Hi  Christoper,

In old days, use of glass in construction consider fragile and had very limited application. People use wooden panels in window shutters. By passage of time use of glass in window panels starts instead of wooden panels. A great revolution comes in construction especially in urban development, use of glass become necessary. Now use of quality glass becomes unavoidable in construction work.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using glass in construction:

Advantages:

1. Use of glass in construction work adds beauty to the building.
2. Its use fulfills the architectural view for external decoration.
3. By using glass in interior, it saves the space inside the building.
4. Glass cladding in building fulfill functional requirement of lighting, heat retention and energy saving.
5. Its use appear a sense of openness and harmonious.
6. As toughened glass is available, one can have good interior design with the use of glass in transparent staircase, colored shelves, ceiling etc.
7. Glass is an excellent material for thermal insulation, water proofing and energy conservation.
8. Glass is bad conductor of heat; it saves energy in air conditioning of building.
9. For making glass partition on upper floors, no extra design is required for slab as glass is light in weight.

Here are some images of glass

Now some disadvantages:

1. As glass is very costly material, it may increase the budgeted cost of construction work.
2. Use of glass also enhances the cost of security.
3. Its use in hilly area and desert may cause more maintenance cost.
4. Glass is also unsafe for earthquake proven area.

Enjoy