Category: CLADDING WITH METAL AND GLASS

Metal curtain wall design is not undertaken by an architect alone; it is far too complex and specialized a process. For many buildings, the architect simply adopts a proprietary system that meets the design requirements. This puts the primary responsibility on the manufacturer and installer of the system to ensure that the proper components are…

In a double-skin façade, the wall system consists of two distinct glass cladding systems separated by an airspace that is wide enough in most cases to allow service personnel to pass between them. Such systems, also variously labeled dual-wall facades or double-skin walls, have long been popular in European building construction and have more recently begun to appear in North…

Many buildings feature glass roofs over such amenities as lobbies, restaurants, cafes, swimming pools, and garden courtyards. A glass roof presents particular problems with respect to potential water leakage, because it is impossible to neutralize the force of gravity on a surface that is not vertical. Furthermore, moisture that condenses on the interior surfaces of…

Aluminum has a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion. The coefficient for glass is less than half as much. Because the cladding of a building is exposed to air temperature fluctuations as well as direct heating by the sun, it must be provided with expansion joints to allow thermal movement to occur without damaging the…

At first glance, neither of the curtain wall systems presented in this chapter might seem to be a rainscreen design, because both use rubber gaskets to seal around the glass on the outside of the wall as well as on the inside. However, consider what would happen in either of these systems if both the…

Metal curtain wall systems can be classified according to their degree or mode of assembly at the time of installation on the building (Figure 21.10). 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 (Figure…

Aluminum framing and glass are used to construct enclosure systems of various types, including windows, entrances, storefronts, and curtain walls. Aluminum framed windows are discussed in Chapter 18. Entrances are systems of aluminum framed doors, hardware, aluminum framing, and glass typically used for commercial buildings. They may also include framing for vestibules, sidelights, transoms, and the like. Aluminum storefronts,…

Aluminum is the metal of choice for metal cladding systems for three primary reasons: It protects itself against corrosion. It accepts and holds a variety of attractive surface finishes. And it can be fabricated economically into elaborately detailed shapes by means of the process of extrusion. The principle of extrusion is easily visualized: It is like squeezing…