Modern Architecture
Architecture
Remodeling Guides
Steel-Framed Windows Leap Forward Into Modern Designs
With a mild-mannered profile but super strength, steel-framed windows are champions of design freedom
The Industrial Revolution gave us many new materials and technologies, from the elevator to the concept of a curtain wall construction. Not the least of these was the introduction of sheets of glass set in metal frames.
Introduced on a large scale at the Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition in 1851, sheets of plate glass held in place by a metal framework quickly found their way into architectural design. Then, with lighter and stronger steel replacing cast iron, windows manufactured by the likes of Henry Hope & Sons found their way into residences. By the 1930s, architects like Frank Lloyd Wright popularized steel-framed windows.
However, starting in the 1960s these windows became less and less popular. Contributing to their demise was the lack of thermal efficiency of the original windows. Made of a single sheet of glass and a thin steel frame, these windows were great conductors of cold from outside to inside.
But that's all changed. With better materials, designs and finishes, these windows are undergoing a resurgence.
Introduced on a large scale at the Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition in 1851, sheets of plate glass held in place by a metal framework quickly found their way into architectural design. Then, with lighter and stronger steel replacing cast iron, windows manufactured by the likes of Henry Hope & Sons found their way into residences. By the 1930s, architects like Frank Lloyd Wright popularized steel-framed windows.
However, starting in the 1960s these windows became less and less popular. Contributing to their demise was the lack of thermal efficiency of the original windows. Made of a single sheet of glass and a thin steel frame, these windows were great conductors of cold from outside to inside.
But that's all changed. With better materials, designs and finishes, these windows are undergoing a resurgence.
Perhaps Frank Lloyd Wright's most celebrated design, Fallingwater owes much of its visual success to the design freedom given by the steel-framed windows.
Since the 1930s improvements made to the metal framework's finishes have given new life to these window systems. Virtually unlimited color choices enable designers to create inspired window walls.
A hallmark of these glazing systems is the minimal amount of framing material needed for structural integrity. Wood frames for glass doors must be considerably larger, adding a lot of visual weight to the door. Steel frames can be very light and thin due to the strength of the material.
The thinness of these steel frames allows them to become mere two-dimensional grids, almost painterly in effect. The view out becomes flattened, not unlike some modern paintings, such as those of Mondrian.
Rather than a large beam or header supporting the door, all that's needed is a pencil line of steel.
Like in some of the great 19th- and early-20th-century factories, warehouses and other industrial buildings, these steel-framed glazing systems can impart an industrial aesthetic when employed from floor to ceiling and corner to corner.
While these systems have their roots in the industrial age and really do have that industrial aesthetic, they can be used with a traditional-style home. In fact, like a yin and yang approach, these steel-framed glazing systems can enrich a traditional interior.
These systems are naturally suited to open corners, where sheets of glass are formed to create open corner windows. Thin lines of steel provide a minimal amount of framework, creating just a mere screen between inside and out.
Ask your local window dealer about steel frames
Ask your local window dealer about steel frames