Structural Glass Design Manual

A Design Guide and Voluntary Specification for the Use of Glass as a Structural Material in Buildings

Abstract

Other than limited special cases, there is a lack of standards providing guidance on the design of structural glass in the United States and much of the world. This has resulted in an ad-hoc approach by cities (authorities having jurisdiction), architects, and engineers. This paper outlines the key aspects of designing with glass in a manner that has reliability and robustness consistent with other structural materials while recognizing the unique aspects of glass. This voluntary design manual is aimed at providing 4 consistent levels of risk in applications that allow Architects, Owners and Engineers to have an informed decision-making process for selecting levels of robustness, which may or may not be otherwise required by code. The document aims at developing consistent practices to facilitate confident design in glass while also addressing a number of technical challenges.