Modern Movement Heritage

Edited by Allen Cunningham

The metal and glass curtain wall: The history and diagnostics
Stephen J.Kelley and Dennis K.Johnson

The curtain wall can be defined as, 'an exterior building wall made of non-load bearing panels that
are supported on a structural frame. The curtain wall spans between floors and transfers lateral
loads, such as those produced by winds, to the structural frame, while the structural frame alone
carries these horizontal as well as all gravity loads.
The antecedents of the curtain wall made of
metal can be traced to numerous nineteenth
and early-twentieth century sources,
including glass exhibition pavilions such as
the Crystal Palace in London (1851) and
masonry infilled metal frame structures such
as the early Chicago skyscrapers of the
1880s (Figure 9.1). Its development was
governed by technology and economics as
well as aesthetics. Technology was
dependent upon the evolution of the
structural frame, the development of
lightweight building materials, and the
invention of adequate fireproofing and
insulation systems. Economy dictated that
the amount and weight of materials used be
minimised, that more prefabrication occur,
that erection be faster, and that construction
become standardised. Aesthetics called for
greater expanses of glass. These factors led
to the sleek, metal and glass skins that have
cloaked the skyscrapers of the era following
World War Two.
Precedents
In Europe by the end of the century,
architects were exploring the aesthetic
possibilities of glass and metal on building
facades. An example (Figure 9.2) was Victor Horta's
Maison du Peuple (Brussels, 1896, demolished)
where the metal skeleton was enclosed only by
glass or thin panels held in iron frames. Similar
themes were explored in the United States. The
Boley Building (Kansas City, 1909) by Louis Curtis,
incorporated a transparent glass wall enclosing an
entire structure. These experiments in the aesthetic
possibilities of the metal and glass curtain wall were
largely ignored by American architects of the period.

German architects Walter Gropius and Adolph Meyer

were commissioned to build the Faguswerke Factory
(Alfeld-an-derLeine, 1911), widely regarded as a
founding monument of the Modern Movement. At this
factory, each level is indicated by solid spandrel
panels that are installed like the glass above and
below them, a treatment echoed by post-World War
Two highrise curtain walls. After World War One, the
theme of the curtain wall of the Faguswerke Factory,
was furthered by the construction of the Bauhaus
School (Gropius, 1925) (Figure 9.3) with a studio
featuring an impressive metal and glass curtain wall.
Contemporary to this, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
who followed Hannes Meyer as head of the Bauhaus
School, prepared a series of unrealised projects in
which the most famous came to be known as the
'Glass Skyscraper,' a high-rise enveloped totally in
glass.
The Modern Movement, known in the United States as the 'International Style', was formally
introduced to American architects in 1932 and created an immediate sensation. Due to the
economic constraints of the Great Depression, speed was necessary in design and erection. The
International Style was characterised by the elimination of costly decorative features on the
façade, and was realised on such buildings as the New York Daily News (Hood and Howells,
1930), the McGraw-Hill (Hood and Fouilhoux, 1932), and the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society
(Howe and Lescase, 1931) buildings. Curtain wall construction, however, continued to utilise
traditional masonry techniques that had been developed by the turn-of-the-century.?
One of the architects of the Empire State building (New York City, 1931) wrote of the masonry
curtain wall technique:
We inherited masonry walls and seem unable to outgrow our inheritance. The idea that masonry
is the only form of permanent construction was so deeply rooted that practically all building codes
made masonry walls mandatory. The covering of the observation tower... accomplished by a
combination of aluminum, chrome-steel and glass, [was designed and fabricated into forms
entirely free from masonry influences. The extension of similar treatment to embrace all of the
inclosing walls of a tall building is quite conceivable and will result in a light wall, readily made
weather tight, easy to fabricate and erect and requiring practically no maintenance.

The new era of the curtain wall

New technologies resulting from World War Two had a great influence on the acceptance of the
glass and metal curtain wall and the realisation of a machine-made building envelope. Lightweight
workable and resistant to corrosion, aluminium would become the metal of choice for curtain walls
and would rise above the use of other durable metals. Advances during World War Two brought
about new processes and techniques for fabricating and working aluminium, and placed
unprecedented quantities of the material at an economical price at the disposal of designers.
Extruded metal components were suitable for standardisation and could be prefabricated for
delivery to the site, and installation was less limited by cold temperatures which prohibited
erection of 'wet' walls of brick and mortar. This was important because labour costs had now
become a significant part of construction costs.

