The transformative potential of commercial glass
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Glass has come a long way in 30 years. Discover some of the most transformative decorative and architectural glass solutions on the market today.
Thirty years is a long time.
When ToughGlaze started back in 1993, Jurassic Park was breaking box office records and the first Ford Mondeo was rolling off the production line.
Jurassic Park is now on its fifth sequel – and Ford has canned the Mondeo altogether. But if you think films and cars have changed over the last three decades, wait until you hear about glass.
The scale and speed of innovation in this industry are staggering – and we're proud to play a part in driving this momentum.
Yes. Here at ToughGlaze, we're dedicated to offering the newest innovations in glass. We've invested in some of the UK's most advanced glass processing facilities. We've forged partnerships with fellow industry trailblazers. And we've worked hard to fine-tune our production techniques – all to bring you a range of high-quality glass products that you won't find anywhere else.
This is good news for you, whether you're an architect, civil engineer or interior designer. Our state-of-the-art glass is primed to make your projects more impressive, more robust and better suited to modern expectations for energy efficiency and spatial design.
Nowadays, glass can be much more than just a building material or decorative flourish. In the right hands, it can be truly transformative.
But you'd be forgiven if you haven't kept up with the latest developments. Glass is big news for us – but it rarely makes the front page of the Financial Times.
We're here to bring you up to speed. In this article, we look at four commercial glass products with serious transformative potential – and show how we've put this potential into action with real-life projects from our portfolio.
Digitally printed glass
TG DP
Digital printing on glass is nothing new. But for many years, it produced inadequate results – the process relied on UV-cured inks, which weren't durable enough for high-traffic or external applications.
Here at ToughGlaze, however, we've led the way in adopting next-generation ceramic inks. These are fired at extreme temperatures during the toughening process, which fuses the inks with the glass.
The result is a highly robust and adaptable product that's ideal for internal or external applications. Our ceramic inks are more or less immune to mechanical abrasion and are highly resistant to UV fading and chemical damage.
It's not just inks that have improved, though – printing technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. Our state-of-the-art printing facilities allow for crisp, consistent and colourful designs at up to 720dpi.
The possibilities are boundless. Think patterns, textures, company logos and even large, detailed multi-panel designs.
Case study: Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology
ToughGlaze was asked to provide digitally printed toughened glass for a brand-new technical college in south Cambridge.
Working with architect Hawkins\Brown, we designed a series of glass panels featuring stylised viruses. These reflected the college's educational focus and were a recurring theme in the building's design.
The project was a regional finalist in the Civic Trust Awards 2016 and was shortlisted for the East Regional category at the 2015 RIBA Awards.
Screen-printed glass
TG SP
As with our digital printing process, we've adopted industry-leading ceramic inks for our screen-printed glass.
This is doubly beneficial. It means you can harness the time-honoured benefits of screen printing – such as vivid colours and full surface coverage – while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with virtually indestructible heat-fired inks.
Screen printing can be combined with digital printing to create an endless array of complex, detailed designs.
Case study: London Heathrow
ToughGlaze was honoured to be involved in the renovation of Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport.
Working directly with the main contractor, as well as two subcontractors, we project-managed the delivery of more than 7,000 square metres of glass – including clear toughened and toughened laminated glass.
Much of the glass included decorative applications, such as coloured interlayers and screen printing.
Most notably, we supplied the commemorative laminated panels that marked the opening of the terminal by Queen Elizabeth II.
Decorative interlayers
TG CI, TG MI and TG FI
Decorative interlayers give you the best of both worlds. They take the strength and versatility of laminated glass and give it new life with awe-inspiring visual effects.
At ToughGlaze, we've developed an innovative selection of decorative interlayers that provide architects and designers with a fresh palette of colours, textures and translucencies.
This includes TG CI – a range of more than 3,000 colour shades – as well as TG FI (fabric interlayers) and TG MI (mesh interlayers).
Our decorative interlayers rank among our most versatile, practical and aesthetically striking glass products. They can be combined with specialist interlayers to allow for use in external, structural or soundproofing applications.
Case study: Glass Mill Leisure Centre
Artistic vision is everything – and, as our work on Glass Mill Leisure Centre demonstrates, we'll do all we can to help make that vision a reality.
For this project, we collaborated with visual artist Phil Coy to create Razzle Dazzle Boogie Woogie: a new artistic glass facade for Glass Mill Leisure Centre in Lewisham, London.
As Future City explains, "artist Phil Coy was commissioned to develop a playful response to the glass facade, which wrapped around the building. A palette of […] glass 'pixels' form a multicoloured grid around the vast curved facade."
We manufactured more than 1,400 coloured glass panels for the project, working closely with Coy to ensure production quality was right on spec.
Smart switch glass
Here's one glass product that has changed beyond recognition.
Back in the day, you might have come across electrochromic glass. This wowed the world in the 1980s with its ability to turn opaque or translucent at the flick of a switch.
Electrochromic glass had its limitations, though. It often had a sickly yellow tint – and large windows could take as long as half an hour to fully change state.
But now, several technological lifetimes later, smart glass is a seriously impressive product – and ours is the most advanced available anywhere.
TG SWITCH smart glass uses a third-generation NPRLC film that changes from transparent to opaque – and vice-versa – in just 0.01 seconds. That's faster than the human eye can register.
Not only that, but it has the highest transparency and lowest angle haze on the market – as well as a raft of advanced features that make it the perfect fit for any smart home or office.
TG SWITCH is ideal for creating office meeting room partitions or smart windows for the home – it makes for a space-saving and modern alternative to blinds or curtains.
But that's the tip of the application iceberg. TG SWITCH can also be used in healthcare (as patient privacy screens, for example) or to enhance security in retail, banking, security or military contexts.
And thanks to our state-of-the-art facilities, we can cut it to any size or shape and apply a range of practical and decorative processes. That includes soundproofing, decorative interlayers and colour tints.
If your project needs a modern privacy or security solution, TG SWITCH is a shoo-in.
ToughGlaze is a leading UK glass supplier. We offer a wide range of innovative commercial glass solutions that can have a transformative effect on energy efficiency, security and visual impact. To learn more, get in touch with one of our experts today.
