The art of glass reborn

Glass Studio Eluna is leading the way in sustainable design with the launch of a new 100% recycled glass brick range. Building on its experience of working with architects Foster & Partners on installations such as the prominent Kamakura House project in Japan, innovative Glass Studio Eluna is expanding its product range with the introduction of a 100% recycled, load bearing internal and external brick range.

Made from carefully selected reconstituted television screens, champagne bottles, window panes – or whatever glass source the customer specifies – the standard bricks measure 200mm by 100mm by 40mm thick. Bespoke bricks can be cast and cut to size. Unlike other recycled glass products, Eluna’s range contains no resins or dyes. “It is 100% glass,” says Martin Goodrich, the company’s founder and a prominent leader of the 1960s Public Art scene. “All we do is add heat, cut and carefully polish the glass.”

Using the ‘glassmaker’s curse’(crystallization) as an advantage, the fusing of the cullet (chips of glass) during the kilning process creates a matrix with a fantastically strong bond – giving the glass bricks a compressive strength of up to 38 kN. (A standard concrete paving slab has strength of 4 kN.)

Not only are the low carbon footprint, recycled glass bricks environmentally friendly, they are also extremely beautiful to both look at and touch. Using no additives, colour depends on the choice of glass selected, but opacity, finish and visual effects can be carefully controlled via the size of cullet selected and the kilning process. “This is where the creativity comes in,” believes Martin Goodrich.

“This is an exciting time for our genus of product,” he concludes. “Not only is legislation looking to promote recycled goods, there is also a groundswell of support building for socially responsible products that are unique, functional – and yet at the same time – beautiful.”