Can you suggest and explain one disadvantage of using glass in buildings?

Answer 1

It breaks easily....."as in people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Also it conducts heat differently---that's how they make greenhouses.

Also, you can see through it, so you either have to tint it or cover it to have privacy.

Answer 2

There are a lot of reasons:

Low strength; so unable to share the stress loads. Tall, slender glass buildings would break under their own weight for example.

Transmits radiant heat; so interiors can gain heat from outside sources (like the Sun) or lose heat when the outside is dark. Thus, a steady interior temperature is harder to maintain unless special technologies are invoked (like window blinds).

Privacy from outside viewers would be an issue without special technologies, like opaque glass.

Difficult to work with if irregular shapes are needed. Glass is mallible only when heated and treated in special kilns and by special tools. By comparison, some metal can be bent while cold and retain their strength and new shape. [Glass bricks, however, can be used to create irregular shapes in much the same way clayey bricks are used.]

Glass in high buildings is a constant threat to people below who might be underneath a falling glass pane or its shards. This is a not infrequent happening during earthquakes in a city with highrises. But, to a point, sloughing brick facades have the same effect...they, too, are a threat during earthquakes.

Of the above, the lack of load bearing capability and the difficulty in working irregular shapes are probably the biggest disadvantages of using glass in buildings.

Answer 3

The biggest disadvantage is solar heat gain and heat loss thru glass. Glass does not have the same resistance to heat and cold as walls do.Therefore, the more glass the larger the heating & cooling cost you have to pay. There are certain kinds of glass that can resist heat & cold but the initial cost to install is cost prohibitive to an average homeowner or commercial installation. Glass can add a lot of decor to any structure, but with a cost.