What is ‘Curtain Wall’ and what is a ‘Curtain wall designer’?

Content by Peter Geyer, German Architect and Engineer specialized in Certain Wall

Curtain walls and claddings, more generally called facades or building envelops, can be considered as the third layer of protection against the environment. One does not need to venture to Moon or Mars to understand and appreciate the importance of a well designed and executed barrier between us and a freezing winter day, a stormy rainy night or blistering summer heat.

So what are curtain wall designers doing: clients or developers provide land and the funds, architects develop the building design by providing architectural drawings and specifications, building engineers provide structural calculation based on internal and external forces such as wind load or seismic load and facade designers develop a facade system by combining the multitude of requirements into a functional and economical wall system. Finally, facade contractors then use this approved facade design, source materials such as aluminum, steel and glass and fabricate, assemble and install the facade system.