What Is a Curtain Wall?
Curtain wall is a term used to describe a building facade which does not carry any dead load from the building other than its own dead load. These loads are 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, seismic forces, and its own dead load forces.
Curtain wall is a term used to describe a building faade element, generally assembled with aluminum and glass, which spans multiple floors, and take into consideration design requirements such as: thermal expansion and contraction; seismic motion; building sway and movement; water diversion; and thermal efficiency for cost-effective heating, cooling, and lighting in a building.
Curtain walls are exterior walls or facades that do not provide any type of support to other sections of the structure. As such, the curtain wall does not bear any of the weight of the roof or any of the other walls. While a wall of this type is sometimes only decorative in nature, it can also serve a couple of important functions. One of the more important tasks of a curtain wall is to effectively function as a wind break for the remainder of the structure. Doing so helps to minimize the degree of erosion on the are of the building where the curtain wall is places, as well as helping to provide some degree of insulation from cold winds during a storm. The end result is that less stress is placed on the heating and cooling system of the building, thus keeping utility costs lower than they would be otherwise. Along with serving as a wind break, the curtain wall also can help minimize the building’s exposure to rain. By deflecting a portion of the rain, the deterioration of the building
