Articulated in glass, Marina Bay Sands, designed by Moshe Safdie and Associates, will provide the stage and the backdrop to Glasstech Asia 2010, the only glass exhibition in Southeast Asia.

There’s no doubt that Singapore is one of the best cities in the world, chiefly because this island state, with no debts to the past, has constantly innovated itself, surprising people with dramatic changes despite the limited availability of land. Instead of being a liability, their size on the map has led its urban planners to build vertically, charging the city center with a true cosmopolitan air. A wrong stop in the MRT station two years ago revealed to me a city perpetually shifting: furious construction was being done at the Marina Bay Center where The Sands (among other developments), the world-famous lifestyle/entertainment franchise, would soon emerge.

Aside from Marina Bay Sands designed by Moshe Safdie, the city is bracing itself for other projects that will interrogate the notion of “Singabore.” First is the already constructed mixed use development in Beach Road designed by Pritzker laureate Norman Foster. The scheme, which encapsulates the idea of “city in a garden,” features an eco-quarter of vertical residences, hotels, and retail spaces, highlighted on the ground level by a canopy of “ribbon-forms that flex above the primary circulation routes.”

Other “starchitects” who are poised to give the city an architectural jolt include Zaha Hadid (a condominium in Farrer Road), Daniel Libeskind (Reflections at Keppel Road), Jean Nouvel (Le Nouvel Ardmore) and Toyo Ito (Belle Vue Residence in Oxley Walk).

With the construction of these vertical structures, most of the architects will invariably clad the façade with glass—a material that is the hallmark of contemporary architecture. Transparent, expressive, and lightweight, glass liberates a building from its monolithic, brooding look, infusing it with a certain grace and openness, especially when the structure lights up and reveals its form by radiance. Collectively, buildings made of glass define the cityscape at nightfall, stirring romantic ideas and giving assurance to the civilization they symbolize.

It’s no surprise that Glasstech Asia 2010 (www.glasstechasia.com.sg) will be held in Singapore from June 29 to July 1. Marina Bay Sands will provide the stage and the backdrop to this biennial exhibition—the development, after all, is characterized by towers articulated in glass. Around 120 exhibitors from 21 countries will participate in the three-day event, showcasing the latest in glass processing, technology, and accessories. Part of the exhibition is the segment called Solartech Asia which will shine a spotlight on the latest innovation in solar technology. Not too many people know that in order for solar cells to work effectively, they have to be embedded between sheets of glass.

Another interesting highlight, which actually extends the idea of sustainable energy, is the Green Technology Showcase. “It will be a pavilion entirely dedicated to presenting products in the industry that practice green technology and processes,” says Steven Tan, exhibition director of the company organizing Glasstech Asia. “Given the growing momentum of gearing to the ‘green’ movement, the Green Technology Showcase provides the perfect opportunity and platform to show the involvement of companies to this sector.”

This emphasis in green technology is important since glass, in order to produce it, needs a tremendous amount of energy. As we know, we are still burning fuel to create energy which then sends carbon emissions into the atmosphere, wreaking environmental havoc. Recent innovations are geared towards manufacturing glass using less energy and treating glass in order to minimize the energy used in a building where it is placed. Mr. Tan cites the Louis Vuitton Crystal Pavilion, located in Marina Bay, where “the glass is called Low-E glass which blocks away radiation and infrared and but doesn’t compromise the light that comes inside,” thereby lessening the use of aircon to cool the space.

Mr. Tan hopes that Filipino architects and developers can attend Glasstech Asia 2010, since they are in the position to introduce these glass innovations to the country. Now that most developments lean toward the vertical and inevitably require glass as building material, it pays to keep up with the rest of the world on the latest glass solutions not only for reasons aesthetic, but for ecological as well.