Abstract
In contemporary architecture, glass is being used less as a single piece for the exterior envelope, due to a variety of influences such as increased performance regulations, the market environment and technical developments. An architectural exterior wall today is usually installed as a 'ystem' wall, not as a single plane glass wall. That brings up the necessity to question the appropriateness of the materiality of an individual piece of glass for the exterior envelope in urban settings. Therefore, in many cases it is appropriate to examine materiality of glass as a system. A new examination of materiality can be carried out by analyzing the interactions between layers that constitute a system. This paper examines the experimental use of glass systems in contemporary architecture, and analyzes them to interpret the relationship between the layers of each system in order to establish the diversified materiality of glass in contemporary architecture.