Fig. 4.

6 An example of a curtain wall system where

the exterior walls are not required for structural sup-
port.
Photo: David Millington Photography Limited
Courtesy: Arup

4.2.3 Curtain wall systems

The widespread use of structural steel and reinforced concrete allows relatively
small columns to support large loads, so the exterior walls of buildings are not
required for structural support.

A curtain wall is any exterior wall that is attached to the building structure (Fig. 4.6)
and which does not carry the floor or roof loads of the building. The load of the
curtain wall itself is transferred 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, wind forces acting on the building and its own dead load forces.
In seismically active areas, a curtain wall must also resist seismic forces imposed
by the inertia of the curtain wall itself.

Curtain walls are also referred to as warm façades because the thermal-insulation
layer is applied directly to the surface of the building.
Curtain walls are typically designed with extruded aluminium or steel members.
The aluminium frame is usually infilled with glass, which provides an architecturally
pleasing building, as well as benefits such as daylighting. However, parameters
related to solar gain control, such as thermal comfort and visual comfort, are more
difficult to control when using highly glazed curtain walls. Other common infills
include: stone veneer, metal panels, louvres and operable windows or vents.

Curtain walls can be designed to span multiple floors. In vertical or sloped walls,
curtain walling is a well-known, standard and economical solution.
PV modules can cover the entire surface. From the point of view of performance, the
lack of rear ventilation of the PV modules, compared to a rainscreen, can cause
a reduction in output. A double-skin façade, described later, is a solution to this,
though more expensive and complex.
There are two ways of building a curtain wall:
― the stick system, erected on site
― the unitised system, prefabricated in the factory

48 4. DESIGN OF THE BUILDING ENVELOPE