Glass usage in the country has been growing dramatically over the past decade. We all like our houses and buildings to open up to the environment and be flooded with natural light. Architects and decorators are innovatively using glass for a variety of applications from skylights to partitions, balustrades to staircases, and many-many more that make our surroundings look more spacious and beautiful. In this past, this has led to a trade-off with safety, security, energy efficiency, and noise insulation. Recent advances in glass technology show how one can achieve the following:

• Safety - Enhance lifestyle
• Improve natural lighting, thermal and acoustic performance of buildings both in residential and commercially application through innovative usage of glass.
  

Solar & Heat Control
"Is glass is a good insulator?" The clear answer is No! But it could be. There are various choices available to the informed buyer to save on energy costs and get all aesthetic and psychological benefits of glass. Coated and tinted glass products and insulating glazing units can be used to control the flow of energy into and out of a building. In a hot environment like India, solar control glasses can be used to dramatically reduce the effect of the sun's heat, minimizing the need for air-conditioning. Solar control glass, usually either body tinted (absorbing) or coated (reflecting), is used to reduce unwanted solar radiant light and heat energy transmitting through glass.

Sound Control
In humans, hearing takes place whenever vibrations of frequencies from 15 hertz to about 20,000 hertz reach the inner ear. The need to restrict sound arriving from the external environment means that glass should be able to shield and insulate while satisfying more sophisticated design standards. The most common type of glass used in noise control are laminated glass and insulating glass (double glazed). Laminated glass incorporates a special PVB interlayer, which absorbs some of the sound energy, reducing its passage. The acoustic PVB interlayer can be utilized to reduce the noise level experienced.

Safety & Security
A commonly perceived notion is that glass compromises safety and security. However, continuous research and technology advances have made glass safer and secure that it ever was. Solutions like laminated glass in its various types are being widely used for the purpose of accidental protection. Commonly used in car windscreens, laminated glass ensure glass does not shatter when hit by a baseball bat or even during natural calamities like earthquakes. Glass can now protect your home and office from threat from burglars.

Strength Colors & Aesthetic
While glass offers superior aesthetic looks and flexibility in its use and application, there is the most perceived drawback of glass is strength. The same has resulted in forcing both architects and consumer to use glass restrictively in exterior and interior application. However, with recent advances and better technology the same concerned has very much reduced through effective application of tempered glass.

Glass is more than functional-it is architectural. It gives the illusion of more space, increases natural lighting, and lends character to interior spaces. Architectural glass goes beyond architecture to become art, using textures, patterns, colors, and technique to define and highlight individual tastes.