The accelerated urbanisation of western countries in the latter part of the 19^th century saw the appearance of the first sky scrapers – a revolution in architecture that brought glass to the forefront of construction.  One of the first buildings in the world to incorporate the core principles of sky scraper design was Oriel Chambers in Liverpool, Merseyside – not too far from the home of Pilkington.

When Oriel Chambers was unveiled in 1864 commentators were sceptical about the building, particularly its use of glass as one person described it as “an agglomeration of great glass bubbles’’. Regardless of early criticisms, this humble five story office block influenced grander projects in the USA like the Home Insurance Building in Chicago and the Waignwright Building in St Louis that were considered the world’s first true sky scrapers.

Oriel Chambers, Liverpool

Moving into the 20^th century the size of sky scrapers rose vertically as they grew to dominate city skylines from Melbourne to Tokyo and London and to New York. The increase in size led to more glass being required to cover vast iron frames leading to a demand for specialist window cleaners who were tasked with scaling dizzy heights to clean the glass exterior.  Completing this maintenance work was a dangerous occupation as health and safety regulations were non-existent and only basic equipment was used to ensure workers safety, as the pictures below reveal.

A Window Cleaner at Rockefeller Center, New York City

Restoring the Glass Roof of the Alexandra Palace in London, 1933

In 2010, modern technology has improved the working conditions of window maintenance specialists particularly those workings at vertigo inducing heights. However, they have not dramatically altered the key ingredients to keep glass clean, soap and water. The world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the best example of this as its 206 storeys covered by 120,0000 square meters of glass and is still cleaned by hand using soap and water.  The building is cleaned all year round and is done so by a team of 36 workers who are transported around the building’s exterior in state of the art machines along a track, not too dissimilar to a rollercoaster, although much slower! This state of the art cleaning system cost £4.6 million to build and is the only way to keep the windows clean in the dusty desert conditions.

Pilkington glass is also striving to develop glass technologies that reduce the amount of time and money spent on maintaining glass structures of all sizes. Pilkington Activ™ self – cleaning glass is doing just that, and uses the forces of nature to maintain a cleaner and clearer appearance. In a dual-action process, organic dirt is broken down by daylight and is then washed away by rain, thus making it environmentally friendly and very easy to maintain.

Burji Khalifa in Dubai is maintained by state of the art equipment

It’s hard to see how you could improve on the views over The Grand Canyon. But new innovations in glass technology are making this most dramatic of vistas even more dazzling – and changing the way we look at the world’s most breathtaking sights.

Viewing the planet and all its wonders through glass, is something humans have been doing for hundreds of years. Whether it’s peeping into a spy glass, telescope or window, our take on the world has often to be filtered through a frame.

Now, a new generation of tougher, smarter, more resilient structures – architectural pieces with endless potential for looking beautiful – are offering new ways of using glass to experience the world and its wonders.

They are enabling visitors to appreciate the planet’s most breath-taking sights up close and showcasing the work of glass manufacturers like Pilkington. Here at Pilkington glass UK, we are always keen to celebrate glazing innovation – and highlight new ways glass can make life amazing.

And these stunning walkways, glass skylights, viewing platforms and floor-to-ceiling windows are a sight to behold – and something we’ll all be seeing more of.

The biggest and best of them all, and one that’s inspiring us and making our hearts sing right now, is the Grand Canyon Skywalk. These pictures say it all – about the stunning scenery, the epic scale and the sheer audacity of building a path this high.

A triumph of engineering and glass technology over nature, it puts visitors at the very heart of the canyon – spiritually and physically.  We love everything about this amazing creation but we’re aware these things are subjective so feel free to get in touch and tell more us more about the glass structures you admire most.

Suspended 4,000 feet (1219 metres) above the Colorado River and costing £15.3 million, the 70 feet long path is the world’s highest glass floor.

The brainchild of architect Mark Johnson, it can support the weight of up to 120 people and will withstand winds of up to 100mph, with the overhanging section containing shock absorbers to keep it from bouncing like a diving board.

Opened in March 2007, the U-shaped glass structure has attracted more than 1 million visitors and become the globe’s most recognisable cantilever structure. Since then, it’s spawned hundreds of imitations and continues to make lots of people very happy – us included