Glass blowing
Stained Glass Windows: Managing Environmental Deterioration, published by Historic England in 2020, suggests that glass blowing is a: ‘Glass-forming technique, probably developed in Babylonia and the Middle East by the 1st century BC. Molten glass is gathered into a ball on the end of a hollow pipe, and rolled on an iron former to roughly shape it and to slightly cool the surface. Then the pipe is used to blow air into the glass and form it into a bubble. By repeated blowing, shaping and reheating, the glass can be formed in many ways.’
Archaeological Evidence for Glassworking, Guidelines for Recovering, Analysing and Interpreting Evidence, published by Historic England in 2018, defines a blowing iron as: ‘A long iron tube that was dipped into the molten glass to collect a gather for subsequent inflating and shaping.’
It defines optic blowing as a process in which: 'A gather of glass is blown into a mould with a pattern on the inner surface, which transfers to the glass. Continued free blowing results in movement and distortion of the pattern.'
And overblow as: 'A by-product of mould blowing, referring to the glass that remains outside the mould, which is removed and recycled.'
It defines paraison as: 'The partially inflated gather of glass at the end of the blowing iron.'
And paraison end as: 'A marble-shaped blob of glass pinched from the end of the gather during the blowing of particular forms, such as the bowls of goblets.'
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.