A+Finalist Spotlight: Raise a Glass to These Clear Standouts

Public voting for the 2015 A+Awards is now open, which means that YOU have the power to select the very best architecture in the world. With the A+Awards, recognizing the best projects is no longer domain of a small group of judges — everyone gets a say in who will be crowned victorious in over 90 categories, and your opinion counts! Check out all of the finalists and cast your vote here

Considering the fundamental nature of glass — that it is transparent and can be nearly invisible — it is amazing how often this magical material is the center of attention in quality contemporary architecture. From Philip Johnson to Norman Foster, top architects have harnessed the flexible properties of glass to create some of the best architecture of the past 50 years, and this year’s A+Award Finalists present ever more inventive applications of the material. Here are seven projects that revel in the glories of glass — take a moment to reflect on these and then be sure to vote for your favorites here.

The Gores Group Headquarters by Belzberg Architects
Category: Office – Low Rise (1–4 Floors) and Office Interiors

The façade of this high-spec office block in California features custom-slumped glass panels with varying degrees of opacity to create privacy and selective views where desirable. The glass screen also creates a cavity through which air can be circulated to ventilate the internal spaces.

Bombay Sapphire Distillery by Heatherwick Studio
Category: Factory Warehouse

The fluid, sculptural forms of Thomas Heatherwick’s distillery are inspired by recent advances in glass technology and by Britain’s rich heritage of botanical glasshouse structures. Each glass ‘bell’ contains a different climate suitable for exotic plant species used in the gin making process.

Palazzo Lombardia by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects
Category: Government & Municipal Buildings and Police & Fire Stations

The sweeping glazed walls of this government building in Milan, Italy, follow sinuous lines that form a number of unique landscaped public spaces at ground level. The high-spec blue glass is complemented by a lightweight ETFE roof structure over the central plaza.

Glass Butterfly by Form4 Architecture
Category: Architecture +Rendering

Innovation in glass can occur on a small scale too, as seen in Form4’s Glass Butterfly bus stop: The structure’s curving canopy features integrated photovoltaic panels that provide power and shade for the space below.

Jinao Tower by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP ( SOM )
Category: Mixed Use

Skyscraper connoisseurs SOM pleated the glazed envelope of this high-rise in Nanjing, China, to create a natural ventilation system to suit the region’s hot climate. The diagonal lines also serve to break down the rigid verticality typically associated with tall buildings.

Novartis Office Building by WEISS / MANFREDI
Category: Office – Mid Rise (5–15 floors)

This New Jersey office block is glass box architecture with a difference: Its envelope is comprised of oscillating, acid-etched, low-iron glass, creating an internal environment that is full of light but with limited glare.

Zonic Vision Office by stu/D/O Architects
Category: Office – Mid Rise (5–15 floors)

Reflecting Zonic Vision’s area of expertise in sound systems, the glazed façade of this office block in Thailand is intended to echo the oscillating electronic signals of an equalizer. Gradients of transparent, translucent, and opaque glass are positioned according to the internal function of each space, emitting subtle variations of light by night.

---

Not glazing over yet? Check out all of the 2015 A+Awards finalists and vote for your favorites!