TECHNICAL ADVICE

Which Glazing Is Right for Your Architecture Style?

Architectural styles differ in every country. Architecture is art, a way to conceptualise thoughts in brick and mortar and it is often influenced by social and political factors at the time.

Each architectural style has its own set of defining characteristics, and it can be difficult to know which glazing system and design best suits each architectural style.

The team at Sieger have put together a guide to help ensure you choose the right glazing for your project.

If the architectural style of your project is not mentioned here, feel free to get in touch with the Sieger team who will be able to advise you of the best systems for your project.

traditional English style home with red brickwork and a juliet balcony and peaked roofs

Scandinavian Architecture

When it comes to Scandinavian architecture style, some of the defining characteristics include minimalism, working with nature, natural light and a neutral colour scheme. Many of Sieger’s slim framed aluminium glazing systems can be designed to suit this architectural style perfectly.

The ultra slim frames and minimalistic design of Sieger glazing systems allows them to work in harmony with the minimalistic design of these homes. The aluminium frames can also be finished with a polyester powder coating in any RAL colour to blend in seamlessly with any internal or external building finishes.

The range of RAL colours available for the frames includes a variety of neutral and off-white tones, and the high levels of clarity in the glass panes means our systems cause no disruption to the neutral and minimal home style.

Biophilic design, including working with nature and natural light, is another important characteristic of Scandinavian architecture style. Large glass panes such as the oversized panes on the XL slim sliding door allow in a vast amount of natural light, simplicity of the systems also don’t disrupt any surrounding natural landscapes.

Cropley street double height extension with floor to ceiling slim sliding glass doors and house plants for a Scandinavian architecture style and minimal interior deisng
period property in the English countryside with a modern glass extension using an aluminium casement door and structural glazing

Period properties

Period properties tend to be defined as traditional architecture that predates the first world war. This includes Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian architectural styles, as well as older cottage homes which are often seen in rural English areas.

Slim aluminium frames are good for replacing existing steel windows which were a popular choice when these homes were built. Most Sieger systems are designed with ultra slim aluminium framing making them ideal for fitting in to replace old steel framed glazing systems.

To take it a step further, our Sieger Legacy Range has been designed specifically to be steel look. Optional applied glazing bars means that the industrial style steel aesthetic can be copied using aluminium framing.

Aluminium framed glazing has many advantages over steel framed glazing such as being more cost effective and lightweight, however some people still favour steel glazing as they prefer the aesthetic.

Our Sieger legacy range allows people to have all the benefits of thermally broken aluminium framing with the visual benefits of steel systems. The Legacy range, or any of Sieger’s aluminium slim framed glazing is excellent for replacement windows on these types of properties.

For these more traditional style properties, some people prefer something a bit more modern. Glass extensions can be a great way to bring a contemporary touch to a traditional home.

Art Deco

This was a short lived but extremely influential architectural style that was affluent in America and Europe from the 1920s to the 1940s. Not many homes are built in this style but for homeowners wanting something unique and usual with some history, this architectural style is an excellent choice.

When it comes to glazing for this architectural style decorative glazing and unusual style and shapes were extremely popular. It also utilises metals such as chrome, aluminium and steel.

Bold colours were a big part of this architectural movement and the bold frames on the Sieger 45 Sliding Glass door or certain Sieger windows, finished with a polyester powder coating in a bright or contrasting colour would be a prime example of the art deco glazing style.

art deco style aluminium window with bright bold frames with glazing bars and blue window frames
Cycladic architecture style on a villa in Greece which featured aluminium slim sliding doors and a sieger lux aluminium bifold door

Cycladic

Mostly scene in Greece, this architectural style is heavily influenced by the landscape, climate and environment. The warm climate and stretches of stunning landscape mean the buildings need to be designed to have high levels of ventilation and white is often used for external building finishes to reflect the sunlight away to prevent overheating in the internal living spaces.

By using large glass doors such as the Sieger XL Sliding Door or the Sieger Super Lux Bifold Door, this allows the large glass doors to be opened allowing for a huge amount of ventilation and airflow throughout the home.

A defining characteristic of this architecture style is sharp corners, high levels of ventilation and a minimalistic design. The neat pointed corners of the ultra-slim aluminium framed glazing mimics the sharp corners of the crisp white external building. Using a large amount of glazing embodies elegant simplicity, shying away from bold framing or colours.

 

Modern

This architecture style was inspired by the modernism art movement that lasted until around the 1960s. Some defining characteristics of this architecture style include walls of glass, large windows and open floorplans and a flow of natural light throughout the property.

To create entire walls of glass, Invisio structural glazing can be used or our Sieger XL sliding glass door can reach or to 4m wide per pane as well at staggering heights of up to 4m. This means that the sliding glass door system can be used to create an entire sliding glass wall, which would embody the modern style perfectly.

Alternatively, our Sieger HD Casement window can reach impressive sizes or up to 2.5m tall and over 1.7m wide for top or bottom hung opening configurations. The system can reach larger sizes when in a fixed configuration, and the maximum size for a fixed Sieger HD casement has to be calculated on a project-to-project basis.

This architectural style was overtaken by contemporary architecture from about the 1960s onwards.

modern architecture style with open plan spaces and an internal courtyard and glass walls made form corner opening slim sliding glass doors
contemporary architecture with uneven slanted roofing and a floating terrace with aluminium bifolding doors and a contemporary Juliet balcony design

Contemporary

Contemporary architecture, which many people assume is the same as modern due to the similarity in the definition of the words, is a broad term that differs significantly to ‘modern’ architecture.

This architecture style covers most designs from the 1960s onwards, and it more of an umbrella term than an actual architectural style. Contemporary buildings can differ drastically in look and style.

It is all about building homes in new and innovative ways, and utilising modern advances in architecture and building materials. This includes highly engineered, fully thermally broken glazing systems from Sieger.

Our aluminium frames systems are extremely flexible in design and push the boundaries of modern architectural glazing, making them the perfect fit for these types of buildings.

Industrial

The industrial architecture style utilises old industrial buildings such as factories and warehouses and renovating them to turn into luxury homes and flats. Due to the original uses for these buildings, they tend to have high ceilings, concrete building finishes and large windows with bars.

These styles of homes often benefit from an abundance of large windows that maximise the natural light entering the internal space. They also tend to have a pretty minimal aesthetic, with many interiors of these homes following a clean and greyscale monochrome internal colour scheme.

If the glazing bars are something a homeowner desires, our Sieger Legacy Range would be ideal for this architectural style. If glass windows and doors with no obstruction to natural light or views are desired, we have a wide range of slim framed aluminium glazing systems such as the Sieger Slim Casement Window or Sieger Lux Bifold Door.

 

Our technical team are on hand to ensure you choose the right glazing for your project.

Call 01494 722 882 or email [email protected]

industrial style home with a minimal design and large windows and glazing elevation with glazing bars to suit the traditional industrial aesthetic

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