Explore the exhibition

PANEL 01

NEXT

THE AGE OF GLASS

Glass has been a crucial material in the development of humankind.
Historically, it has played an important role in architecture, the automotive industry, household goods and containers. And today it is an essential element in key sectors, such as energy, biomedicine, agriculture, electronics, information and communications, optics and optoelectronics, and in the aerospace sector.

We live in the Age of Glass and, as a result, United Nations declared 2022 as the International Year of Glass (IYoG2022), a commemoration which celebrates the past, present and future of the most transformative material in the history of humankind.

Indeed, the influence of glass
continues to grow as new products and processes are developed to address the Sustainable Development Goals. Glass-based technologies are essential to meet these global challenges, aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring the prosperity of its inhabitants.

200 YEARS AGO

Fresnel invented his famous glass lens used in lighthouses, which has prevented innumerable naval disasters

100 YEARS AGO

King Tutankhamun’s tomb
was discovered, with its
wonderful collection of
Egyptian glass

70 YEARS AGO

The industrial patent for float glass was registered; this process makes it possible to produce flat glass with extremely smooth surfaces and a uniform thickness.
This process entirely replaced
drawn glass throughout
the world

45 YEARS AGO

Philip W. Anderson and Nevill F. Mott received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their studies on the structure and electrical behaviour of glass

NEXT
PANELS
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17