The role of glazing in buildings at the historical centre of Rome – selected examples

Abstract

The process of redeveloping historical city centres and adjusting them to the requirements of the contemporary law and new utilitarian functions is of continuous character. Heritage protection brings along responsibility for design decisions concerning the choice of solutions so that they would serve the owners of objects, their users and mankind in general. More and more frequently, we encounter realizations which apply the latest achievements in the field of building technologies and materials, such as glazing or glass constructions. They make it possible to limit the mechanical impact on a protected object making a full barrier to the atmospheric conditions, pollutions and many other threats with guaranteed insight and the access of sunlight. Architectural details and additional elements are reduced, too, therefore the visual influence of such solutions on the existing tissue is weakened. In this article, issues related to the possibilities of applying glass divisions and elements in such realizations are exemplified by selected objects located in Rome.