Engineers are currently using various concepts for the analysis and design of structural elements made of glass. There is no general agreement on a certain design concept yet. All available design concepts suffer from more or less severe drawbacks and their applicability is limited to special cases.

The present paper discusses the present knowledge in the field of structural glass design. The aim is not so much to explain every single detail related to the application of the concepts, but at working out the bases and focusing on difficulties and limitations. The paper provides an overview for anyone interested in the topic and aims at serving as a basis for discussions on desirable improvements to current design concepts and for research work on the topic.