TABLE OF CONTENTS Curtain walls do play a structural role and a critical one at that in resisting wind loads acting perpendicular to their plane. If they fail in this role, the result is an unusable building, whether the structural frame is damaged or not. A typical occurrence is described in Chap. 11: In a hurricane, excessive deflection of window frames allows rain to be blown inside the building and destroy its interior and contents. The cost of the resulting damage to finishes and of lost time vastly exceeds the cost of fixing any structural problems, and the consequences are certainly disastrous. But how often are window frames designed by the structural engineer of record? Similarly, improperly selected overhead doors may deflect so much in a hurricane that they lose their grip on their tracks. The doors may end up being blown inside the building, and once that happens, the building is open to the wind-driven rain and its contents and finishes will be ruined. So, the first general problem with curtain walls is their improper design for wind loading.
The second common problem occurs at the interface of curtain walls with the structural frame. Even if the curtain wall is properly designed for wind by a specialized supplier, it is the design professional of record who is responsible for its proper integration into the building. A case in point: A flexible building frame that deflects too much under...
