My project was about glass application in tensile architecture. It involved research and development on structural glass, with the glass slumping technique in particular, to acquire 3D forms.
Being a ceramic and glass designer, my obvious choice was to work on a product which is material specific. Being a graduate in architecture and who is specifically interested in tensile architecture, the likely choice for the diploma project was to work on glass applications in tensile architecture. The initial process started with the practical understanding of tensile structures, existing types of structural glass and their applications, and simultaneously understanding spaces and human interaction with the spaces. The research was not user centric, but was intensively carried out in terms of understanding the evolution of design language in architecture and how arts and sciences have played a crucial role in governing the design factors.
Research was conducted on different glass processing techniques to achieve the norms of safety glass for structural applications. After freezing on the ‘glass slumping technique,’ I explored it further for achieving anticlastic and synclastic surfaces which contribute as crucial forms in tensile architecture to achieve structural stability and to perform in accordance with structural principles.
This project has proved extremely beneficial in the field of architecture. There has rarely been an amalgamation of a designer and a glass specialist in a single being. Taking this advantage in my stride, I attempted to achieve a synergy between the material and the design fraternity it catered to.
This project made me understand what architect Davoid meant when he said, “The accord will never become real until the day the engineer, the artist and the scientist are fused together in the same person.”
