If you imagine a modern city, there’s a good chance that you’ll think of tall buildings rising into the sky. It’s also likely that those skyscrapers that you picture in your mind feature a lot of windows. There is a good reason for that. Towering buildings with glass panels are everywhere in big cities. However, some people—even architects—now wonder if that is a good idea after all.
The problem with these structures is that they are not as energy efficient as they could be. Glass is good at trapping the heat of the sun, which means the buildings require greater use of air-conditioning to cool things down during the summer. On the other hand, especially in colder climates, glass is not good for keeping the heat inside buildings. This, of course, means more energy is required to warm buildings to keep them comfortable during the winter months. There is also the matter of appearance. Critics often complain that glass buildings all resemble one another. They say that tall glass skyscrapers tend to make large cities look similar, giving them a boring appearance.
However, there are some advantages to using glass. It is cheaper than some other building materials, which is why it has been popular over the years. Further, not all glass structures look the same. One iconic use of glass is the famous pyramidentrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris. Since its completion in 1989, it has become a landmark. Meanwhile, one of the most unique buildings in London is an office tower with the nickname of “The Gherkin,” because its shape reminds people of a huge pickle. Its slender, roundishshape makes it stand out from the many other rectangularshaped buildings around it.
