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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