8.

1 General
Unitised curtain walling was developed to overcome the problems associated with
the installation of stick systems (see Chapter 7) and to reduce the on-site installa-
tion time. It consists of large panels, usually as big as can be transported from the
factory to site. Typically, unitised panels are storey height and 1.5m wide. In their
most developed form these panels can be storey height and up to 9m long.
As manufactured in the factory, the panels contain all the necessary elements that
the external building fabric would require: external weathering elements, insula-
tion, vapour barrier, structural framing, fire protection, vision panels and internal
finish. This type of panel can be considered as a basic building block or unit of con-
struction and is referred to as a unitised panel.
The external weathering element is frequently made of metal or natural stone in the
non-vision areas and of double-glazed units in the vision areas. One design variant
to create depth or light effects in the spandrel zone is a shadow-box construction
where the spandrel area is made up of a single- or double-glazed unit, an air cavity
and an insulated panel on the inside
Installation of unitised systems on the building is relatively simple and can be car-
ried out from the floor slabs inside the building, therefore eliminating the need
Fig. 8.1 Erection of a unitised curtain-wall system for external scaffolding (Fig. 8.1, Fig. 8.2). Since most of the work is factory-based,
(without PV).
Photo: Nicolò Guariento the complete operation can be organised, carried out and supervised much more
effectively and efficiently than the work required for a site-assembled system, as is
required for the stick system.
Unitised systems are particularly suited to highly articulated façades providing
visual interest which are often finished in heavy materials, for example natural
stone. They therefore tend to be used on the more prestigious city-centre commer-
cial developments where the cladding would be of bespoke nature and therefore
in the middle to high cost range.

floor slab

unitised panels

glazed module
aluminium transom

possible PV module
aluminium mullion

floor bracket

Fig. 8.2 Schematic of unitised curtain-wall storage

on site and the erection process from inside without
the need for external scaffolding.

100 8. UNITISED CURTAIN WALLS