The conference is dedicated to the fascinating history of production and use of sheet glass. The aim of the conference is to highlight the interactions between technological innovations in the fields of sheet glass production and architecture and to elucidate the highly diverse properties and qualities of plate glass, which vary according to the manufacturing process used. Another objective will be to discuss the challenges presented by the preservation of historical architectural glass, particularly in the context of the trend towards thermal insulation of buildings, which often results in the replacement of the original windows.

Organizers: Vitrocentre Romont, Bern University of the Arts (Conservation and Restoration Section), University of Bern and Institute of Art History (Chair of Architectural History and Monument Preservation)

The symposium is made possible with the generous support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Scientific Exchanges, as well as the Bernische Denkmalpflegestiftung.

Friday, 5 November
Hôtel de Ville de Romont, Rue du Château 112

9.30 Welcome and registration

10.00 Opening Remarks

SHEET GLASS PRODUCTION FROM PRE-INDUSTRIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY – I
Chair: Francine Giese, Vitrocentre Romont

  • 10.30 Démocratisation des miroirs et lieux de boisson et de plaisirs en France au XIXe siècle
    Christophe Meslin, Paris
  • 11.00 Crown glass – an innovative technique coming from France to Franconia
    Alexandra Schmölder, Bamberg
  • 11.30 Scottish Window Glass – a new Industry in the 17th and 18th centuries
    Helen Spencer, Edinburgh

12.00 Lunch break at Vitromusée Romont

SHEET GLASS PRODUCTION FROM PRE-INDUSTRIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY – II
Chair: Sophie Wolf, Vitrocentre Romont

  • 14.00 Technological innovations and craft traditions in the 19th- century Belgian window-glass industry
    Vitaly Volkov, Antwerp
  • 14.30 Opakglas – ein fast vergessener Werkstoff in der Architektur
    Anne Krauter, Bern

15.00 Coffee break

  • 15.30 Du matériau au produit pour l’architecte: le verre perforé
    Anne-Laure Carré, Paris
  • 16.00 La glace de verre trempé émaillé Emalit® à l’assaut des murs rideaux
    Catherine Blain et Océane Bailleul, Lille

KEYNOTE LECTURE
Chair: Ueli Fritz, Bern University of the Arts

17.00 Altglas? Anmerkungen zum Umgang mit Flachglas bei Baudenkmalen
Isabel Haupt, Aarau

18.30 Opening of the exhibition
« Du précieux au quotidien. Le verre plat dans l’architecture », Vitromusée Romont

Saturday, 6 November
Hôtel de Ville de Romont, Rue du Château 112

GLASS IN ARCHITECTURE FROM THE 19TH TO THE 21ST CENTURY
Chair: Laura Hindelang, University of Bern

  • 09.00 Der Dresdner Zwinger – eine barocke «Glasarchitektur»
    Peter Heinrich Jahn, Dresden
  • 09.30 Holzsprossen und ihre Geschichte
    Ueli Fritz, Bern
  • 10.00 Symbolische Transparenz. Glas in der repräsentativen Unternehmensarchitektur des 20. Jahrhunderts
    Hauke Horn, Darmstadt

10.30 Coffee break

  • 11.00 Ideologie & Baupraxis: vom Aneignungsprozess des Glases in der Architekturmoderne
    Florin Gstöhl, Bern
  • 11.30 Antoine de Paris’ House of Glass (1927)
    Logan Sisley, Dublin
  • 12.00 « Une teinte chaude qui donne la fraîcheur ! » Le curtain wall à l’européenne : histoire, techniques et sauvegarde des vitrages antisolaires
    Giulia Marino, Brussels/Lausanne

12.30 Lunch break at Vitromusée Romont

THE CHALLENGE OF PRESERVING AND IN SITU-RESTORATION OF WINDOW GLASS
Chair: Bernd Nicolai, University of Bern

  • 14.00 Bamberg, Michelsberg, Restaurierung der Blankverglasung aus Mondscheiben im Rahmen der Gesamtinstandsetzung
    Susanne Fischer, München, and Josef Ganka, Germering
  • 14.30 Neues Glas in alter Umgebung: ein Blick auf das Bauen im Bestand seit 1900
    Melchior Fischli, Burgdorf
  • 15.00 Problématique de la conservation-restauration des verres imprimés employés dans le domaine architectural
    Emma Isingrini-Groult, Paris

15.30 Coffee break

  • 16.00 A practice-oriented guide to the resource-saving handling of historic glass and windows of secular buildings
    Paul Bellendorf, Bamberg
  • 16.30 Die Erhaltung von bemalten Isolierglasscheiben im Schwimmbad von Stuttgart- Feuerbach – eine restauratorische und technologische Herausforderung
    Dunja Kielmann, Esslingen
  • 17.00 The evolution of insulated glass units in the 21st century. A search for repairability and recyclability
    Esther Geboes, Brussels

17.30 Final Remarks

Information and Registration: The participation is free of charge, a valid COVID certificate is required. The number of places is limited, please register by 29 October 2021 at [email protected]