PROJECT ONE.

2
MATERIALS, PRODUCTION + PROCESSES
SARC212 FURNITURE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION +
TECHNOLOGIES
Shannique BATOHI, Charlotte LE DAIN, Nicolas FEDOROFF, Shu HE, Alexandra HENNESSY, Kelly NG, Michael WONG
WHAT IS GLASS?
5 or six types of glass are used in this current age in the industry, including crystal and quartz. Glass begins in
powder form involving primarily Silica Sand, a substance that is the result of volcanic activity and is commonly
found on beaches. This sand is heated and combined with various chemicals that provide various different
characteristics for the glass produced. For glass used in architectural glazing and soft drink bottles, sodium oxide,
lime, magnesium and aluminium are added to give it high thermal expansion yet a poor resistance to heat
(Pfaender 135, 186). These substances are mixed and heated in a furnace to lower the melting temperature and
make it a lot more viscous- making it cheap to manufacture, hence its wide use in glazing.
Another type of glass made primarily of Silica Sand, is Pyrex. The addition of Boron into the chemical mix allows
the glass to be reshaped after manufacture as the Boron stops the glass from expanding and failing/cracking
when moulded. Pyrexs ability to be reshaped makes it a material appropriate for the production of furniture
design, namely lighting fixtures and sculptural work.



Grant Franklin - GLASSWORKS
GLASS IN FURNITURE DESIGN














Examples of the ways in which glass can be manipulated in the Furniture design industry:
Right to Left: Bocci Design 28 (images sourced from https://bocci.ca/collection/28/gallery/), Tara Clears Custom Lighting
(image sourced from http://www.pinterest.com/pin/198721402281725665/), Tapio Wirkkalas New Bolle Vases (images
sourced from http://www.vesselgallery.com/blog/?p=1944), Samuel Wilkinsons BLOWN Lamp (images sourced from
http://samuelwilkinson.com/blown/), Alberto Saggias Blown Glass Lamp (image sourced from
http://www.albertosaggia.com/#!products/cij8)

GLASS BLOWING
GLASS BLOWING
Glassblowing is a process that involves inflating, forming and shaping
molten glass into a spherical shape by transferring air through a blow
pipe. The versatile properties of glass in different forms allows it to be
blown and hardened when the glass is molten as thinner layers of
glass cool faster than the thicker ones and thus become more viscous
(Utopic Studios). In the production of furniture design, this factor
allows blown glass to have a uniform thickness, meaning a smooth,
finished product is created (Utopic Studios).
The glass blowing process is as follows:
1. the blower picks up a mass of molten glass with his blowpipe and
evens out the mass by kneading and moulding it.
2. The mass is blown regularly and continuously whilst being rotated
to ensure even inflation.
3. The final blown mass can then be fused or joined to another glass
element (another process explored in this assignment) to begin
creating a finished product, such as the fusing of the body of a vase
to its neck.
4. The entire form is then placed in a furnace to be tempered and
cooled softly to avoid the thermal shock that would weaken it.
Other materials that have similar properties to glass, such as certain
plastics, can also be blown, as long as they can withstand the changes
in temperature and can be reshaped.
The blowing of materials in the design and manufacture of furniture,
whilst producing a beautiful finished product, is time consuming and
would be difficult to mass produce at a large scale as each unit is
individually crafted. Blown glass is also prone to faiing under large
amounts of pressure, so therefore would not be an appropriate choice
for furniture pieces such as chairs and tables: it would be more suited
to lighting fixtures, vases and so on.
GLASS JOINING
GLASS JOINING
Glass joining or fusing involves melting
separate pieces of glass at high temperatures ranging
between 1100 and 1600 degrees Celsius, until soft
and malleable and able to be overlapped and left to
cool and harden into one solid object (Brown).
In the manufacture and design of furniture, this
process is essential, as it allows designers to join
together elements seamlessly, as opposed to using
glues or adhesives as other materials require.
Due to the particular process involving high
temperatures in order to fuse, this process can only
be applied to a limited select few of materials such as
Glass and Quartz, as the particular chemical make up
is essential, otherwise the material fails under
extreme heat.
The ability to fuse glass back together again allows for
mistakes in production to be healed by heating the
glass back up and re-moulding the product. In
furniture design specifically, this factor can be useful
as materials such as Pyrex and Quartz are not cheap
and additional cost can be as minimised as possible.



