Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)

Construction Technology III (BLD60304)

Group Members: Tan Jit Kim

Tan Vin Nie

Yeong Poh Ling

Ng Zhen Huan

Intake: Semester 3 March Intake 2017

Tutorial Session: Session 1

Lecturer: Mr Chai Voon Chiet

Introduction

A curtain wall system is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-
structural, but merely keep the weather out and the occupant in.
Reducing construction cost as curtain wall is non-structural thus it can be made of
lightweight material.
Defined as a thin, usually aluminium frame wall which contains in-fills glass, thin stone,
marble, metal panel or composite materials.
With use of variety strong, lightweight and beautiful building materials to replace
traditional masonry or window wall with exterior wall construction method.
The wall transfers horizontal wind loads to the main building structure through
connections at floors or columns of the building.
A curtain wall is designed to resist penetration of air and water, as well as sway created
by wind and seismic forces acting on the building, and its own dead load weight forces.
Curtain wall is surrounded on the main structure of peripheral so that the entire building
can achieve beautiful, versatile and safe wall method, as well as benefits such as
daylighting.
 2 most common system types include stick built system and the unitized (or panel)
system
Curtain wall scope includes construction of walls, lighting the top (cover) and awning
Material Used

Aluminium Framing

Lightweight aluminium alloys are used generally.

Its weight is 3 times less than steel.
Aluminum offers the unique advantage of being able to be easily extruded into nearly any
shape required for design and aesthetic purposes.

Glass

Glass may be used which is transparent, translucent or opaque.

Transparent glass usually refers to vision glass in a curtain wall.
Spandrel or vision glass may also contain translucent glass, which could be for security
or aesthetic purposes.
Opaque glass is used in areas to hide a column or spandrel beam or shear wall behind
the curtain wall.
Glass manufacturing process

1. Batch house

Raw material like silica, soda ash, limestone and other enter furnace which being heated up to
1500C

2. Float bath

Molten glass flows over molten tin bath at 1100C and leave float bath as solid ribbon at 600C

3. Annealing

Rigid glass ribbon passes through a lehr, temperature is gradually lowered from 620 to 250

4. Cutting

Cut the glass into sheet and pack it

5. Dispatch

Glass is then coated or shipped to customer

Structural Elements

The complete unit consist of the following structural elements:

1. Transoms or horizontal rails
2. Mullions or vertical rails
3. Vision Glass
4. Anchor

There are a wide range of possible infill panels for curtain wall systems, including:

Vision glass (which may be double or triple glazed, may include low-e coatings, reflective
coatings and so on).

Spandrel (non-vision) glass.

Aluminium or other metals.

Stone veneer.

Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP).

Louvres or vents.
Most common type installation method

Stick system

Assembled in the field to installed and connected together piece by piece using various
components, including anchors, mullions, rails, vision glass, spandrel glass, insulation and
metal back pans.
Various hardware components, including connectors, setting blocks, corner blocks,
pressure plates, caps, gaskets and sealants.
Airtight and resistant to water penetration, it is cheap and quick and easy to install
One of the most commonly used types of curtain walls.
Unitized system

Composed of large units that fabricated and glazed in factory, then shipped to the site
and installed as a panel system
Contains same component as a stick-built curtain wall system, but most of the system
components are assembled in factory in a favourable environment with tight production
control instead of in the field.
Vertical and horizontal mullions of the modules mate together with the adjoining modules.
Modules are generally constructed one story tall and one module wide but may
incorporate multiple modules.
Typical units are five to six feet wide.
The unitized system offers many advantages which include higher quality. It allows for
fabrication lead-time and rapid closure of the building.
Advantages of Curtain Wall

Cost saving

made from the budgeted friendly material glass / Aluminium

provide good visual appealing
provide required structural strength

Provides natural lighting

create a warm-bright environment

suitable for the eyesight and colors are truer to view

Provides a panoramic view

let the people do their works under a conducive environment

good view

Providing waterproof installation

sealant used for the curtain wall is a type of moisture proof barrier

The ability of air tight fit

Cold climate - to prevent heat loss

Hot weather - can help to reflect the UV rays to prevent oven-like conditions and retain
the cool air

Act as a fire stop

Slowing or preventing the spread of fire between floors of the building.

Disadvantages of Curtain Wall

The wall is the non-load bearing type

cannot assist in supporting loads but only carry its own weights

Light Pollution

Reflected glare which cause people becomes temporary blindness, vision decrease and
dizziness.
Reflected glare which cause trouble to nearby neighbor residents.
The reflected glare light causes a rise of room temperature of 4 to 6 degree Celsius.
This incurs of more spending on air conditioning

The quality guarantee period of the curtain wall is limited

The potential risk coefficient will be increased when the replacement of large number of
expired curtain wall materials.
This will cause a wastage of resources.

Frequent maintenance

Requires every 10 years or more

 HALLIDIE BUILDING

Curtain Wall Building: Hallidie Building

Location: San Francisco Landmark
Date: Built 1917
Building Type: Mixed Retail & Commercial Offices
Construction System: Curtain Wall
ABOUT HALLIDIE BUILDING

Designed by Willis Polk

Owned by the University of California at Berkeley

The date 1917 is cited by National Trust Guide: San Francisco

The date 1918 is cited by Here Today: San Francisco's Architectural Heritage
MANUFACTURING / INSTALLATION PROCESS

Devised a seven-story glass faade for the concrete-and-steel office building.

Most of the windows pivot horizontally to facilitate natural ventilation in concert with
conventional windows in the wall behind.

Basic structural metal shapes used in the original construction a kit of parts
composed of steel angles, T-sections and plates that were no longer commercially
available.

Ornamental pieces including a roof cornice, striated sheet metal pendants and stamped
zinc frieze panels were in poor condition as were many of the steel railings.
Problem and Solution

Building Team undertook repairs aiming to retain as much of the historic fabric as
possible while making sure fire-egress features were safe and correcting problems with
the original design.

An extensive paint analysis was conducted to replicate the original bright colors.

To repair the curtain wall, replaced vertical support plates, added thermal expansion
joints via splice work at the window cover plates, integrated proper flashing and fixed
corroded parts.

The deteriorated structural framework supporting the balconies was replaced with steel
outriggers and C-channels.

Balcony and railing pickets consisting of flat steel bars were either repaired or replaced.

Fiberglass was spray applied to the back side of the pieces allowing more than 90% of
the original zinc panels to be stabilized and saved.

Many window sashes were saved and repaired by using a zinc-rich primer and a high-
performance coating system.
Benefits of Hallidie Building using Curtain Wall Facades

1. Natural Lighting
- Allowed natural light into interior spaces
- Reducing the need for artificial lighting
- Cutting down on lighting bills
- Usable workspaces.

2. Control of Air Leakage

- Designed to be airtight

3. Control of Rain and Moisture Intrusion

- Airtight design prevents rain
- Not allow for absorption or evaporation of moisture
- Corrosion resistant

4. Control Heat Loss or Gain

- Insulating glass can improve thermal qualities
- Enhance energy efficiency
- Reduce the costs of heating and cooling in a commercial building
 The Lever House, New York

The Lever House by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was one of the first glass International
style office buildings in the United States. The Lever House is completed in 1952. It is located at
390 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

The Lever House was built between 1951 to 1952, designed by Gordon Bunshaft, a
American architect and corecipient of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1988. His design of the
Lever House skyscraper in New York City exerted a strong influence in American architecture.

The Lever House becomes a New York City landmark that has mesmerized people
through the years with its modern style that has yet to fade into the past.
Curtain wall in The Lever House

The exterior of Lever House is constructed with 24 stories of blue-green heat-resistant

glass and stainless steel. The delicate blue-green glass enveloping the building as a thin skin is
held in place by a grid of stainless steel tubular mullions which in turn are hung from the building's
main structure.

The wind force travels from glass panes to mullions that trigger the building's structural
steel frame.The gravity load in the envelope travels from glass and cinder block to facade
framework and then transfer it to the main structural frame.

The heat-resistant glass reduces both the air conditioning load and sun or sky glare. It
helps to reduce the cooling cost. The transparent areas with light blue green colored glass not
only for it's aesthetic quality but also for it's heat absorption qualities. Spandrels beneath the
windows were glazed with smaller panes of wire glass due to the requirement of the building
code.

The curtain wall is also completely sealed without operable windows to prevent the
passage of dirt from the city into the building. The sealed building also helps to reduce the noise
level. A small "flaps" were placed over the weepholes in the metal frame for the water to flow
and escape.
 There is a fire block walls sit about 3" behind the spandrel panels. The air pocket was
designed to dissappate the heat in order to prevent heat build-up in the glass. The walls were
built to meet fire codes, as well as to mask floor slabs, radiators and the suspended ceiling with
it's mechanical and electrical ducts.

To clean and maintain the building, a system was created with a rooftop window-washing
gondola that was able to move on tracks to clean the glass.
Problem and Solution

The Lever House was facing some problems due to its construction over its lifetime. Over
the years, the curtain wall had deteriorated due to material and fabrication limitations and
weather conditions.

Due to leakage and condensation in the spandrels, the steel frames were contact with
water. As a result, the steel bars started to rust, expand and pop out some of the windows of the
building.

To preserve the modern landmark without changing its appearance, old materials and
systems were successfully replaced with state-of-the-art solutions in modern wall technology,
including concealed aluminum glazing channels, stainless steel mullions and caps, and new panes
of heat-strengthened PPG solex glass.
Conclusion

In this assignment, we learn about the structure elements of the curtain wall and also its
advantages and disadvantages. Case studies in different countries help us to understand more
about how curtain wall is fixed and implied to the building designs. Curtain wall gives both
advantages and disadvantages to the building as well. Over the years, the curtain wall easy to
deteriorate compared to other material due to the fabrication limitations and weather conditions.

In conclusion, curtain wall system is essential to any faade, in terms of function and
aesthetics. Curtain wall offers numerous of advantages in building construction. It enhances
benefits such as day lighting and environmental control. The curtain wall is non-structural and
can be made of lightweight material which helps to reduce construction costs. Nowadays, it is
largely used in commercial and office building designs. Therefore, curtains walls thus serve a
significantly important purpose and slowly gain popularity around the world.
Reference

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Available at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Curtain_wall_systems [Accessed 7 Jun.
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Skyview-architectural-aluminum.com. (2017). Skyview Architectural Aluminum - Pros and Cons

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aluminum.com/Pros-and-Cons-of-installing-curtain-wall-for-commercial-buildings.html
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Anon, (2017). Disadvantages of curtain wall. [online] Available at:

http://maggiebuildingmaterial.weebly.com/blog/disadvantages-of-curtain-wall [Accessed 21
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Hunker.com. (2017). Advantages and Disadvantages of Curtain Walls | Hunker. [online]

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Vern's Glass. (2017). Benefits of Curtain Wall Systems | Vern's Glass Victorville. [online]
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http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Hallidie_Building.html [Accessed 7 Jun. 2017].

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