Today’s architects must see glazed façades as active systems, not just style statements, says Abrar Fayaz Khazi Group Business Development Manager for Euro Systems
At Expo 2025 Osaka, the UAE pavilion does more than impress with its striking glass-and-timber shell. It weaves Emirati heritage and Japanese craftsmanship into a design grounded in environmental intelligence. Supported by a forest of column-like “rachis” soaring 16 metres high, the pavilion embodies how glass façades can transcend decoration to become carriers of identity and sustainability.
That pavilion isn’t a one-off. It marks the turning point architects have been waiting for: glass can no longer be treated as mere ornamentation or a symbol of modernity. It must perform as infrastructure. If we continue to treat façades as static canvases, we’re choosing style over substance, fashion over function.
Revisiting the Modernist Legacy
The principle that “form must follow function” finds renewed relevance in the age of glazing. We used to fetishize floor-to-ceiling transparency: Mies’s Farnsworth House, Lever House, the gleaming towers that defined modernist confidence and set high aspirations for transparency. Yet those buildings revealed the limitations of glass: overheating interiors and soaring energy costs. The 1970s oil crisis forced a reckoning, freezing glass façades in place and igniting a shift toward performance-focused design.
Today, architects face a new imperative: glazed envelopes must respond intelligently to climate and context. In hot regions like the Gulf, the question is no longer how much glass to use but what kind and how it behaves. This requires a deep understanding of material science and building physics, integrated early in the design process.
Smart Glazing as Cultural and Environmental Expression
At Aman Hospital in Doha and The Galleria Mall in Abu Dhabi, traditional mashrabiya screens have been installed to reduce solar gain by shading interior spaces during the intense summer heat, while also allowing direct sunlight to enter during cooler months, providing passive warmth. Meanwhile, the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 features vacuum-insulated glass, a technology typically used in extremely cold environments, using material that helps regulate temperature and energy consumption.
These projects signal a crucial transformation: glazing is no longer a fragile symbol of luxury, but a vital component of sustainable design. High-performance façades, intelligent shading systems, and acoustic innovations now play a key role in minimizing environmental impact. Glass must go beyond aesthetic appeal—it must balance human comfort with ecological responsibility.
Rejecting “Hopium”: The Need for Engineering
This shift demands that architects abandon what some industry experts call “hopium”—the dangerous ‘hope and optimism’ that aesthetics alone will resolve energy and comfort challenges. Glass must be engineered with precision and intention. Without performance baked in from the start, glazed buildings risk becoming environmental liabilities.
The Future of Glass is Active
Glazed façades today are increasingly active systems. They don’t just allow light in; they filter, shade, insulate, and adapt. They integrate sensors to monitor conditions and harvest energy. They create indoor environments that respond fluidly to changing climates and occupant needs.
To build for the future, architects must embrace this complexity and reject simplistic solutions. The path forward involves marrying beauty with rigor, aesthetics with science. If we succeed, glass will become a medium through which architecture not only reveals space but shapes it thereby enhancing human experience while protecting the planet.
https://compassesworld.com/from-middle-east/were-living-in-glass-houses-lets-rebuild-them-wisely/