# Glass floor > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Glass_floor > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Glass_floor.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_floor > Source revision: 1335546409 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Flooring composed of transparent or translucent glass}} {{about|an architectural feature|limitations on career advancement|Glass ceiling|the 2004 ''Maritime'' album|Glass Floor|the short story by Stephen King|The Glass Floor}} [[File:Ostankino glass floor.JPG|thumb|upright|Glass floor at [Ostankino Tower](/source/Ostankino_Tower), [Moscow, Russia](/source/Moscow%2C_Russia)]] [[File:US Navy 050507-N-5595G-001 A mother and daughter look at Roman Era findings that are visible through the floor in the new Navy Exchange (NEX), which recently opened at the Gricignano Support Site.jpg|thumb|upright|Glass in-floor [display case](/source/display_case) showing Roman artifacts in [Naples, Italy](/source/Naples%2C_Italy)]] '''Glass floors''' are made with [transparent](/source/Transparency_(optics)) glass when it is useful to view something from above or below; whereas [translucent](/source/translucent) glass is used when there is no need to view through. In either case, [toughened glass](/source/toughened_glass) is usually chosen, for its durability and resistance to breakage. ==Flooring== [[File:Opportunity.jpg|thumb|The glass floor is also used in general [office](/source/office)s for [design](/source/design) purposes.]] Translucent floors are sometimes set into outdoor sidewalks and pavements, or the floors of well-lit interior spaces, to [daylight](/source/Daylighting_(architecture)) the space below. These are generally called [pavement lights](/source/pavement_lights), and have a long history.{{Citation | title = Seattle Prism Light Reconnaissance Study | author = Institute for Public Service, Seattle University, Marie Wong|display-authors=etal | year = 2011 | url =http://allianceforpioneersquare.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Seattle-Prism-Light-Reconnaissance-Study.pdf }} Glass as a flooring material is used in both residential and commercial structures. Special hollow [glass block](/source/glass_block)s known as '"glass [paver](/source/paver_(flooring))s" are often used in combination with a metal [frame](/source/Space_frame). Glass floors are often lit from below with natural or artificial light, or may be treated as ordinary floor surfaces illuminated from above. A German manufacturer of [squash court](/source/squash_court) floors has diversified into making glass floors for other sports, such as a [glass basketball court](/source/glass_basketball_court). Their glass floors usually are translucent rather than transparent, and the line markings are indicated by illumination with [LED](/source/LED)s below the floor.{{cite web|title=The Floor of the Future|url=http://asbglassfloor.com/index.php|website=ASB GlassFloor|publisher=ASB Systembau GMBH|access-date=2014-06-04}} On occasion, transparent [display case](/source/display_case)s are built into the floor, such as in the [Museum of Sydney](/source/Museum_of_Sydney) in Australia, where the remains of drains and [privies](/source/Outhouse) are shown in their original context, along with other [archeological artifact](/source/archeological_artifact)s.{{cite web|title=Museum of Sydney Guidebook|url=http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/guidebooks/museum_of_sydney_guidebook|work=Sydney Living Museums|publisher=Historic Houses Trust of NSW|access-date=2014-01-03|quote=Underfloor: The remains of first Government House’s drains and privies are exposed below the floor. Also displayed is a selection of relics, ruins and rubbish from the house retrieved by archaeologists in the 1980s.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110024216/http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/guidebooks/museum_of_sydney_guidebook|archive-date=2014-01-10|url-status=dead}} ==Tourist attractions== Usually made of a [toughened glass](/source/toughened_glass) which is also [laminated](/source/Laminated_glass) for structural strength, a transparent floor is most commonly used as a [tourist attraction](/source/tourism). [Glass-bottom boat](/source/Glass-bottom_boat)s are popular for allowing a better view into the [body of water](/source/body_of_water). At 4000 feet (1219 m), the highest glass floor above ground is the novel outdoor application of the [Grand Canyon Skywalk](/source/Grand_Canyon_Skywalk), operated by the [Hualapai](/source/Hualapai) Indian tribe.