Glass is a material commonly used in construction. The development of technology related to it, and the increase in knowledge concerning its mechanical and strength properties offer opportunities for glass to be applied as a structural material. The advancement in glass structures, methods for their design, as well as guidelines and standards in this fields are being developed in parallel. This article describes the main assumptions contained in the German TRxV guidelines, the series of German DIN 18008 standards, and the European EN 16612, and EN 16613 standard. Moreover, the following article presents the concept of structural glass design included in the draft pre-standard prCEN/TS 19100, which provides the basis for the formulation of the European standard Eurocode 10. According to this pre-standard, structural elements of glass will be verified in four limit states, depending on the Limit State Scenario (LSS). Apart from the classic limit states, i.e., the ultimate limit state (ULS), and the serviceability limit state (SLS), it is also assumed to introduce a fracture limit state (FLS), and postfracture limit state (PFLS). The article also addresses the issue of laminated glass working in structural elements. Depending on the coupling between the glass panes and the polymer or ionomer interlayers, laminated glass can be divided into complete coupled or uncoupled, and can work in intermediate situations. The methods for determining the effective thickness contained in European standards and guidelines are discussed in this article.

Glass is a significant material in shaping contemporary architecture. Its main feature is transparency, which is related to the possibility of letting daylight into building interiors. Glass facades mark the almost invisible border between the interior and exterior space, which is a source of endless design inspiration. This situation is facilitated by the development of technology and knowledge on glass as a structural material.
The article aims to identify and analyse the possibility to apply structural glass in glazed facades. The paper analyses the technological and structural aspects of glass. The conducted analyses were based on the following methods: logical argumentation, comparative method, and case study. The analysis of selected architectural implementations provided a major contribution to the work results. Based on this, the typology and characteristics of design solutions were established for glass facades in which structural glass is used. The search for solutions aimed at shaping all-glass self-supporting structures was assumed as the main criterion of the indicated typology. It has been established that shaping all-glass self-supporting structures is achievable with the use of frameless systems, glass fins, folded plate glass systems, or facades with bent glass. By designing self-supporting systems, the elimination or reduction of support systems of other materials can be achieved. Thus, the use of structural glass in these structures allows for uniform material solutions. These solutions not only focus on technological and structural aspects but also have a significant impact on the architectural creation of the facade.