Although the earliest use of large glass facades in the manner we would call curtain walls today dates to the mid-1800s, plenty has changed since the days of all-steel mullions and asbestos- or fiberglass-modified glazing compounds.

Today’s curtain walls are made of various materials, such as stone or timber. They’re a sustainable asset to any building and a design feature. They can be load-bearing while accommodating increasingly large glass panels.

Indeed, if you see a wall or building that looks like it’s made entirely from glass, chances are it’s a curtain wall. So, what are some of the top curtain wall trends and new features in 2024?

What is a Curtain Wall?

A curtain wall is a part of a building’s envelope (or exterior) that typically houses large glass panels and is fabricated from either timber or aluminum framing.

Curtain walls are known for their clean sightlines and for extending interior space into the outside. They’re environmentally efficient and extremely resistant to wind, water, temperature, condensation, and other natural stressors.

They are usually non-structural, but new types of load-bearing curtain walls (including those fabricated by Unicel Architectural) allow for more utility and design flexibility.

What Types of Curtain Walls Exist?

The most common types of curtain walls feature either aluminum or timber framing, with timber curtain walls offering a sustainable biophilic design solution that allows for maximum natural daylighting. Other types of curtain walls include stone and terracotta infills.

Curtain walls are typically manufactured in one of two ways:

• Stick-built curtain walls that are assembled at the job site. While this technique allows for on-site adjustments, it’s less efficient and can lead to on-site accidents and poorer assemblies.
• Unitized or prefabricated curtain walls are assembled at the factory before arriving at the job site. Prefabricated curtain walls benefit from safer, cleaner, more precise assembly on a factory floor, and are ready to install the moment they arrive at the job site.

Most curtain walls can be installed on buildings with various types of structures, including those of steel, concrete, or timber.

What Are the Top Curtain Wall Trends in 2024?

The increasing popularity of curtain walls of all types means they’re being incorporated in more use cases and deployed more creatively than ever before. Here are some of the top curtain wall trends of 2024.

Glass partitions and interior curtain walls
Interior curtain walls in offices and other commercial spaces are elegant design features that can increase the amount of natural light that penetrates deep into a floor plate while still cordoning off spaces for meetings or other functions.

Load-bearing curtain walls

We already mentioned that curtain walls have traditionally been non-structural, but that’s changing. Load-bearing curtain walls can support the weight of the actual curtain wall along with that of the roof and any upper floors, opening up previously unthinkable design possibilities to create massive and unique glass structures or features that seem to have no solid supports.

Energy-efficient curtain walls

Curtain walls, by their nature, allow for better passive solar heating, and new types of curtain walls provide even greater sustainability benefits that can support net-zero and passive building criteria. A timber curtain wall, for example, typically features lower energy loss and the ability to maintain room temperatures without as much heating or cooling as a typical curtain wall.

Hurricane-proof and other specialty glass curtain walls

Today’s curtain walls can be kitted out with a range of specialty glass options, including hurricane-proof, laminated tempered, Low-E, fire-rated, lead, laser protective, security, one-way mirror, or tinted glass, along with glass-clad polycarbonate and scratch-resistant polycarbonate.

Curtain walls with louvers between glass

Curtain walls can also be outfitted with insulating glass units (IGUs) containing integrated louver technology for pinpoint control of vision, light, sound, and temperature during extra sunny or cold days. Louvered curtain walls allow for completely adjustable privacy and visibility—and because the louvers are located in a hermetically sealed glass unit, require no cleaning or maintenance.

Massive glass panels

As curtain wall technology advances and architects test the boundaries of design possibility, the size of glass panels in curtain walls has exploded—with one of the most recent notable projects being a 20×3.3m oversized glass panel in Nantong, China. The bigger the glass, the more natural daylight, after all.

More complex framing and panel shapes

The malleability of timber and aluminum frames means curtain wall panels don’t have to be squares or rectangles anymore. Instead, they can help designers make buildings that flow better with their surroundings. Unusual angles, curved facades, and sloping/undulating facades are now popular, with the latter especially trendy among commercial and institutional buildings that want to stand out from the typical square space.

Hop On the Curtain Wall Design Trend

Unicel Architectural’s timber and aluminum curtain walls are designed with precision German technology at their core and can be customized to match any contemporary design vision.

Contact us today to combine the elegance of wood or the sleekness of aluminum with glazed facades to add a striking, sustainable, and high-performance daylighting feature to your next project.