In 1959 Pilkington Glass introduced their revolutionary float method for the manufacture of plate
glass and other existing processes soon became obsolete. 10 In the 1950s, heat absorbent or
tinted glass had made major inroads into the commercial building market. Though green was
initially the only colour possible in transparent optical glass, by the 1960s other colours were also
becoming available. 12 Insulation materials were developed by manufacturers such as Pittsburgh-
Corning, Owens Illinois, US Gypsum, and Johns-Manville. These materials were toted for their
significant contribution in reducing heat loss.
Traditional oil and resin-based caulking compounds were the only joint sealants available before
World War Two, and they did not provide the flexibility required to accommodate the significant
movement in curtain wall joints. War technology 13 spawned a new family of elastomeric sealants
such as polysulphides, solvent acrylics, urethanes, and silicones that would fulfil this role.
Polysulphides were the first elastomerics to be used for curtain wall construction in the early
1950s. Their use to seal the curtain wall of the Lever House in 1954 signalled their widespread
acceptance. Silicone sealants were introduced in the 1960s and urethane sealants were
introduced in the 1970s.14

Technical guidance in the use of glass and metal

curtain walls for 1950s designers was limited. 15 The
approach to design that evolved was to make the joints
as weather tight as possible, then provide positive
means for conducting any water leakage out of the wall
through an internal drainage system. At first, caulking
compounds, which have become indispensable in
curtain wall design and maintenance, were frowned
upon for the sealing of joints. It was envisioned that
rubber gasket systems would fulfil this role. 16
Large-scale commercial adaptation of building air
conditioning also profoundly influenced the
development of metal and glass curtain wall, which now
made up the entire envelope, not just a portion. This
adaptation initially led to curtain walls which were not
provided with operable windows for natural ventilation.
Architects of the 1950s had little concern for energy
conservation. It was left to mechanical engineers to
insure occupant comfort.17
One of the first postwar buildings to be constructed with
a metal and glass curtain wall (Figure 9.4) was the
Equitable building (Pietro Belluschi, 1948) in Portland,
Oregon. Belluschi was able to take advantage of
leftover aluminium stockpiled for World War Two by
smelters and to utilise assembly techniques derived
from west coast aeroplane plants. 18
 The 860–880 Lake Shore Drive buildings in
Chicago (Mies van der Rohe, 1949–51) were
among the first residential buildings in the United
States to be sheathed entirely in glass, and were
the realisation of Mies' earlier proposal for a Glass
Skyscraper (Figure 9.5). The steel grid was
assembled on the buildings’ roofs in two-storey
high units and then lowered into place on the
facade. 19

