The Romans first employed glass for architectural uses fitting windows in the villas and public buildings of Rome. Natural glass has been present since the creation of the earth itself, formed from certain rock types during volcanic activity, lightning or meteor collisions. People first began making glass objects over 5000 years ago in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia and by around 1600 b.c. they could produce rudimentary hollow glass containers. In early Christian times the practice of glass blowing was created and it was the Romans who developed and spread the technology across Western Europe.

The original manufacturing approach was based on the combination of calciferous sand with soda in a hot kiln. The introduction of manganese oxide allowed for the production of clear glass and in the period around 1000 a.c. potash created from the burning of trees replaced soda ash in many regions.

In the 11th century German craftsmen developed the production of glass sheets by blowing a hollow glass sphere and spinning it to create a cylinder of up to 3 metres in length and half a metre in width. The ends of the hot shape would be removed before it was cut lengthways and laid flat.

The most important development of modern times was the float process introduced in 1959 by Britain's Pilkington Brothers. This involves the pouring of molten glass across the surface of a bath of molten tin to enable a brilliant finish and excellent optical properties.