GLASS

==== Glass is a hard, brittle, transparent and amorphous material, which is obtained by melting sand, sodium carbonate and limestone. The history of glass has its origins in Rome, because the Romans were the first to use it. The glass becomes a construction material and is generally used in buildings as transparent windows, internal glazed partitions and as architectural features. ====

==== In Caracas the use of glass in architecture was influenced by American architecture, which is characterized by skyscrapers of steel structures and glass walls. In 1953 the first building of glass facades was built in Caracas, which is the Polar Tower. This tower is made by materials such as glass, reinforced concrete, steel and aluminum. Then, this building model was reflected in other buildings in the city, like the “Cubo Negro”, the “Parque Central” Towers, the Banesco Tower and other buildings of commercial business use. This new technique of architecture created attractive and elegant buildings, but the use of glass on this scale is not good in tropical countries. Because tropical countries like Venezuela have a very warm climate and glass not only reflects light but it transmits infrared radiation. Also, these crystal buildings act as a greenhouse, since it maintains a higher temperature inside the building than the exterior temperature and in a tropical country this greenhouse effect is not beneficial. ====