The United Nations Secretariat building (Harrison

and Abramovitz, 1950) was conceived as a pure
sculptural form—a narrow tower slab set so that its
long walls of glass faced east and west, and its
shorter walls of white marble faced north and
south. The Secretariat building was a thermal
nightmare with its all glass facades subjected to
the harsh rising and setting sun. Designers
learned to consider the orientation of buildings
relative to the path of the sun, and the size of
windows to control heat gain 20 The curtain wall
was glazed with green-tinted glass, which—was
coming into widespread use in commercial
architecture 21 In detail the curtain wall was an
assembly of aluminum windows held in place with
a grid of reinforced mullions.22 The lower portion
of the curtain wall at each level was backed up by
a concrete block wall to provide fire protection 23
At the Lever House (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill,
1952), the curtain wall has an interior frame of mild steel clad with stainless steel. Its simple
appearance belies its complex internal construction which was cobbled together from off the shelf
parts.24 Later design of curtain walls was made easier by catalogue components. The Lever
House curtain wall, like that of the Secretariat building, was backed at each floor by a knee wall
of concrete block to provide the fire protection that code officials felt was not provided by the
curtain wall itself.25
Other durable metals were also utilised in the 1950s. New York's House of Seagram, (Mies Van
der Rohe, 1957-8) was constructed with a curtain wall of bronze tinted glass and metal grid of
bronze. Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower (Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1955) is a mixed-use high-rise
with a curtain wall of copper and precast concrete units 26
An alternative response to the all-glass curtain wall, the Alcoa Building (Harrison, 1952) in
Pittsburgh, used storey-high panels of aluminium penetrated by relatively small windows. The
windows were set in aluminium frames and sealed with rubber gaskets. Aluminium panels were
formed with a pressed pattern to add rigidity, create relief, and produce scale. 27 This type of
sheathing became quite popular during the mid-1960s. Perlite insulation was sprayed on
aluminium lath to provide fireproofing instead of using concrete block behind the curtain wall
marking the final break of the curtain wall with traditional masonry techniques.
New technologies in the past thirty years have created the economy of using less material and
the use of new materials to achieve thermal and cost-effective construction. Thermal efficiency
became important in building construction after the energy crisis of the 1970s. By the 1960s
reflective coatings of thin metal applied to glass became available to the construction industry.
Originally fabricated in silver, the colour palette would eventually include gold, bronze, copper,
pewter, grey, and blue.28 A circa 1980s application is the coating of glass with clear low emissivity
(low-e) films that are used to improve the energy efficiency and performance of buildings.29
Pressure equalisation to prevent water penetration through building envelopes was first published
by the Norwegians in 1962 and a year later in Canada. It was not until the 1970s that this principle
was first applied to curtain walls.30 Pressure equalisation applied to curtain walls may one day
help realise the abolition of sealants on the exterior of building skins. The use of plastic breaks to
improve the thermal performance of metal components of curtain walls was introduced in the
1960s. Structural silicone glazing, which has been responsible for the large expanses of
mullionless glass, began to appear on building curtain walls toward the end of the 1960s.31
Common problems with metal and glass curtain walls
The curtain wall fulfils one of the most demanding roles in building construction. Not only does it
provide the primary image for the building, but also performs the multiple functions required of an
exterior skin-form a protective enclosure, keep out the outside environment, and maintain the
inside environment in an efficient, economical manner.
Metal curtain walls can be categorised by their fabrication and installation as follows. Stick
systems (Figure 9.) are assembled in the field and consist of vertical members (mullions) and
horizontal members (rails) which are anchored to the structural frame. Glass, stone or other
panels are then glazed into the openings created by the metal grid Unit systems (Figure 9.7) are
composed of panels that are assembled and glazed in the factory prior to installation in the field.
The units are then stacked together to form the mullions and rails. Unit and mullion systems
(Figure 9.8) utilise features of both the stick and unit systems by inserting prefabricated units
between installed mullions. The following discussion covers some of the more common problems
experienced with curtain walls.

Water penetration
The prevention of water leakage—the failure of which presents the most common problems
associated with curtain wallsrelies upon either the elimination of leakage into the wall or the control
of water flow through the wall. Several different approaches have been developed to achieve a
watertight wall, which include interior drainage systems, 32 pressure-equalized systems, and
barrier walls.34 All successful implementations rely upon the understanding of and design for the
various forces acting on and attempting to drive water through the wall. Wind, capillary action,
and gravity are but a few of the forces that must be accommodated. The different approaches
must ultimately handle these forces successfully. The following are descriptions of some of the
more common causes of water penetration.
Improper design-interior gutters and glazing pockets may not be designed with enough features
to accommodate water that penetrates the exterior wall and direct it back to the exterior.
Inadequate design sometimes does not accommodate interior water flow or is inadequate to resist
the wind induced pressures accompanying the water.
Improper installation-drainage systems rely upon internal gutters or flashings to achieve water-
tightness. An interior drainage system cannot perform adequately unless it is properly sealed.
End dams that are created where horizontal and vertical members intersect, discontinuities at
splices, and penetrations for connections are common sources of water penetration

