Windows: The Latest Architecture and News

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A frameless window is exactly how it is described – a seamless glazing option that has no obvious frame around the perimeter. As a new design phenomenon, frameless glass panels are used for balconies, shower screens, glass doors, and bespoke conservatory windows, creating a ‘wall of glass’ effect, which is a hallmark of contemporary architectural design. Seamless glazing has a range of advantages, the first being the supreme stylistic feature it can create, letting the optimum amount of light into a room and provide a chic contemporary element to a building. Aside from the aesthetic appeal, frameless windows are simple and super-fast to install so homeowners can enjoy minimum disruption and lower installation fees.

"And a window that looks out on Corcovado. Oh, how lovely." Tom Jobim's lyrics, immortalized by João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto's voices and a soft guitar, was one of the early songs that introduced the world to the idea of a paradisaical Rio de Janeiro and a promising Brazil, with an increasingly urban population and a modern capital being built from nothing. Almost 60 years later, Paulo Mendes da Rocha casually quotes this song in an interview and points out that for him, in this scene, the most important element is the window, not Corcovado or Christ the Redeemer. That's because it frames the view and directs our eyes to what matters. It is a phrase that goes almost unnoticed, but that carries enormous poetic and artistic significance to the craft of architecture.

Wood is a material naturally associated with beauty, versatility, and comfort and is used in many different ways in architecture, from flooring to roofing. These qualities also stand out when used in window frames.

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Sigmund Freud, the author of “The Interpretation of Dreams” and the founder of Psychoanalysis, once argued that, “A strong experience in the present awakens in the creative writer a memory of an earlier experience (usually belonging to his childhood) from which there now proceeds a wish which finds its fulfillment in the creative work.”

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Door handles are a ubiquitous part of daily life, being used constantly in almost every space but rarely given thought by the passing user. Nevertheless, the chosen material of each handle can vary widely in terms of aesthetics, durability, and sustainability, with good choices going noticeably right and poor choices going noticeably wrong. For objects that are seen and used multiple times every day without fail, it’s imperative that designers get the choice right.

To deepen this topic, FSB helps us to lay out the properties of four of the most common handle materials below, allowing you to make an informed decision on which material aligns best with your project’s needs.

The leaves are still sprinkled with delicate drops of morning dew.
Outside, in Hamburg, the bustling metropolis in northern Germany, the streets are already a hive of activity as another working day begins.

Time to savour a long, leisurely gaze over the Alster.
To watch the seagulls glide silently across the sky.
As you take in the great, boundless expanse, from a room flooded with natural light, the borders between indoors and outdoors begin to blur, as though the laws of physics no longer applied.

You feel the first rays of warm sunlight on your face.
Aren’t these precisely the kind of moments which give you the energy you need for yet another hectic day? – A view, not a window.

After centuries of using wood for the development of window and door carpentry, the Rationalism of the 20th century began to adopt a new material for these purposes: steel. Driven by industrial production, and promoted by architects such as Adolf Loos, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, steel was evolving to generate increasingly thin and resistant frames. However, efficient and low-cost materials, such as aluminum and PVC, gradually began to replace its widespread use, increasing the size of the frames and losing steel's "clean" aesthetic when applied to a growing architecture of large glass paneled facades.

At present, new technologies have refined their production processes, developing minimal profiles of high rigidity and precision, which take full advantage of the transparency of the glass and deliver new comfort and safety features. We talked with Jansen's experts to deepen our understanding of their application in contemporary architecture.

Another year, another crop of homes featuring fresh, contemporary architecture, striking décor, and seamless transitions between inside and outside spaces. Peruse our picks below to find the inspiration you need to make indoor-outdoor living part of your next home design.

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As ingenious solutions for environments that require additional space and ventilation, articulated or accordion doors and windows operate by folding their leafs one over the other and onto the sides of the opening. They moving via upper and lower rails which can be embedded into masonry and allow separation and integration rooms while adding aesthetic value to the project.

This system generates a similar effect to that of a sliding door or window, but it differs in that all its leafs remain in the same plane when they are closed, giving a clean appearance to the façade.

Glass is so present in our lives that it’s very difficult to think about the amount of work, experimentation and technologies behind each panel or glass object. It’s also impossible to separate innovations from modern architectural projects –from architects such as Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier– from the advances of the glass industry.

We’re following the history of glass, from Mesopotamian artifacts to technological glasses, and we invite you to travel with us.

Perhaps the most renowned 'skylight' ever built is the Pantheon of Rome commissioned by Marco Vipsanius Agrippa during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD) and rebuilt by Hadrian (117-118) around 126 AD. At the highest point of its dome (in this case, the oculus) the sunlight shines, casting its beams over the various statues of planetary deities that occupy the niches on the walls. The light that enters the space symbolizes a cosmic, sacred dimension. In projects around the world, natural light continues to fulfill this scenic role, especially in religious projects.

It is characterized as zenithal illumination as that which comes from above, from the sky (zenith). Very useful for large spaces that can not be adequately lit by windows, skylights are a widely used device for providing a pleasant, diffuse light. Generally, care is taken to prevent direct entry of sunlight; the openings must be well designed so that they do not overheat the space of allow water infiltration. Below is a collection of projects that make good use of this technique.

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Before computer daylight simulations were used to optimize the atmosphere and energy in buildings, generations of builders developed simple principles to create the best windows for their site. Two lighting experts have studied these traditional openings in buildings to find inspiration for more sustainable designs today. Francesco Anselmo, a lighting designer at Arup, and John Mardaljevic, Professor of Building Daylight Modelling at the School of Civil & Building Engineering of Loughborough University, have analysed the sun and skylight variations from northern regions like Stockholm down to the equator in cities like Haiti or Abu Dhabi.

Read on to learn more about the variety of traditional windows.

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