Inspiration

The world around us is changing fast: smarter and greener cities, advanced connectivity and new models of mobility. The rising demand for smart cities and sustainable living is being supported by major advances in technology - and glass is playing its part.

Do you want 9 m, 12 m, 16 m or bigger? While glass was once confined to the traditional limit of 6 m x 3.21 m, today it is continuously beating old records in terms of length. There is very strong international demand from high-profile projects seeking to deliver sweeping, seamless panoramic views.

The Tomáš Baťa Memorial, designed by prominent Zlín architect F. L. Gahura and built in 1933, is a high point of Zlín functionalism. Severely damaged during the bombing of Zlín in 1944, the Memorial was rebuilt and repurposed in 1954 as the House of Arts, a concert hall and gallery. Decades later, the project to renovate the Memorial and restore it to its original form began in 2016 and finally, in 2019, the Tomáš Baťa Memorial was reopened to the public. The interior features a model of the Junkers airplane in which Tomáš Baťa met his tragic end in 1932.

For the very best thermal and acoustic insulation, the only choice used to be triple glazing. But that’s a compromise: triple glazing makes for extremely thick glass, noticeably reducing light transmission.

Multiple industries – electronics, automotive and, to a lesser extent, construction – require glass that is both thin and strong. That’s why AGC’s R&D Centre in Gosselies, Belgium developed Falcon, a thin, super-strong glass with the highest level of light transmission ever achieved in Europe. Falcon glass is manufactured at our plant in Mol, Belgium.

Shoppers and museum visitors are familiar with the problem: shop windows and display cases are not as transparent as we thought! Light reflecting off traditional display glass is a nuisance, making it harder to see the items and objects on display behind the glass – which in turn requires special lighting systems to compensate.