Creative Building

Last weekend I visited a nearby health and fitness center. It was the sleekest, most modern gym I’d ever seen. It had three levels and each level featured snazzy glass and metal railings and balustrades (if only I had my camera! I had thought to myself). But there was more to it than just the railings … there were glass stairs! If you’ve yet to walk on glass stairs or flooring, it may seem somewhat intimidating … after all it is glass … but they are manufactured in such a way that it’s completely safe.

Seeing all of this got me thinking about decorative glass—a hot, hot item right now. GANA’s youngest division, the decorative division, now just more than 1 year old, is off to a strong start and growing rapidly. While not the largest division, the decorative group is actually growing faster than of the others. And that’s no big surprise considering how much architects are craving anything and everything that’s new, different, colorful, textured and the list goes on.

But I really wanted to get the inside scoop from some companies that offer decorative products. With that said, I went straight to the source and here’s what a few folks shared as to why they think decorative glass is becoming more and more popular.

“I think decorative glass is gaining because designers love the ability to use different things. It has so many varieties it really lets the architects put into play what they truly visualize in their spaces. Plus its more mainstream now, years ago it was strictly export, but now you find it all throughout North America,” said fellow blogger and USGlass columnist Max Perilstein from Arch Aluminum & Glass.

“So much in our built environments use manufactured materials and the same materials appear everywhere. Decorative glass sparks the imagination and can give a handmade feel to a built environment. People value a unique, creative environment, and decorative glass offers a vast array of ways to achieve a wow factor,” said BJ Katz, founder and art director of Meltdown Glass & Art Design.

To me it’s so interesting. Think about it, some of those amazing designs and sculptures of glass, it all started out as sand. I don’t know of too many other building products that can do the same.

What do you think about decorative glass? We’d love to hear what you think, so send me an email and let me know.