This work deals with the use of glass as a real structural material. An in situ non destructive process is proposed for the control of tempered glass structures, especially in joint zones. A design method is also proposed. It is based on one hand, on a limit state ensuring the structure to be perennial on long duration, and the another hand, on the finite element prediction, on every point of the structure, of both residual stresses due to tempering and stresses due to the mechanical loading. The control consists, during the life of the structure, in comparing images obtained from photoelastic analyses of the loaded structure, to images obtained from finite element analyses of the structure at the ultimate limit state used for the design.