Architectural Glazing

Architectural glazing encompasses a premium range of glass products designed to create an impressive glass façade for your property, delivering a striking visual impact. This type of glazing is high-end, meticulously engineered, and crafted to deliver top performance.

The façade features high-quality aluminium and glass products, including sliding doors, folding doors, fixed windows, and opening windows. This article will explore various options for architectural glazing.

What is architectural glazing?

Architectural glazing refers to the use of high-quality door and window products with advanced features and characteristics. These premium products and glass systems are created for discerning customers and are intended for demanding use. They offer state-of-the-art design, technology, extreme sizes, and exceptional functionality.

The companies behind architectural glazing products provide the highest quality, design, and innovation standards. They may also specialize in other glass products, including glass walls and floors. They carefully select their installation companies, ensuring they possess the necessary technical expertise, high service standards, and specialized equipment.

Architectural glazing is a solution for design challenges

Architectural glazing stands out for its unique problem-solving capability, offering tailored solutions to your design challenges.

Most ‘standard’ products come with size and weight restrictions. Any size and shape requirement that does not fit within the product’s published technical limitations cannot be met.

However, the brands behind architectural glazing work differently. They take a design or client requirement and make it happen.  They push the boundaries of what is usually possible. Often, this means new aluminium profiles, intricate design drawings or working with specialist component manufacturers.

• Some brands also install their products. 
• There is a close working relationship with the architect.
• Complex drawings are often created with a strict sign-off process before manufacture.
• They will not sell directly to the trade/builder unless they are one of their trained installation partners.
• They meet the highest performance standards with specialised installation methods using the latest equipment and tools.
• The higher price reflects the skill and expertise behind the products.
• Many feature slim frames or a bonded structural glass design.
• Most have hardware and components specifically designed for the product and do not use off-the-shelf locks and handles.

In many cases, architectural glazing products are only restricted by factors outside their control, such as the maximum sizes of glass, the limits of production lines, or access installation issues.

Types of products classified as architectural glazing

All manner of products are defined as architectural glazing.  While sliding and folding doors are key products, others offer design ingenuity. Examples include:

• Flat, curved or shaped glass walls
• Oversized windows
• Oversized sliding, folding, pivoting and hinged doors
• Sloped glazing, curtain walling and facades
• Electrically operated windows, doors and moveable walls
• Frameless and minimalist windows and doors
• Luxury front doors using the latest-generation materials and technology
• Structural glazing, walk-on glass products and ‘smart’ glass technology
• Hybrid systems and steel products such as those by Crittall®

Brand systems and suppliers of architectural glazing

When homeowners are planning a major project with a significant budget, they often don’t just rely on an architect. Many of them attend exhibitions to explore products, talk to experts, and see what’s available in this specialized market. It’s common to see companies that provide architectural glazing exhibiting at events such as Grand Designs, Build-it Live, Homebuilding and Renovation Show, as well as at regional building events and in their own flagship showrooms.

Our list of glazing specialists below highlights some of the best companies and brands that offer both standard and custom windows, doors, and glass structures:

Architectural Vision Systems

The range of sliding doors from Architectural Vision Systems enhances modern extensions with some of the slimmest and expertly executed aluminium sliding patio doors, frameless glazing and open corner door sets. Doors by Architectural Vision Systems have some exemplary hardware, slim sight lines, and smooth sliding action.  The company offers a wide range of manual and automatic sliding doors for opening.

Alumil

Greek systems company Alumil offers some stand-out products especially in the field of contemporary front doors, sliding systems and high-specification glazing.  Their Interno front door comes at substantial sizes and designs in a range of materials, including carob fibre effects, ceramics and other materials.

Cantifix

With their products featuring on Grand Designs, Cantifix offer stand-out products from some of the best systems and brands. Typical systems include Skyframe and Schuco as well as motorised sliding systems. Cantifix specialises in glass roofs and walls, structural glass links and precision made aluminium glazing.

Centor Europe Ltd.

With some of the best bifolding and sliding doors in terms of design, how they’re made and engineering, Centor is another fine system used in high-end projects. The Centor bifolding door is one of the best you can buy in our view and worthy of consideration when starting to think about a new extension or house build.

Cortizo

We give a mention to Cortizo for their growth in the UK market and especially in the field of sliding patio doors. With more than 12 sliding doors, all manner of windows and other products, Cortizo is one company with state-of-the-art aluminium systems.  Many brands of slimline sliding doors in the UK use either a standard or customised Cortizo system.

Frameless Glass Curtains

While the concept for frameless slide and fold doors is not new, Frameless Glass Curtains (FGC) offers one of the best slide and fold products with no visible mullion.  The other benefit of an FGC frameless door is its excellent engineering, weather performance and reliability. One of the best exterior quality frameless systems on the market in our view.  FGC also provides all manner of other products using the frameless concept.

