Due to thermal and chemical tempering the ultimate strength of glass elements can be increased and due to lamination of glass layers a limited residual load capacity of glass elements can be derived. However, structures which load bearing glass components should be designed with consideration of the material behavior. Moreover, the design should include redundant load paths for the case of glass element damage, so that an overall failure of the entire structure can be excluded. First pavilions with glass columns and first all glass bridges with glass beams have already been built.