Glass and Glazing on Our Tall Towers

Glass-clad commercial and residential towers are a popular form of construction; most everyone wants big views and lots of sunlight. Today’s fenestration systems (windows) are more advanced, and more efficient to install than ever before. As a result, entire building façades are being constructed of pre-manufactured glass and aluminum modules as unitized curtain wall or window-wall. These modern glazing systems are high performance and durable when manufactured and installed correctly and require very little maintenance in the first 10 to 20 years in service. The glazing itself is likely to require virtually no maintenance over the initial 20 years. Unfortunately this is when the party often ends.

High-rise fenestration systems consist of 2 main components: 1) the glazing 2) the aluminum framing system to hold it in place. The focus of this bulletin is on the glazing component of fenestration systems.