ABSTRACT
The abstract and flat representation of public places at the end of the nineteenth century had gradually alienated large parts of the public from positive engagement with their urban environment. Contextually responsive surroundings as a source of delight were not valued and were sacrificed for more efficient' and industrially driven aesthetics. Glass as a faade material started to influence the reconstruction of the public place in the Western world. Meaningful place is defined in this chapter as the sphere where conscious reflection takes place. Such a sphere should aim to enhance local experience and make local visual information explicit and understood by inhabitants as well as other users. The design of openings, and in particular glass windows that admit light to the interior of a dark space, gives a clear visual character to a building's face and this, in turn, helps the building to influence the characteristics of a place.