Lever House

While remarkable in its simplicity the stick build curtain wall of the Lever House is still a hybrid
technology and very reminiscent of the earlier masonry walls with its system of flashing and
weep holes. Where the Woolworth Building may be described as an assembly of eighteenth
century brick houses in a steel frame, the curtain wall of Lever House can be characterised as a
series of early storefronts in the sky
At the location of the spandrel, a concrete block wall was maintained as a fire stop as required
by the building code at the time. A small section of block was more or less suspended below the
slab while the remainder was placed on top of the slab. The front of the block wall was parged
and painted and served as a shadow box for the tinted and wired vision glass that was used at
the spandrel level
The wall began to show problems very quickly after completion. The limited life span of the early
caulking and sealant compounds undoubtedly had something to do with the need to reseal. By
the 1960s the corrosion of the carbon steel glass stops and rabbits as well as the wire
embedded in the spandrel glass was sufficiently advanced that glass breakage became a
common occurrence. The corrosion also forced the screw-mounted stainless steel covers to
open further allowing even more water to enter. While an on-going programme of glass
replacement was instituted, it was not easy to match the original glass consistently resulting in
the wide variety of colours existing in the spandrels today
These on-going and progressively worsening conditions led to a re-examination of the curtain
wall and the development of a repair and replacement strategy. The underlying philosophical
approach essentially accepted the need to maintain the overall visual appearance and design
intent of the curtain wall, but identified the necessity to use contemporary technology and
materials to achieve a better performing solution.
Over a period of time it was necessary to replace all ferrous glass stops and rabbits with non-
ferrous sections. The main vertical structural steel channels, which were found to be in a
reasonable condition, will remain but have to be cleaned and painted. For different reasons, all
vision glass, spandrel glass and stainless steel covers will be replaced. While the wire glass will
be replaced because of its unsatisfactory performance, the vision glass will not be salvaged
because it would require extraordinary effort to minimise breakage. Because the existing
stainless steel covers have been severely damaged and bent, new covers will be installed to
restore the machine-like precision that is such an integral part of the design intent of the original
building.
The result of this curtain wall repair and replacement project, once completed, will be an
elevation that closely resembles the original in appearance. However, the amount of original
material that remains in the exterior wall will be minimal. In the context of traditional preservation
philosophy the authenticity of the wall could be questioned and most likely would have to be
described as a reconstruction.
To rely, for the preservation of modern architecture, on current preservation principles and
philosophies presents a fundamental dilemma. Developed during an era concemed with saving
the art and craft of building in the face of the onslaught of the Industrial Revolution, these
principles are not suited for safeguarding contemporary buildings designed to celebrate the very
advancements of that revolution. The emphasis on traditional technologies, the intimate
relationship between the architect and the artisan-whether expressed or implied-as opposed to
the use of machine-made materials, more economic substitutes or labour-saving techniques,
are likely to be irreconcilable.
A new and appropriate preservation philosophy has to be based, therefore, on the very ideals
that have given these buildings their meaning and form. That is to say that the significance will
not be in the intricacy of its stone carvings or the mastery of its repoussé copper but in the
principles of the new design, the sleekness of the forms and the transparency of its architecture.
Therefore the authenticity of the original design ideas has taken on an additional significance. If
preserving historic architecture thus far was about saving the intrinsic value of the design and
the craftsmanship, then for the architecture of the Modern Movement in particular it must be first
and foremost about safeguarding the intrinsic value of the original design. In other words the
preservation of the design intent must be one of the central tenets for any new preservation
philosophy.
Making the design intent an important aspect of the new preservation philosophy offers also
new and intriguing opportunities for the design of adaptive and continued uses. Here also is a
unique chance to reconcile the antagonism and separation between design and preservation.
Design for and in historic buildings and districts, certainly in American practice, has been
characterised, for decades now, by a contextual temerity. The very desire not to offend the
historical context-or the preservation community for that matter—will detract from the strength of
the original design. These stylistic adaptations or reinterpretations result in the very eclecticism
to which the Modern Movement objected. Design therefore must be a true partner in the
preservation of the modern monument and working together to enhance the design intent is the
true opportunity for architects and preservationists. This new cooperation could lead to creative
restorations. These creative restorations will not be in the style of Viollet-le-Duc who added
historically correct elements that should have been there but never were, or in the fanciful
manner of Disney, but truly creative solutions that enhance the qualities and strengths of the
original design and its intent.
The principles to guide and, to some extent, the language to describe the safeguarding of the
architecture of the more recent past cannot be the same as for earlier and more traditional
architecture. New attitudes and concepts must be established that reflect our economic realities
as much as the ideology of the original architecture. The architecture of the Modern Movement
and many of its precursors broke the rules of eclecticism to forge a new aesthetic The new
preservation philosophy must also break with carlier precedent to be able to save the
architecture of the twentieth century for the future. It is time to have once again 'Great
Expectations'.

Modern Movement Heritage

Edited by Allen Cunningham
E&FN SPON, ROUTLEDGE Imprint
London and New York 1998