online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703428604575418680197041878.htmlThe Toledo Museum of Art's $30 million Glass Pavilion is a symbol of America's "Glass City," and reflects the legacy of its local glassmakers. China has become a powerhouse in the global glass industry.
But massive production doesn't always mean high-quality output. WSJ's James T. Areddy reports from Shahe, known as China's Glass City.
A smudge on the image: The pavilion glass was imported from China, the new global powerhouse of the glass industry.
No one in the U.S. had the capability to satisfy cutting-edge architectural specifications for the curving pavilion, even though the 2006 job involved techniques advanced decades ago by Toledo inventors: bending and laminating glass. The pavilion features 360 thick glass panels, each up to 13.5 feet tall, eight feet wide and weighing over 1,300 pounds.
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