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} The highest above ground level in a freestanding structure is in [Lotte World Tower](/source/Lotte_World_Tower) in [Seoul](/source/Seoul), [South Korea](/source/South_Korea) at 1,568 feet (478 m).{{Cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/456735-highest-glass-floor-observation-deck/|title=Highest glass-floor observation deck|website=Guinness World Records|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-12-08}} In May 2014, the top layer of a glass floor spontaneously shattered in "the Ledge", a popular tourist attraction more than {{convert|1500|ft|m}} above street level, near the top of the [Willis Tower](/source/Willis_Tower) in [Chicago](/source/Chicago). Spokespersons for the architect ([Skidmore, Owings & Merrill](/source/Skidmore%2C_Owings_%26_Merrill)) and the tower management said that the broken glass was a protective layer, and that two other slabs of glass beneath it were strong enough to prevent anybody falling through.{{cite web|last1=Campbell-Dollaghan|first1=Kelsey|title=The Willis Tower's 103rd Floor Glass Skydeck Cracked Last Night|url=https://gizmodo.com/the-willis-towers-103rd-floor-glass-skydeck-cracked-las-1583211680|website=Gizmodo|publisher=Gizmodo.com|access-date=2014-06-04|date=May 29, 2014}}[http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-willis-tower-sky-deck-ledge-crack-261079001.html Coating on Willis Tower Skydeck's Ledge Cracks Under Tourists] Some new [planetarium](/source/planetarium)s now feature a glass floor, which allows spectators to stand near the center of a [sphere](/source/sphere) surrounded by projected images in all directions, giving the impression of floating in [outer space](/source/outer_space). For example, a small planetarium at [AHHAA](/source/AHHAA) in [Tartu](/source/Tartu), [Estonia](/source/Estonia) features such an installation, with special projectors for images below the feet of the audience, as well as above their heads.{{cite journal|last1=Aru|first1=Margus|title=Under One Dome: AHHAA Science Centre Planetarium|journal=Planetarian: Journal of the International Planetarium Society|date=March–June 2012|volume=41|issue=2|page=57|url=http://issuu.com/planetarian/docs/june2012smaller|access-date=2014-06-04}} ==Use for study== Scientific studies of locomotion and [gait](/source/gait) have used glass floors to enable views from all angles. Glass floors have also been used by artists to study [foreshortening](/source/foreshortening). The [surrealist](/source/surrealist) painter [Salvador Dalí](/source/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD) had one built in his studio to help him with the dramatic perspectives in some of his artwork.{{cite book|editor-last=Ades|editor-first=Dawn|title=Dalí's optical illusions : [Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, January 21 - March 26, 2000 : Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, April 19 - June 18, 2000; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, July 25 - October 1, 2000]|year=2000|publisher=Yale Univ. Press|location=New Haven CT|isbn=978-0300081770|pages=17–18}} ==Observatories with glass floors== File:Calgary Tower's Glass Floor.jpg|[Calgary Tower](/source/Calgary_Tower), [Calgary, Alberta](/source/Calgary), Canada File:CNTowerNastyFall.jpg|[CN Tower](/source/CN_Tower), [Toronto, Ontario](/source/Toronto), [Canada](/source/Canada) File:Glassfloor.jpg|[Spinnaker Tower](/source/Spinnaker_Tower), [Portsmouth, England](/source/Portsmouth%2C_England) File:Tokyo Tower look down window.JPG|[Tokyo Tower](/source/Tokyo_Tower), [Tokyo, Japan](/source/Tokyo%2C_Japan) File:Looking down from Tower.jpg|[Blackpool Tower](/source/Blackpool_Tower), [Lancashire, England](/source/Lancashire%2C_England) File:2017 Tower Bridge 006.jpg|[Tower Bridge](/source/Tower_Bridge), [London](/source/London) File:Willis Tower (25609258473).jpg|[Willis Tower](/source/Willis_Tower), [Chicago](/source/Chicago) ==References== {{reflist|30em}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Glass Floor}} Category:Floors Category:Glass architecture --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Glass floor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_floor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_floor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.