential for damage.