Unitized Curtain Wall
Unitized curtain walling is a building envelope system that is designed to support its own weight and withstand the effects of environmental forces such as wind pressure and accommodate the building movements such as seismic, slabs deflections, columns shortening, etc.
In the unitized curtain wall system the panel is made of aluminum frame (mullions, transoms, sill and gutter) and infill panels (glass, metal and stone). The frame and the infill panel are prefabricated and preassembled in the factory then transported in stillages to the site for installation.
In the unitized curtain wall systems most of the work is carried out in the factory in a controlled environment, which results in producing a high quality and finish. BES offer pressure equalized (ventilated) and face sealed bespoke unitized curtain wall systems to suit the project environment, the pressure equalized (ventilated) unitized curtain wall system is recommended and used in hot environments such as GCC countries while the face sealed unitized curtain wall system is recommended for cold countries.
BES will design the system and help the client to choose the suitable glass make up and performance to achieve the required acoustical and thermal performance (Over all U value) to work in harmony with the building heating/cooling system to avoid reaching the dew temperature on the internal face of the mullions, transoms and glass to avoid any internal condensation.
Brackets & Fixings:
Post fixing such channel embedment or U-bar or pre fixing such as chemical and anchor bolts can be designed and used to support the system brackets. The unitized curtain wall brackets are designed taking into consideration the following parameters:
• Transfer the reaction from the unitized curtain wall panel to the building main structure.
• Accommodate building movement.
• Coordinated with the interfaces with the building slabs, columns and internal finishes
The brackets are made from different materials such as aluminium extrusions, welded steel plates and cast metal. The size of unitized curtain wall panel will be designed as per the architectural façade modulations and slabs heights.
The frame of the panel consists of mullions and transoms, which is made of aluminium extrusions in different alloys. The aluminium extrusions come in different finishes and colours to the liking of the architect and the client, with the size and shape designed to withstand all structural forces such as wind load, seismic, thermal and building movement.
At BES the design team use the latest and most sophisticated software to develop the system design, structural calculations, shop drawings, material orders and fabrication drawings.
