With new technological advances, a window wall is generally considered a good alternative to a curtain wall in a residential building today. For the one thing, curtain walls are more expensive, take longer time to install and require specialized crew and equipment to install. Window walls can take away some useable floor space and can be aesthetically less appealing, which can cause commercial constructors to prefer the curtain wall. For the other thing, both systems’ performance relies heavily on appropriate design and installation. Many of the window wall’s perceived faults are attributed to its older iterations, such as the lack of slab covers.
Generally, people have the false perception that window wall is a lesser form of glazed cladding. However, it proves that window wall not only has a vital place in high-rise construction, it can also outperform a typical curtain wall system in applications. The unique characteristics of window wall make it ideally suited for residential applications, which is why it dominates the condo cladding marketplace today while for commercial buildings, structural glass curtain wall performs better than the window wall and has a stronger R-value at the clear wall and the slab intersection according to the modeling. However, improved window wall design ensures a continuous thermal barrier through spandrel bypass and thermal breaks in the balcony slabs.
In most cases, curtain walls are more often used in commercial buildings, while window walls are often used in residential buildings due to their lower cost, installation from the building interior and customization potential. Especially in some tall residential and commercial buildings, wind driven rain and strong winds will be major concerns and proper design of either curtain wall or window wall is needed to achieve strong performance. In regard to water penetration and air leakage, aluminium curtain wall has an advantage due to its less exposed parts and simpler connections to the structure. In addition, operable windows and balcony doors are rare in buildings with curtain walls, which can reduce the risk of leaks. On the other hand, considering that there are usually many more enclosure penetrations needed for mechanical penetrations in residential construction, a highly customizable window wall becomes very favorable. These penetrations are not as prevalent in commercial buildings which usually have centralized mechanical ventilation that services the entire building using vertical duct runs. Another difference that affects the facade is that commercial buildings do not typically have operable windows and balconies on every floor, thereby allowing the continuous cladding system found in curtain walls.
Send your message to us:
Post time: Dec-04-2020
