“I love the sound of breaking glass”

That’s what some 20 students of the CEG minor Bend and Break might have thought when they tested and actually broke 24 glass columns for their prototype 1 glass masonry bridge.

“This is an important next step in the development of our concept”, says to Ate Snijder, PhD student and one of the researchers at the Glass & Transparency Research Group at TU Delft. I’m focussed on the development of innovative glass solutions for structures, buildings and facades. With our glass masonry bridge we like to prove and demonstrate the material’s loadbearing capacity and safety. By breaking the glass columns, the students in the minor Bend and Brake showed that these columns are 2,5 stronger than the building code and NEN-standards require for the bridge prototype 1.

That’s a remarkable result, exceeding all expectations. It provides us the essential information to safely and responsibly take the next steps. If all goes according to plan, all materials will arrive at campus in January. At CEG’s Stevin Lab the bridge will be assembled in February in order to have it installed at The Green Village in March next year.”