During the initial design consultation, the requirement for cast and polished glass panels was communication along with an initial design featuring a border and a central shell motif. As additional requirement was that external glazing panels would be located behind these cast panels - so needed access integrated for cleaning. This initial meeting also allowed the Daedalian Glass Studios team to communicate the technical and feasibility opportunities / limitations when casting glass - framing the further discussion around design development options.

After conducting the initial consultation meeting, and agreeing on potential design options, Daedalian Glass Studios sketched up design proposals for sign-off. Once a design was agreed in principal, a detailed quote for works was submitted, which also detailed value engineering and value adding options during the for manufacture.

During the design origination and control sampling stages, the multiple options for realising the cast glass design were explored further. These included:

• Cast glass panels with polished negative areas and polished motifs
• Cast glass panels with polished negative areas and frosted (sandblasted) motifs
• Cast glass panels with hand-drilled privacy detailing in negative areas and frosted motifs
• Cast glass panels with frosted negative areas and frosted motifs
• Value-engineered option to realise the design through deep-carve glass etching (sandblasting) rather than cast glass.

Once the final design direction was agreed upon (Cast glass panels with polished negative areas and frosted (sandblasted) motifs), and the final control sample signed-off, the studio could begin production.

Due to the long lead-time to create these bespoke works of art, temporary glazing panels were created in etched glass and installed whilst the client awaited the final pieces.

The first step was for modelling board to be CNC cut, to give a rough building block of the cast glass motifs. These modelling boards were then sanded to a smooth finish, and wax applied to allow the studio team to hand-carve fine detailing.

Once the modelling process was complete, silicone master moulds were created and then in turn plaster refractory moulds for use in the kiln. Casting glass billets were then placed into the plaster refractory moulds, and fired in our glass kilns.

Post-firing, the glass castings were moved to the cold-working room to undergo the linishing and fettling stages. Fettling involves the removal of excess material from the raw casting whilst linishing is the process by which the surface is worked on to create a finely polished and consistent finish.

As cast glass cannot be toughened, these panels were then laminated to 6mm thick toughened low-iron glass to form a safety glass. This ensured that the installation was compliant with all relevant British standard building codes (BS Codes).

The final stage on manufacturing was to carefully mask up the finely polished negative areas and sandblast the cast motifs to create a frosted finish. Following this, the glass was fitted into its frameworks with integrated LED lighting all-round ready for installation.

Daedalian Glass Studios team travelled to site with the panels and provided an installation service, working alongside the site team of the general contractor.