GLASS
SANDING/GRINDING
GLASS SANDING/GRINDING
Diamond saws are used to grind down the glass. This
is a thin magnetic disc which has a surface that is
covered in various grades of diamonds. Ranging from
fine, for more delicate work to coarse for fast, rough
jobs. This is also used for making jewellery and for
cutting through concrete.

Sand blasters (grit that is blasted out at a high
temperature) are used to create a rough surface on
the glass for a kind of frosted finish.

Sanding and grinding is a process used on many
other materials particularly glasses, woods and
ceramics. Ultimately the process produces the same
result: a smoothened, finished surface instead of a
rough texture with potential health hazards.
In the design and manufacture of furniture, sanding
and grinding allows a sleek, finished product that not
only aesthetic but also user-friendliness rely on.
Grant Franklin - GLASSWORKS
GLASS CUTTING
GLASS CUTTING
A tungsten blade is used to scratch the glass to break
it as it is hard enough to scratch without breaking the
glass.
Another way of cutting it is by heating a single band
around a pipe of glass and rotating and pulling it until
it comes apart. This process has to be done slowly as
the glass cracks easily.

Cutting materials is a process that all raw products
must undergo in order to be manufactured into other
goods. Blades and lasers particularly are used in
cutting all sorts of plastics, metals, woods, glasses
and so on. The second form of cutting glass that
involves heating the object to high temperatures,
however, is a process that only a select few materials
can undergo due to the chemical properties it
possesses and whether it can withstand high heat
without failing.
In furniture design, the manufacture of goods depends
heavily on the process of cutting materials, no matter
what the final product. This process allows raw
materials to be trimmed down to sizes appropriate for
utilization.
Grant Franklin - GLASSWORKS
GLASS PRODUCTION IMPLICATIONS
In terms of the scaling of production methods of glass and how this can affect the design
intent of a design concept, this varies across the different processes that have been
explored in the assignment:
For the blowing of molten glass, the mouth-blown process limits design intent to a
smaller scale, mainly due to the fact that a single person may not have the capacity to
either blow sculptures of a large size, or handle the glass correctly once hardened and
less malleable. At a technical level, however, machines have been generated to replace
humans and to produce at a mass-scale, particularly the production of glass bottles and
utensils. Machines that use processes such as the Blow and Blow which involve
molds and mechanic engineering allow the traditional glass blowing process to be
enjoyed at a larger scale (Eurotherm).
For the joining of glass, production methods at a large scale occur quite commonly as
separate elements of one product are welded together with a seamless finish. The
process is also replicated with a different range of materials suck as metals, ceramics
and plastics and is quite effective.
For the sanding of glass, again, machinery at a large scale is available to make this
process possible, not only amongst industrial and furniture design, but also for large
units of architectural glazing to achieve a smooth edge.
For the cutting of glass, along with the previous two, this is a well-exhausted process
that is used by all manufacturing plants alike, as the cutting and downsizing of raw
materials is imperative to achieving design intents.
WORKS CITED (MLA)
Connie Brown. Learn all about Glass Fusing. Glass Fusing Made Easy. 2012. Web. 13
September 2014.
The making of BLOWN Lamp. Dir. Sylvain Deleu. Perf. Samuel Wilkinson. DEZEEN
October 2013. Film.
Heinz G. Pfaender. Schott guide to glass. Springer, 1996. Print. 15 September 2014.
Glass Blowing (1.7). Glass Blowing Technique. Utopic Studios, 2012. Web.
September 16 2014.
Container Glass Forming Process. Container Glass. Eurotherm, 2014. Web.
September 16 2014.

All photos, unless otherwise stated, are taken by members of the group.
Video and Interview credit to Grant Franklin of GLASSWORKS.