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Curtain walls are decorative exterior walls that act as windbreaks, protect against rain, and provide insulation. They can span multiple stories and are often made of aluminum and glazed windows. They help minimize heating and cooling costs and efficiently use daylight to illuminate the interior.
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 support the weight of the roof or other walls. While such a wall is sometimes only decorative in nature, it can also perform a couple of important functions.
One of the most important tasks of a curtain wall is to effectively act as a windbreak for the rest of the structure. This helps minimize the degree of erosion of the area of the building where the curtain wall is placed, as well as provide some degree of insulation from cold winds during a storm. The end result is that less stress is placed on the building’s heating and cooling system, thus keeping utility costs lower than they otherwise would be.
In addition to acting as a windbreak, the curtain wall can also help minimize the building’s exposure to rain. By diverting some of the rain, the deterioration of the building is slightly delayed. Additionally, the wall’s deflection qualities help minimize the incidence of water collection and drainage into any small crevices that may be found along the building surface.
To some extent, a curtain wall offers the same benefits as a window system. The main difference is that the storefront system usually spans a single story, whereas a curtain wall can be built to provide protection for multiple stories. Curtain walls also tend to lend themselves more easily to housing than systems designed to protect shop windows.
While it was not unusual in the past for a curtain wall to be constructed with a steel frame, aluminum is often the metal of choice for the frames and grid that make up the wall surface. Glazed windows are often used to allow the maximum amount of light to move through the structure and into the interior. However, there are examples of curtain walls that include opaque panels of spandrel glass, a system of frosted windows that can be opened and closed at will, or even decorative metal panels.
Far from being simply another element in the design of the building, the curtain wall performs important functions in terms of helping to minimize heating and cooling costs, providing protection to the building when high winds occur, and utilizing the use efficient use of daylight to illuminate the interior of the structure. While bearing no weight other than its own, there’s no doubt that a curtain wall is far from useless.
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