The practice-led research is concerned with the changes to the material vocabulary available to the glass artist as a result of developments in technology. Many stained glass artists continue to use a one hundred year old vocabulary in the production of works for contemporary buildings. In this research programme, the potential of a relatively new material - dichroic glass - is explored and an appropriate aesthetic developed. Dichroic glass is selected as focus in the research due to its unique qualities of reflection and transmission of specific wavelengths of light. Thin films technology has resulted in its production and is able to transform standard float glass into a magical material with enormous aesthetic potential. The approach to the application of the material is essentially a response as an artist to its unique qualities, but this approach is informed by a study of historical precedence and contemporary practice, which sets the context within which the research is carried out. The vital importance of light as the phenomena with which artists designing glass for architecture are primarily concerned, is revealed by this contextual study. The relationship of artistdesigned glass to its architectural" context is examined and in-depth case studies reveal the approaches of three contemporary artists. Personal practice is thus linked to contemporary practice and historical precedent. Developments in glass technology are reviewed and the current and developing functions of glass in architecture are outlined. This study establishes the wider context within which the artist, designing glass for contemporary architecture, is working. A study of thin film technology places dichroic glass within its technical framework. In depth analysis of how dichroics are produced and the subsequent production of a range of samples gives valuable insight into the nature of the material. The research uses a range of methods to address the artistic application of dichroic glass. To utilise the unique qualities of the material, forms are developed both in experimental models and in existing architectural settings. In seeking to enhance the experience of architectural space, the design of forms are developed in response to the particular lighting conditions of the chosen contexts. The various strands of the research work together to uncover data which would assist artists and designers in their approach to the architectural application of dichroic glass. The methods explored and developed provide useful tools for other practitioners in their approach to design.

This paper is an investigation into the crossroads of traditional and contemporary glass craft techniques. Through innovative methods in the workshop I have set out to bring glass into the public sphere using the potential for handcraft in architecture.

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Cette thèse se consacre aux découvertes en verre d’époque gallo-romaine (récipients, petits objets et verre architectural) effectuées sur les territoires des Mandubiens (Alésia), des Lingons (Langres et Mirebeau) et des Séquanes (Mandeure-Mathay), situés en Bourgogne et en Franche-Comté. À l’époque antique, cette zone constituait un des principaux carrefours du nord-est de la Gaule et le faciès du mobilier en verre en témoigne. Celui-ci est en effet composé d’importations du bassin rhodanien, de la Suisse occidentale, de Rhénanie et même d’Italie et de Méditerranée orientale. Cependant l’examen du répertoire des formes et de certains éléments caractéristiques liés à l’artisanat verrier indique que les besoins de vaisselle en verre devaient être principalement assurés par des ateliers régionaux. Par ailleurs, la confrontation des assemblages de mobilier issu de sites de nature différente (domestique, artisanale, cultuelle, funéraire) indique qu’une vaisselle en verre d’usage courant devait être choisie pour répondre à des besoins ou pratiques particuliers. Ainsi une étude comparative soutenue par une analyse statistique des ensembles de verreries peut contribuer à la caractérisation de sites archéologiques. / This PhD thesis is devoted to the findings of glass material (recipients, small objects and architectural glass) dated to the Gallo-roman era in Mandubian (Alésia), Lingon (Langres et Mirebeau), and Sequanian (Mandeure-Mathay) territories, situated in Burgundy and Frank-County. In Antiquity, this area constituted one of the main crossroads of North-Eastern Gaul, a situation which is corroborated by the features of the findings glass in the region. It is composed of numerous imports from the Rhone basin, western Switzerland, the Rhine region and even Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean. However the present investigation of the available repertory of shapes and of certain elements representative of distinctive glassmakers indicates that the needs in glass vessel must have been primarily fulfilled by regional workshops. Moreover a confrontation of the different ensembles of from sites of various nature (domestic, handicraft, religious, funerary) indicates that vessel of common usage were specifically chosen to meet particular needs or practices. In this way, a comparative study supported by a statistical analysis of glass ensembles contributes to the characterization of archeological sites.