Glass blocks are making a comeback

Just like 1980s neon nails and jackets vintage In the 1990s, glass blocks are making a comeback, thanks in part to social media.

A short Instagram video featuring variations of the retro material has been viewed 5.5 million times since March. It features gridded, frosted and fluted blocks, proving they’ve evolved from the ones in your aunt’s flashy apartment or the restaurant (with a smoking section) where your family celebrated birthdays.

Glass blocks are not only aesthetically pleasing, they are also a relatively affordable choice for the homeowner looking to add an element of style or natural light without sacrificing privacy. They are also fireproof, providing protection against fire.

“Glass blocks are an inherent light factor and solve technical problems,” explains Brendan Guerin, founding member of Guerin Glass Architects.

Here’s why the return of the glass block makes perfect sense.

Privacy and light

It is not for nothing that glass blocks were used in bathrooms in the 1980s and 1990s: they let natural light in without being able to see through it. This appeal remains for today’s architects.

Brad Swartz, an urban architect in Sydney, Australia, says the material was an immediate choice for a laneway home he worked with designer Henry Wilson. The space was dark and cramped, butted up against neighbors. Swartz stacked glass bricks, etched on one side for privacy, across most of the house’s façade.

“The light that comes through is beautiful, it changes throughout the day,” he explains.

Mr. Swartz was inspired by a landmark building of this style, the Maison de Verre, a 1930s Parisian residence commissioned by the physician and peace activist Jean Dalsace from the architect Pierre Chareau. The house is distinguished by its glass bricks with circles in the center. Like Swartz and Wilson’s project, the Maison de Verre features entire walls of glass bricks.

Learn more about the Glass House

According to WMGB Home Improvement, a Michigan-based remodeling company that specializes in glass blocks, the most popular version among its customers features a wavy pattern that diffuses light. But there are plenty of choices, including colorful blocks.

According to New York architect Brent Buck, it’s this wide variety that’s a game changer compared to the 1980s and 1990s. “There was one specific type of glass block back then and it was ubiquitous. That’s not the case anymore,” he adds.

Translucent, not transparent

Sydney architect Christopher Adams came up with the idea of ​​using glass blocks during a challenging renovation project: the house backed onto an apartment building, giving many neighbours a direct view of the property. To create privacy, Adams installed entire walls of glass blocks on the ground floor. The result? “Beautiful watery light, and complete privacy from the surroundings.”

Relatively affordable

Glass blocks are relatively affordable, according to the architects interviewed for this article. A glass block wall, including installation, costs about $30 to $40 (about $42 to $55 CAD) per square foot, on average, according to Guerin. A traditional glass wall would cost about $100 (about $140 CAD) per square foot.

“Glass blocks are hollow, with an air space in the middle,” Swartz says. “They’re not solid glass, and that’s what drives the price. But remember, glass blocks are not the same as blocks, which are usually square, rather than rectangular, and solid glass. That’s why they’re expensive — too expensive for most renovation projects.”

The Maison de Verre in Paris is the pinnacle of glass-wall architecture, but most contemporary projects don’t go that far. “We put them in as details or decorations. We buy only a few,” Swartz says. Which, of course, is cheaper.

Security

Glass blocks can improve the safety of a building. “The fire rating is better than a window,” Buck says. “You can put them in places where a clear material would be against the code.” Swartz agrees: “If you have a fire in your house, the glass shatters very quickly. Glass blocks last much longer.” He adds that it was the fire-resistant properties of glass blocks that initially caught the attention of architects.

Mr. Guerin points out that glass bricks have some properties approaching those of masonry; to some extent, they can be used in the same way. “There is a certain load-bearing capacity, a horizontal wind resistance and a certain seismic resistance,” especially if steel rods are used as reinforcements.

Maison Hermès, the Japanese headquarters of the French luxury brand, in Tokyo, is also a showcase for the structural integrity of glass blocks in architecture. In 1998, Hermès commissioned Italian architect Renzo Piano to build a building that complied with Tokyo’s strict earthquake and fire regulations. According to his firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop, “the glass block façade is designed to act like a curtain in the event of an earthquake, moving 4 mm thanks to the flexible joints between the blocks, absorbing seismic shocks rather than resisting them.”

A cool material

From the Glass House in Paris to the backstreets of Sydney, glass bricks have a more avant-garde and timeless architectural history than what we remember from the 1980s. “In my mind, glass bricks don’t represent Miami in the 1980s, but pre-modernist Paris in the 1930s,” says Guerin. “Good design is born from historical appreciation.”

Plus, “bricks are cool,” Swartz says. “It’s an old product that’s being reinvented in a more beautiful, more modern way.”

The original version of this article was published in the Washington Post.

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