A Wall for all Seasons”, a sustainable model of a smooth glass “skin”

Abstract

“A Wall for All Seasons” is an adaptive multilayer glass envelope designed by the British architect Mike Davies in the 1980s. It was intended to overcome the energy problems posed by the material, without losing the characteristic smoothness of the Miesian curtain wall. This model is the last example of an organic analogy, which bases its aesthetic reason on nature, on its condition as process regulator. This analogy was adopted by the glass culture of the 1920s, in the expressionist and constructivist movements, and assimilated by Modernism, transformed by British high-tech and North American green counterculture of the 1960s, which evolves into cybernetics. This genealogy and the direct precedents that influenced the author in the development of his model are narrated in the article. It also compiles the discussion around the sustainability of glass architecture that was taking place at that time and that was collected by the RIBA Journal, where Davies’ proposal was published. Davies’ model is described and the current state of “high performance glasses” is presented, commenting on its limited application in contemporary architecture. Finally, the future viability of the model is questioned.