Okuzeka
Architecture vocabulary · Materials and Construction

Curtain wall

Meaning in architecture, with examples

nounCommon term

In architecture, curtain wall means: A thin outer wall, usually of glass and aluminium, that hangs from the building's structure and keeps out the weather but carries no floor or roof loads.

In Turkish: giydirme cephe

How it is used

Typical of office towers and modern public buildings. Curtain walls are designed with facade engineers, made as factory-built panels (unitised systems) or assembled on site (stick systems) and installed floor by floor.

Example sentences

  1. The office tower has a fully glazed curtain wall with external fins for shading.

  2. Installation of the curtain wall starts once the frame reaches the tenth floor.

Common collocations

  • glass curtain wall
  • unitised curtain wall
  • curtain wall system
  • install the curtain wall
  • facadeAn outer face of a building, especially the front or the side facing a street, considered as a whole with its windows, materials and details.
  • glazingThe glass parts of a building, such as windows, glass doors and glass walls, or the work of fitting glass into frames.
  • claddingThe outer layer of material fixed to a building's walls to protect it from the weather and give it its appearance, such as stone, metal panels, timber or ceramic.
  • steel frameA structure of steel columns and beams joined together, which carries the floors and roof and makes large open spaces and tall buildings possible.

More terms: Materials and Construction

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: