Designing Transparency: Glass in Modern Design

As the fascination with plastic is now over for both aesthetic and environmental reasons, more and more designers are going back to one of the most traditional materials: glass. Free of any synthetic characteristics, glass is authentic and, if treated with skill and imagination, it can provide stunning results. Designing Transparency features the glasswork of a myriad of designers dedicated to creating visually striking and sustainable pieces.

Glass has been used for centuries to create tableware or design objects, but now designers from all over the world are pushing the boundaries of the material’s optical properties. Playing with transparency can lead to intriguing solutions. The featured designs in this book — such as screens, carafes, lamps, tables, seating, and shelves, all made from glass — show the possibilities for introducing visual lightness into spaces via transparency. Each photograph is accompanied by text describing the designer's connection with glassware artistry, and provides analysis of the individual pieces and their visual appeal.

Agata Toromanoff is an art and design historian. She has worked for collectors and galleries, and has curated and managed numerous contemporary art projects.