Glass brick, or alternatively glass block, is a glass architectural element that admits light while maintaining visual privacy due to its translucent properties. The original patent for glass brick, filed in 1907, describes it as a process of fusing two sections of glass into a single block with a hollow center. This unique combination facilitates the material’s translucence and thus its properties of light-giving and privacy, as well its insulating qualities such as sound deadening, energy insulation, and fireproofing. These blocks can be any variety of sizes, but are usually at least two to three inches thick. During the manufacturing process, they can be altered in a variety of ways to achieve different aesthetic effects or levels of transparency, including by varying the texture or color of the blocks, creating different shapes such as hexagons, or curving the blocks as part of a predetermined design. Similarly, glazes or inserts may be added to each block, or patterns can be pressed either into the interior space or outer surface while it is cooling.