A curtain wall system is an outer covering of a building in which the

outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep the weather out and the
occupants in. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a
lightweight material, reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the
curtain wall, a great advantage is that natural light can penetrate deeper
within the building. The curtain wall façade does not carry any dead load
weight from the building other than its own dead load weight. The wall
transfers horizontal wind loads that are incident upon it to the main building
structure through connections at floors or columns of the building. A
curtain wall is designed to resist air and water infiltration, sway induced by
wind and seismic forces acting on the building, and its own dead load weight
forces.
• External wall with large area glazed portion that carries no superimposed
load except wind load is usually termed as curtain walls
• A curtain wall system is a lightweight exterior cladding which is hung on
the building structure, usually from floor to floor.
• Very large building envolop(say, up to 50000 sq m)
• HIGH WIND situations (wind speed up to 60m/s)
• Thunderstorm situations
• Extreme temperature difference
• Exposure to salty or polluted atmosphere
• Long period of air-conditioning/cooling time
• strength and stability –dead load and wind load
• weather resistance –ability to keep out water & wind
• thermal insulation and condensation –max 30W/sq m
• sound insulation –25dB or above
• fire resistance –usually no specific requirement if enough separating
distance from relevant boundary is provided

(source: wikipedia)
Curtain walls consist of two basic components:
• Glass
• Frame
The Frame :
• Composed of steel, aluminum, multi-laminate glass, or other resilient
material.
• The frame is the support grid that holds the glass in place

(source: wikipedia)
Components of Curtain Wall
1. Anchors
2. Mullion
3. Transoms
4. Spandrel Panel 1
5. Vision Glass

2 3

5
(source: wikipedia)
Curtain wall systems can be classified as
1. Stick system
2. Unitized System
3. Unit and Mullion system,
4. Panel system,
5. Column-cover and Spandrel system
6. Point-loaded structural glazing systems

(source: wikipedia)
Stick: Piece-built and glazed on site
• The term “stick” refers to the factory-
cut mullions and transoms which are
transported to site as loose bars or
sticks
• Curtain wall in stick system is a cladding
and exterior wall system which is hung
on the building structure from floor to
floor
• Framing members may be fabricated in
a shop, but all installation and glazing is
typically performed at the jobsite.
In the stick system, mullions (sticks) are
fabricated in the shop and installed and glazed
in the field. Sticks are placed between floors
vertically to support individual components,
such as horizontal mullions, glazing, and
spandrels. Loads are transferred through
connections at floors or columns. SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
Stick System installing methods:
• Curtain Wall members are fixed piece
by piece
• Vertical members are usually installed
1st, from slab to slab
• Horizontal transom members in turn
are fixed to mullions
• Finally glass / granite / Aluminum
panels would be fixed
Typical stick system wall –
The Gateway at
Tsim Sha Tsui

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
Unitized: Pre-built with glazing in a shop.
Erected on site

• Unitized systems are composed of

modulated panels that are fabricated in
factory and delivered to site in1-piece
for installation
• Provide fully glazing and/or the
spandrel panels, incorporated with the
required insulation and other
architectural features
• Usually spanned in a floor-to-floor
arrangement and may be designed in a
number of standard/optional panels
such as fully glazed, glazed with opaque
panels
• Requiring very limited second-fixed
installation works on site SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
UCW Installation
• Units are assembled & glazed in factory
• Usually all components are included within the
units
• Panels are packed on metal or timber pallets
• Transported to site by semi trailers
• Hoisted to required floor level by tower crane
• Site installation teams shall install individual
panels to designated areas

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
Typical unitized
system wall –the
Cheung Kong Center

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
This is a combination of the stick
system and the unit system and
may be regarded as a
compromise of the two. It is
more suitable for use in medium-
sized projects so as to balance
the factors of lead time, ease of
installation and economy of scale

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
Close up of the mullion frame at the external
faces of building SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
• A panel curtain wall system is similar to
a unit system
• Difference being that a panel system
has homogeneous sheet or cast panel
with few joints and may not have
separate mullions
• Its use is more limited to certain kinds
of buildings like :
-Those of standardized design for low-
income classes or
-For buildings of industrial purposes .

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
• Column Cover and Spandrel System articulate the
building frame by aligning mullions to structural
columns. Pre-assembled or field-assembled infill
units of glass or opaque panels are fitted
between the column covers.
• Column-cover-and-spandrel system consists of
column covers, which are usually made of alloyed
aluminum metal sheet or other laminated/ fiber -
reinforced sheet, and with glazing components
and spandrel panels that fit between them. It
resembles certain similarity to a unit and mullion
system except that the structure of the building is
exemplified by the column covers.
GLAZING AREA

SPANDREL AREA

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
• In this system, the vertical framing member can
be comprised of stick, cable, or another custom
structure behind the glass.
• Glass is supported by a system of four-point
brackets (’spider) and the joints are sealed with
silicone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHBLnKR_n68

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
1. Firm, graceful structure and exquisite, practical
components can integrate the metal structure
and the permeability of glass to achieve
harmony between interior space and exterior
space of the building.
2. As the glass is connected to the spider by
rotating bolts, it is perfect for accommodation
of movement

SOURCE: http://www.buildings.com/article-
details/articleid/6216/title/shedding-light-on-curtainwall-systems.aspx)
Compared with the reinforced concrete
structure, it is much higher, larger and lighter.
Therefore, it is widely used in the building,
for example, high-rise buildings, large public
buildings (such as stadiums, airports,
theaters, and large factories), etc.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
• Less exterior wall thickness more interior floor space
• Less weight smaller foundations less money
• Prefabrication ,Increased insulation and sealing qualities
• Prefabrication less time, less money
• Many materials to choose from more aesthetically pleasing than traditional
concrete surfaces
• Can produce simple, neat and elegant building form
• Make the dead load of a building lighter due to the omission of solid external
walls
• Provide a reliable and almost maintenance-free external envelop for building

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
• One of the major disadvantages of curtain walls is the need for regular
maintenance.
• In order to keep out moisture and wind, a sealant must be applied to the
perimeter, and this sealant must be replaced every 10 years or so.
• Another major disadvantage of curtain walls is the cost and time required to
install them.
• Curtain walls utilizing the stick system, for example, require a great deal of
time to assemble, and their performance depends on the quality of the
installation.
• Unitized curtain walls consist of factory-assembled frames which reduces
installation time and cost but incurs greater costs for shipping and storage.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA