Curtain Wall Doors
What are curtain wall doors or what is a curtain wall system?
A curtain wall system is a modern architectural solution for buildings and is mostly use for office buildings, high-rise residential buildings and commercial spaces like restaurants, hotels, spas, shopping malls etc. Generally, the structure consists of glass or metal panels and aluminum frames. The frames are called transoms and mullions and these horizontal and vertical aluminum elements are designed to hold the glazing or cladding system against lateral loads such as winds and crashes. Curtain wall systems are non-structural which means they are not load-bearing walls.
The system is attached on the primary structure of the building. They were started to be widely used in 19th century when large glass panels were possible to manufacture. In Europe and the newly emerging cities of the USA such as New York, Chicago etc. these curtain wall systems were commonly used starting from 1930s and so on. Today, most contemporary buildings’ facades are designed using this technology. The glazing can be transparent material such as glass, semi-transparent material or completely opaque such as metal or aluminum panels.
Climate control gains real importance for curtain wall systems because if the glass is not installed in proper thickness and UV values indoor comfort would be negatively impacted. On entry level curtain wall systems are adaptable to design combinations with doors and windows. Traditional usage of making an opening on the wall and installing the window or door frame inside that opening alters into a full frame and glazing system in curtain wall doors. Curtain wall doors are type of doors that are compliant with the curtain wall system.
Libart’s vertically retractable door systems are manufactured with aluminum frames and glass glazing and completely adaptable to any type of wall including curtain wall systems. Standard curtain wall doors are hinged on the wall and interact poorly with the constant circulation where the opening and closing action is hundred per cent manual. However vertically retractable door systems can be applied to a much larger opening and can be removed from the way completely when needed.
Why should you prefer curtain wall doors?
The main purpose of a curtain wall system is to provide an envelope for the building in order to achieve protection from over exposure to sunlight, temperature and climatic changes, earthquake and weather conditions such as rain and wind. In other words a curtain wall system provides safety and control over interior environment. A curtain wall system is lighter in weight compared to a brick or concrete wall enclosure. In architecture lighter building means more durability against outer forces such as earthquakes. The more rigid and stiff a material gets, the more easier for that material to break. Therefore, flexibility is essential. Curtain wall systems are preferred to achieve more lightweight buildings. Especially for high-rise buildings the system provides better static calculations in terms of dead weight. However it is important to maintain climate control, water leakage problems, installation quality. It is also very important to select the correct kind of glass with good insulation layers. When a curtain wall system is applied to add doors to it, you should go with the proper kind of curtain wall door.
A curtain wall door can be a revolving door, a sliding door or a standard door. This selection is made according to human traffic, building type and the opening size.
What are the prices for curtain wall doors?
Curtain wall doors prices vary from an affordable range to a high-end spectrum. The framing material is very important in determining the cost. A good-quality aluminum would increase the price but provide more long-term solution than the PVC or wooden options. Another parameter is the glazing that is preferred. Even glass has a lot of different options. The count of glass layers, the air layer between them and whether it is filled with a gas or not affects the pricing. Also the glass that is used in a curtain wall door could be laminated or tempered. Laminated and tempered glasses provide high safety standards.