By adding the crisp light of sky
and clouds to long spaces, barrel vault
skylights using bent glass are an essential
feature for airports, malls, and corridors.
Curved glass adds openness to any
concourse while avoiding harsh
segmented roof silhouettes.

Typical bent products used in barrel vaults
include insulating units assembled with
safety laminated glass on lites placed directly
overhead¹. Laminated glass assembled with
plies of heat-strengthened glass offers twice
the strength but fewer shape possibilities
than laminated glass assembled with plies
of annealed glass of the same thickness.

Ideas include bent glass with low-emissivity
coatings, insulating space argon gas fills,
silkscreen ceramic frit, and translucent
finishes using opaque lamination,
acid-etched, or sandblasted glass.