Glazing Safety - Manifestations

You may have noticed, as you walked into a shopping centre or office building, that some large areas of glass contain strange patterns, dots, stripes or even whole landscape patterns. Could these shapes be the result of architects releasing their hidden artistic frustrations?

Possibly, but a more likely these are MANIFESTATIONS - a strategically placed safety measure.

Under certain conditions - glass can be difficult to see which can be dangerous to the unsuspecting public or employee. A particular risk area is the use of extensive areas of uninterrupted, transparent, door height glazing in non-domestic buildings, where the glazing may not be immediately apparent and is not separating obviously different levels.

The use of manifestations represent an active attempt to reduce and avoid accidents which would otherwise occur in these situations. Manifestations usually take the form of simple squares, solid blocks, patterns or sometimes text. They can be applied by physically etching the glass or by applying film to the glass surface and some businesses also make use of manifestations as an additional branding opportunity.

As with all safety measures however, there are strict parameters and any manifestation has to fall within the building regulations, health and safety legal requirements for glass doors, partitions, windows etc.