Audrey Matlock Architects

Monday, April 7, 2008

Questions I hope to answer:

1. How much more initially do curtain walls cost compared to window walls?

2. Do curtain walls become more efficient the taller the building gets?

3. What are the procedures for replacing glass over time in both systems?

3 comments:

Jared said...

Hey John,

I think this is an interesting topic. Curtain walls are very efficient in tall buildings, far more so than window walls. The reason being is curtain walls are very effective at keeping your building envelope secure. But this being said, window walls do have a place in a high rise. Window walls are generally used as store fronts at street level as well as a transitions onto a balcony from a suite. Where ever a curb is needed a window wall is usually used. Summarizing, curatin walls for large exterior building faces, and window walls for more complex store fronts.
Hope this helps
Jared

john j mcbride said...

thanks jared,
that is a great start and with some more research i will prove those findings, or possibly disprove....

Dale Parkes said...

I was talking to a builder recently about this issue and he informed me that the price of window wall was increasing to the point that it is almost the same as curtain wall. You could verify this by contacting some of the manufacturers. One company that does window wall and has a local office is Starline Windows (you can look them up in the phone book). I am sure you can get pricing info on curtain wall systems from Inland Glass. Be sure to ask them about the differences between unitized curtain wall and stick built systems.