CURTAIN WALL

STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS
 DEFINATION
In strictest architectural parlance, a curtainwall is any non-load-bearing
exterior wall that hangs (like a curtain) from the face of floor slabs, regardless
of construction or cladding material. However, in common usage, the term
curtainwall usually refers to aluminium- framed systems carrying glass,
panels, louvers, or occasionally, granite or marble.

A curtain wall is defined as thin, usually

aluminium-framed wall, containing in-
fills of glass, metal panels, or thin stone.
The framing is attached to the building
structure and does not carry the floor or
roof loads of the building.
 Cladding System
The Curtain Wall

The Curtain Wall

The first steel-framed skyscrapers, built late in the
19th century, introduced the concept of the curtain wall, an
exterior cladding supported at each story by the frame. The
name curtain wall derives from the idea that the wall is
thin and hangs like a curtain on the structural frame.

Stick systems have a high degree of ability to adjust to

unforeseen site conditions, but they must be assembled on
site, under highly variable conditions, rather than in a factory
with its ideal tooling, controlled environmental conditions,
and lower wage rates.
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The earliest curtain walls were constructed of masonry. The

principal advantage of the curtain wall is that, because it
bears no vertical load, it can be thin and light in weight
regardless of the height of the building, as compared to a
masonry load-bearing wall, which may become prohibitively
t hick and weighty at the base of a very tall building. Curtain
walls may be constructed of any noncombustible material
that is suitable for exposure to the weather. They may be
either constructed in place or prefabricated. Curtain walls
may be made of masonry and concrete or made of metal
and glass. Some types of walls are constructed in place, and
others are prefabricated, but all are supported by the frame
of the building.
 Cladding System

Modes of Assembly
Metal curtain wall systems can be classified according
to their degree or mode of assembly at the time of
installation on the building. Many metal-and-glass curtain
walls are furnished as stick systems whose principal
components are metal mullions and rectangular panels of
glass and spandrel material that are assembled in place on
the building.
 Cladding System

The unit system of curtain wall installation takes full advantage

of factory assembly and minimizes on site labor, but the
units require more space during shipping and more
protection from damage than stick system components. The
unit-and-mullion system which is seldom used today, offers a
middle ground between the stick and unit systems.
 Cladding System

The panel system is made up of homogenous units that are

formed from metal sheet. Its advantages and disadvantages
are similar to those of the unit system, but its production
involves the higher tooling costs of a custom-made die or
mold, which makes it advantageous only for a building that
requires a large number of identical panels.
 Cladding System

The column-cover-and-spandrel system emphasizes the

structural module of the building rather than creating its
own grid on the facade, as the previously described systems
do. A custom design must be created for each project
because there is no standard column or floor spacing for
buildings. Special care is required in detailing the spandrel
panel support to ensure that the panels do not deflect when
loads are applied to the spandrel beams of the building
frame; otherwise, the window strips could be subjected to
loadings that would deform the mullions and crack the glass.
DIFFERENT TYPES
OF CURTAIN WALL
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