The engineering firm behind London's 10-storey-high Sky Pool, Eckersley O'Callaghan, has demonstrated its latest glass innovation: a nine-metre-long slide (+ slideshow).
Unlike existing glass slides, such as Los Angeles's 70th-floor SkySlide, Eckersley O'Callaghan's Vidre-Slide is made using a single piece of unreinforced glass.

Another single pane of glass ? this time ridged with footholds ? is propped against the first to form steps leading to the top.
Glue and a steel base at either end of the slide are all that hold it together. This eliminates the need for extra mechanical fixings and creates uninterrupted views down through the slide.
Eckersley O'Callaghan built the nine-metre-long slide to test emerging technologies that it could one day use in its architectural work.
"Vidre-Slide exemplifies the collaborative approach between engineers and fabricators, testing the practical application of emerging glass technologies for tomorrow's structures," said Eckersley O'Callaghan associate Lisa Rammig.
"This is one of the ways in which we contribute to pushing the industry forwards."

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Eckersley O'Callaghan says the feat is made possible by the curved, semi-cylindrical shape of the hardened glass. Structural silicone adheres the two large pieces together, as well as bonding the treads to the ladder.
The British firm exhibited the Vidre...