Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture

Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture

Recent years have seen a rapidly growing interest among contemporary architects in the use of curtain walls to create innovative, attention-grabbing building facades. With new concerns about the environment and affordability, the curtain wall represents a microcosm of issues important to architecture: climate responsiveness and energy use, intelligent utilization of resources, and advancements in digital design and fabrication. In <i>Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture,</em> architect and building technology expert Scott Murray presents an exhaustive taxonomy of the materials and techniques necessary for the design, fabrication, and installation of today's curtain wall systems. Murray presents a history of curtain wall design from the early skeleton-frame structures of the late-nineteenth century to the complex configurations of mullions, infill panels, and adhesives of today.<br><br><em>Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture</i> features detailed analyses of contemporary projects by leading architects and engineers, including the Blue Tower by Bernard Tschumi Architects; the Yale Sculpture Building by KieranTimberlake Associates; 100 Eleventh Avenue by Ateliers Jean Nouvel; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art by Steven Holl Architects; the Atlas Building by Rafael Violy; the New York Times Building by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and FXFOWLE Architects; One Omotesando by Kengo Kuma and Associates; and the Seattle Public Library by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and LMN Architects. Each cutting-edge project is documented through detailed drawings, color photography, and insightful descriptions of the aesthetic and technical considerations that make these projects best-case examples of curtain wall technology.