HIRT Swiss Descending Windows

The descending window systems from HIRT is used in the finest homes and buildings all over the world. Electrically operated these very large windows slide down to fully open up a wall. They retract down below or into the wall and even sink into the floor. Revealing a fully open space, HIRT Swiss Descending Windows achieve sizes of up to 20 metres and over 7 tonnes in weight.  These technically superior windows also ensure all types of climates and weather conditions.

ID Systems

Based in Norfolk and working nationwide, ID Systems are a very professional supplier of high-end products widely used in architectural glazing.  From the impressive Sunflex range of bifolding and sliding doors, through to moveable walls and all manner of bespoke glazing. ID Systems carry out some incredible transformations to some of the finest houses and renovations all over the UK.

IQ Glass

The advanced aluminium and steel systems from IQ Glass are some of the finest and most modern on the market.  From the outstanding Apertio front door, guillotine windows, to minimalist contemporary glazing, frameless glass walls and all manner of architectural solutions. IQ Glass also provides contemporary steel products from Mondrian.  By far the best feature of IQ Glass is their Amersham showroom with an exceptional selection of the latest in windows, doors many other products.

Maxlight Ltd

London-based Maxlight, while manufacturing a variety of products, specialises in sliding doors, pivot doors and other modern glazing systems.  Their sliding systems offer all manner of slimline, pocket and open corner designs.  Maxlight also provides excellent pivot doors and steel-look systems.  Maxlight boasts an impressive showroom and factory, as well as a great portfolio of outstanding installations of sliding doors, frameless windows and floor-to-ceiling glazing.

Panoramah!

The standout feature of Panoramah is the impressive size capability of their minimal slimline systems.  Their sliding systems go up to thirty square metres in size and nearly 1800kg in weight using motorised patented designs.  So good are Panoramah! systems that their only limitation is the production line of the glass manufacturer.  The system also provides fixed, corner opening, pocket, opening and other types of windows and doors.

Reynaers Systems

We mention Reynaers as their products such as the impressive Hi-Finity Sliding Door are chosen by many specialists in architectural glazing.  These companies work with trusted, flexible and dependable systems and Reynaers often meets this brief.  The company also has some ultra-premium products such as its pivot door and recent product launches at Bau Exhibition.

Rohaus Living Systems

Based in Stafford and working nationwide, Rohaus offers three of the best systems with Reynaers, Schuco and Internorm. An excellent manufacturer and designer of high-end glazing solutions, Rohaus is the go-to business for anyone looking for specialist glazing, bespoke solutions and fine architectural glazing.

Schuco Aluminium Systems

Just like Reynaers, Schuco is another trusted system used by the best glazing contractors. With slimline bifolding and sliding doors, the Panorama PD slimline door and all manner of windows, Schuco remains the most desirable product for high-end businesses.

Sieger Aluminium Systems

Part of IQ Glass, Sieger Systems offers a full door and window range as well as contemporary architectural glazing, pivot doors, roof structures and other highly-engineered aluminium products.  Of particular note from Sieger Systems is the Sieger Super Lux Bifold Door capable heights up to an incredible five metres tall.  For those looking for the slimmest bifold, the Sieger Lux Bifold offers sightlines of just 32mm at the door mullions and with a structurally bonded construction.

Solarlux

Cero and Solarlux products are some of the best in the world, widely used by premium architectural glazing specialists and installers.   Additionally, Solarlux products integrate perfectly within other systems such as floor-to-ceiling glazing or curtain walling. The overall Solarlux range provides aluminium doors, slimline sliding doors and luxury bifolding doors. The CERO sliding door especially achieves weights of up to a tonne in weight and up to 15m2. The Solarlux range also has a range of glass rooms, glazed extensions and structures.

Sunvista

British made, super slim and with some of the most attractive low threshold solutions is the Sunvista slimline sliding door. Compass Glass in London craft these elegant patio doors and they come with just 19mm mullions. Furthermore, they come as an open corner solution and with innovative fixing methods you won’t find on other sliding doors. Sunvista provides a more high tech and alternative British solution to the very popular Cortizo system.

Sunparadise Systems

Sunparadise manufactures and supplies high-end patio doors, sliding systems, balcony glazing and structures for patios and gardens. With over thirty different architectural glazing solutions, Sunparadise is now Swedish owned and continues to operate throughout Europe enhancing prestige homes and commercial buildings. Available from Sunparadise are five different Winter Garden products, three folding systems, four versions of sliding doors, sliding doors, windows and glass extensions.

Vision Design Projects

Slimline sliding doors, interior glazing, steel look, frameless doors and balcony enclosure systems. These are just some of the high-tech glazing solutions for the home by Vision Design Projects. These architectural and structural glass products are exactly what contemporary extensions demand.

If you would like help in selecting a suitable architectural glazing company for your project, please get in touch.