Editing Building material (section)

===Glass===
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[[Glassmaking]] is considered an art form as well as an industrial process or material.

Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover small openings in a building. Glass panes provided humans with the ability to both let light into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement weather outside.

Glass is generally made from mixtures of sand and [[silicate]]s, in a very hot fire stove called a [[kiln]], and is very brittle. Additives are often included the mixture used to produce glass with shades of colors or various characteristics (such as [[bulletproof glass]] or lightbulbs).

The use of glass in architectural buildings has become very popular in the modern culture. Glass "[[curtain wall (architecture)|curtain walls]]" can be used to cover the entire facade of a building, or it can be used to span over a wide roof structure in a "[[space frame]]". These uses though require some sort of frame to hold sections of glass together, as glass by itself is too brittle and would require an overly large kiln to be used to span such large areas by itself.

[[Glass brick]]s were invented in the early 20th century.