In the current market, stick-built curtain wall and unitized curtain wall are the two main types of curtain wall construction in use. In practical applications, unitised curtain wall generally has about 30% of the work done on site, while 70% is carried out in the factory. There are a lot of advantages of using unitised curtain walls, especially for high-rise buildings, like faster production and installation, as well as differential movements, etc. All the fabrication and assembly operations are in a controlled environment so as to provide a safe working environment for construction workers in particular.
Specifically speaking, the distincitive advantage of unitised curtain walls is the efficiency of repetitive units and the faster installation in curtain wall construction. Once an assembly process is optimised off-site, the time saved on-site is significantly higher than the stick-built construction. Another decisive factor is the higher quality assurance due to fewer interfaces and workmanship on-site. Working at heights is moved to the inside of the building slab, and interior wall assemblies can be easily integrated. Of course, it will always be the first discussion if a stick curtain wall is equally suitable, especially when it comes to building movement joints. In addition, unitised curtain wall system is better in accommodating movement joints and is more flexible in that regard. Furthermore, with the assembly in a controlled environment, the quality of any product increases substantially the same applies to the curtain wall. Meanwhile, the different components of curtain wall structures arrive at the facilities after a previous QA/QC process that reduces the possibilities of defects and mistakes on the assembly. Continuous quality checks are performed during the curtain wall assembly to ensure the performance and quality of the final product. Moreover, the preassembly of curtain wall units allows developing more complex and performing curtain walls such as “active walls of close cavity façades” with improved performance.
Lastly, one of the most evident advantages of the unitised curtain wall is the speed and ease of installation. Typically a unitised system is installed around the same floor, which gives the chance to the other parties to work on the inside of the buildings during the installation of the building façade.
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Post time: Aug-02-2023
